1 The DXSpider Administration Manual v1.49
2 Ian Maude, G0VGS, (ianmaude@btinternet.com)
3 November 2001 revision 1.1
5 A reference for SysOps of the DXSpider DXCluster program.
6 ______________________________________________________________________
67 1. Routing and Filtering
71 1.3 The node_default filter
72 1.4 General route filtering
73 1.5 General filter rules
77 1.9 Advanced filtering
78 1.10 Basic hop control
79 1.11 Hop Control on Specific Nodes
80 1.12 Isolating networks
85 2.2 Filtering words from text fields in Announce, Talk and DX spots
86 2.3 Stopping (possibly bad) DX Spots from Nodes or Spotters
96 3.7 Distribution lists
103 5.1 Creating databases
104 5.2 Importing databases
105 5.3 Checking available databases
106 5.4 Looking up databases
107 5.5 Removing databases
109 6. Information, files and useful programs
114 6.4 Other text messages
117 6.7 Updating kepler data
127 9. The DXSpider command set
129 9.1 accept/announce (0)
130 9.2 accept/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
133 9.5 accept/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
135 9.7 accept/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
137 9.9 accept/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
139 9.11 announce full (0)
140 9.12 announce sysop (5)
144 9.16 clear/announce (8)
147 9.19 clear/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
149 9.21 clear/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
151 9.23 clear/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
161 9.33 directory (extended for sysops) (5)
165 9.37 export_users (9)
167 9.39 forward/latlong (8)
168 9.40 forward/opername (1)
174 9.46 kill/expunge (6)
176 9.48 load/aliases (9)
178 9.50 load/badwords (9)
180 9.52 load/cmd_cache (9)
181 9.53 load/forward (9)
182 9.54 load/messages (9)
183 9.55 load/prefixes (9)
190 9.62 read (extended for sysops) (5)
192 9.64 reject/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
193 9.65 reject/route (8)
194 9.66 reject/spots (0)
195 9.67 reject/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
197 9.69 reject/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
199 9.71 reject/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
203 9.75 set/announce (0)
204 9.76 set/arcluster (5)
207 9.79 set/badspotter (8)
219 9.91 set/homenode (0)
222 9.94 set/language (0)
223 9.95 set/location (0)
224 9.96 set/sys_location (9)
225 9.97 set/logininfo (0)
229 9.101 set/obscount (9)
231 9.103 set/password (0)
232 9.104 set/password (9)
233 9.105 set/pinginterval (9)
234 9.106 set/privilege (9)
236 9.108 set/sys_qra (9)
239 9.111 set/register (9)
245 9.117 show/badnode (6)
246 9.118 show/badspotter (1)
247 9.119 show/badword (1)
248 9.120 show/configuration (0)
249 9.121 show/configuration/node (0)
250 9.122 show/connect (1)
257 9.129 show/filter (0)
258 9.130 show/filter (extended for sysops) (5)
259 9.131 show/hfstats (0)
260 9.132 show/hftable (0)
262 9.134 show/isolate (1)
263 9.135 show/lockout (9)
267 9.139 show/newconfiguration (0)
268 9.140 show/newconfiguration/node (0)
270 9.142 show/prefix (0)
271 9.143 show/program (5)
274 9.146 show/registered (9)
276 9.148 show/satellite (0)
279 9.151 show/vhfstats (0)
280 9.152 show/vhftable (0)
286 9.158 stat/channel (5)
288 9.160 stat/route_node (5)
289 9.161 stat/route_user (5)
296 9.168 wx (enhanced for sysops) (5)
299 ______________________________________________________________________
301 1. Routing and Filtering
305 From DXSpider version 1.48, major changes were introduced to the way
306 node connections are treated. This is part of an ongoing process to
307 remove problems with loops and to enable talk and other functions to
308 propagate across the whole of the worldwide cluster network. In fact,
309 in a Spider network, it would be useful, perhaps even necessary to
310 have loops. This would give real resilience to the network, meaning
311 that if a link dropped, the information flow would simply come in and
312 go out via a different route. Of course, we do not have a complete
313 network of Spider nodes, there are other programs out there. Some of
314 these do not have any protection from loops. Certainly AK1A does not
315 handle loops well at all. It is therefore necessary to have some form
316 of protection for these nodes.
319 In fact DXSpider has had a simple system for some time which is called
320 isolation. This is similar to what in other systems such as clx, is
321 called passive mode. A more detailed explanation of isolation is given
322 further below. This system is still available and, for simple
323 networks, is probably all that you need.
326 The new functionality introduced in version 1.48 allows filtering the
327 node and user protocol frames on a "per interface" basis. We call this
328 route filtering. This is used instead of isolation.
331 What this really means is that you can control more or less completely
332 which user and node management PC protocol frames pass to each of your
333 partner nodes. You can also limit what comes into your node from your
334 partners. It is even possible to control the settings that your
335 partner node has for the routing information that it sends to you
336 (using the rcmd command).
341 Initially when route filters were being tested we generated a
342 "default" filter. Unfortunately it quickly became apparent that this
343 might suit the UK cluster network but didn't really fit anybody else.
344 However using a default filter is an appropriate thing to do. How, is
345 explained further on.
348 The first thing that you must do is determine whether you need to use
349 route filtering at all. If you are a "normal" node with two or three
350 partners and you arranged in an "official" non-looping tree type
351 network, then you do not need to do route filtering and you will feel
352 a lot better for not getting involved. If you are successfully using
353 isolation then you also probably don't need to use route filtering.
356 To put it simply, you should not mix Isolation and Route Filtering.
357 It will work, of sorts, but you will not get the expected results. If
358 you are using Isolation sucessfully at the moment, do not get involved
359 in Route Filtering unless you have a good supply of aspirin! Once you
360 have started down the road of Route Filtering, do not use Isolation
361 either. Use one or the other, not both.
364 You will only require this functionality if you are "well-connected".
365 What that means is that you are connected to several different parts
366 of (say) the EU cluster and, at the same time, also connected to two
367 or three places in the US which, in turn are connected back to the EU.
368 This is called a "loop" and if you are seriously looped then you need
372 I should at this stage give a little bit of background on filters.
373 All the filters in Spider work in basically the same way. You can
374 either accept or reject various options in order to create the filter
375 rules you wish to achieve. Some filters are user settable, others can
376 only be altered by the sysop. Route filtering can only be done by the
381 Anyway, without further discouragement, let me start the process of
385 1.3. The node_default filter
387 All normal systems should have a default routing filter and it should
388 usually be set to send only the normal, unlooped, view of your
389 "national" network. Here in the UK that means nodes from the UK and
390 Eire, in EU it is more complex as the networks there grew up in a more
395 The generic commands are:-
397 reject/route node_default <filter_option>
401 accept/route node_default <filter_option>
406 where filter_option is one of the following ...
415 channel_dxcc <numbers>
416 channel_itu <numbers>
417 channel_zone <numbers>
422 Please be careful if you alter this setting, it will affect ALL your
423 links! Remember, this is a default filter for node connections, not a
427 For the default routing filter then you have two real choices: either
428 a "national" view or the "safe" option of only your own callsign.
429 Examples of each (for my node: GB7DJK) are:-
433 acc/route node_default call_dxcc 61,38
434 acc/route node_default call gb7djk
439 GB7DJK uses the first of these. The DXCC countries can be obtained
440 from the show/prefix command.
443 The example filters shown control output TO all your partner nodes
444 unless they have a specific filter applied to them (see next section).
447 It is also possible to control the incoming routing information that
448 you are prepared to accept FROM your partner nodes. The reason this is
449 necessary is to make sure that stuff like mail, pings and similar
450 commands a) go down the correct links and b) don't loop around
451 excessively. Again using GB7DJK as an example a typical default input
452 filter would be something like:
456 rej/route node_default input call_dxcc 61,38 and not channel_dxcc 61,38
461 What this does is accept node and user information for our national
462 network from nodes that are in our national network, but rejects such
463 information from anyone else. Although it doesn't explicitly say so,
464 by implication, any other node information (not from the UK and Eire)
468 As I imagine it will take a little while to get one's head around all
469 of this you can study the effect of any rules that you try by watching
470 the debug output after having done:-
479 After you have got tired of that, to put it back the way it was:-
489 1.4. General route filtering
491 Exactly the same rules apply for general route filtering. You would
492 use either an accept filter or a reject filter like this ...
496 reject/route <node_call> <filter_option>
500 accept/route <node_call> <filter_option>
506 Here are some examples of route filters ...
510 rej/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (send everything except UK+EIRE nodes)
511 rej/route all (equiv to [very] restricted mode)
512 acc/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (send only UK+EIRE nodes)
513 acc/route gb7djk call gb7djk (equiv to SET/ISOLATE)
518 In practice you will either be opening the default filter out for a
519 partner by defining a specific filter for that callsign:-
524 acc/route gb7baa input all
529 or restricting it quite a lot, in fact making it very nearly like an
530 isolated node, like this:-
534 acc/route pi4ehv-8 call gb7djk
535 rej/route pi4ehv-8 input call_dxcc 61,38
540 This last example takes everything except UK and Eire from PI4EHV-8
541 but only sends him my local configuration (just a PC19 for GB7DJK and
542 PC16s for my local users).
545 It is possible to write much more complex rules, there are up to 10
546 accept/reject pairs per callsign per filter. For more information see
551 1.5. General filter rules
553 Upto v1.44 it was not possible for the user to set their own filters.
554 From v1.45 though that has all changed. It is now possible to set
555 filters for just about anything you wish. If you have just updated
556 from an older version of DXSpider you will need to update your new
557 filters. You do not need to do anything with your old filters, they
558 will be renamed as you update.
561 There are 3 basic commands involved in setting and manipulating
562 filters. These are accept, reject and clear. First we will look
563 generally at filtering. There are a number of things you can filter in
564 the DXSpider system. They all use the same general mechanism.
567 In general terms you can create a "reject" or an "accept" filter which
568 can have up to 10 lines in it. You do this using, for example ...
579 where ..... are the specific commands for that type of filter. There
580 are filters for spots, wwv, announce, wcy and (for sysops) connects.
581 See each different accept or reject command reference for more
584 There is also a command to clear out one or more lines in a filter.
595 There is clear/xxxx command for each type of filter.
598 and you can check that your filters have worked by the command ...
609 For now we are going to use spots for the examples, but you can apply
610 the same principles to all types of filter.
615 There are two main types of filter, accept or reject. You can use
616 either to achieve the result you want dependent on your own preference
617 and which is more simple to do. It is pointless writing 8 lines of
618 reject filters when 1 accept filter would do the same thing! Each
619 filter has 10 lines (of any length) which are tried in order. If a
620 line matches then the action you have specified is taken (ie reject
621 means ignore it and accept means take it)
624 If you specify reject filters, then any lines that arrive that match
625 the filter will be dumped but all else will be accepted. If you use
626 an accept filter, then ONLY the lines in the filter will be accepted
627 and all else will be dumped. For example if you have a single line
632 accept/spots on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
637 then you will ONLY get VHF spots from or to CQ zones 14, 15 and 16.
640 If you set a reject filter like this ...
644 reject/spots on hf/cw
649 Then you will get everything EXCEPT HF CW spots. You could make this
650 single filter even more flexible. For example, if you are interested
651 in IOTA and will work it even on CW even though normally you are not
652 interested in CW, then you could say ...
656 reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota
661 But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say:-
665 accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota
670 which achieves exactly the same thing. You should choose one or the
671 other until you are comfortable with the way it works. You can mix
672 them if you wish (actually you can have an accept AND a reject on the
673 same line) but don't attempt this until you are sure you know what you
677 You can arrange your filter lines into logical units, either for your
678 own understanding or simply convenience. Here is an example ...
682 reject/spots 1 on hf/cw
683 reject/spots 2 on 50000/1400000 not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
688 What this does is to ignore all HF CW spots and also rejects any spots
689 on VHF which don't either originate or spot someone in Europe.
692 This is an example where you would use a line number (1 and 2 in this
693 case), if you leave the digit out, the system assumes '1'. Digits
694 '0'-'9' are available. This make it easier to see just what filters
695 you have set. It also makes it more simple to remove individual
696 filters, during a contest for example.
699 You will notice in the above example that the second line has
700 brackets. Look at the line logically. You can see there are 2
701 separate sections to it. We are saying reject spots that are VHF or
702 above APART from those in zones 14, 15 and 16 (either spotted there or
703 originated there). If you did not have the brackets to separate the 2
704 sections, then Spider would read it logically from the front and see a
705 different expression entirely ...
709 (on 50000/1400000 and by_zone 14,15,16) or call_zone 14,15,16
714 The simple way to remember this is, if you use OR - use brackets.
715 Whilst we are here CASE is not important. 'And BY_Zone' is just the
716 same as 'and by_zone'.
718 As mentioned earlier, setting several filters can be more flexible
719 than simply setting one complex one. Doing it in this way means that
720 if you want to alter your filter you can just redefine or remove one
721 or more lines of it or one line. For example ...
725 reject/spots 1 on hf/ssb
727 would redefine our earlier example, or
736 To remove all the filter lines in the spot filter ...
748 You can filter in several different ways. The options are listed in
749 the various helpfiles for accept, reject and filter.
754 Sometimes all that is needed is a general rule for node connects.
755 This can be done with a node_default filter. This rule will always be
756 followed, even if the link is isolated, unless another filter is set
757 specifically. Default rules can be set for nodes and users. They can
758 be set for spots, announces, WWV and WCY. They can also be used for
759 hops. An example might look like this ...
763 accept/spot node_default by_zone 14,15,16,20,33
764 set/hops node_default spot 50
769 This filter is for spots only, you could set others for announce, WWV
770 and WCY. This filter would work for ALL nodes unless a specific
771 filter is written to override it for a particular node. You can also
772 set a user_default should you require. It is important to note that
773 default filters should be considered to be "connected". By this I
774 mean that should you override the default filter for spots, you need
775 to add a rule for the hops for spots also.
778 1.9. Advanced filtering
780 Once you are happy with the results you get, you may like to
784 The previous example that filters hf/cw spots and accepts vhf/uhf
785 spots from EU can be written with a mixed filter, for example ...
791 acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
793 Note that the first filter has not been specified with a number. This
794 will automatically be assumed to be number 1. In this case, we have
795 said reject all HF spots in the CW section of the bands but accept all
796 others at HF. Also accept anything in VHF and above spotted in or by
797 operators in the zones 14, 15 and 16. Each filter slot actually has a
798 'reject' slot and an 'accept' slot. The reject slot is executed BEFORE
802 It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match,
803 the default for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for
804 'accept'. In the example what happens is that the reject is executed
805 first, any non hf/cw spot is passed to the accept line, which lets
806 through everything else on HF. The next filter line lets through just
807 VHF/UHF spots from EU.
810 1.10. Basic hop control
812 In /spider/data you will find a file called hop_table.pl. This is the
813 file that controls your hop count settings. It has a set of default
814 hops on the various PC frames and also a set for each node you want to
815 alter the hops for. You may be happy with the default settings of
816 course, but this powerful tool can help to protect and improve the
817 network. The file will look something like this ...
860 # hop table construction
865 # default hopcount to use
868 # some variable hop counts based on message type
879 # the per node hop control thingy
913 Each set of hops is contained within a pair of curly braces and
914 contains a series of PC frame types. PC11 for example is a DX spot.
915 The figures here are not exhaustive but should give you a good idea of
919 You can alter this file at any time, including whilst the cluster is
920 running. If you alter the file during runtime, the command load/hops
921 will bring your changes into effect.
925 1.11. Hop Control on Specific Nodes
927 You can set a callsign specific hop count for any of the standard
932 set/hops gb7djk spot 4
933 set/hops node_default route 10
934 set/hops gb7baa wcy 5
939 all work on their specific area of the protocol.
942 The set/hops command overrides any hops that you have set otherwise.
945 You can set what hops have been set using the show/hops command.
948 1.12. Isolating networks
950 It is possible to isolate networks from each other on a "gateway" node
951 using the set/isolate <node_call> command.
954 The effect of this is to partition an isolated network completely from
955 another node connected to your node. Your node will appear on and
956 otherwise behave normally on every network to which you are connected,
957 but data from an isolated network will not cross onto any other
958 network or vice versa. However all the spot, announce and WWV traffic
959 and personal messages will still be handled locally (because you are a
960 real node on all connected networks), that is locally connected users
961 will appear on all networks and will be able to access and receive
962 information from all networks transparently. All routed messages will
963 be sent as normal, so if a user on one network knows that you are a
964 gateway for another network, he can still still send a talk/announce
965 etc message via your node and it will be routed across.
968 If you use isolate on a node connection you will continue to receive
969 all information from the isolated partner, however you will not pass
970 any information back to the isolated node. There are times when you
971 would like to forward only spots across a link (maybe during a contest
972 for example). To do this, isolate the node in the normal way and use
973 an acc/spot >call< all filter to override the isolate.
980 In the /spider/msg directory you will find a file called
981 badmsg.pl.issue. Rename this to badmsg.pl and edit the file. The
982 original looks something like this ....
991 # the list of regexes for messages that we won't store having
992 # received them (bear in mind that we must receive them fully before
996 # The format of each line is as follows
998 # type source pattern
999 # P/B/F T/F/O/S regex
1001 # type: P - private, B - bulletin (msg), F - file (ak1a bull)
1002 # source: T - to field, F - from field, O - origin, S - subject
1003 # pattern: a perl regex on the field requested
1005 # Currently only type B and P msgs are affected by this code.
1007 # The list is read from the top down, the first pattern that matches
1008 # causes the action to be taken.
1010 # The pattern can be undef or 0 in which case it will always be selected
1011 # for the action specified
1024 I think this is fairly self explanatory. It is simply a list of
1025 subject headers that we do not want to pass on to either the users of
1026 the cluster or the other cluster nodes that we are linked to. This is
1027 usually because of rules and regulations pertaining to items for sale
1028 etc in a particular country.
1032 2.2. Filtering words from text fields in Announce, Talk and DX spots
1034 From version 1.48 onwards the interface to this has changed. You can
1035 now use the commands set/badword to add words that you are not
1036 prepared to see on the cluster, unset/badword to allow that word again
1037 and show/badword to list the words that you have set.
1040 If you have a previous /spider/data/badwords, the first time you start
1041 the node, it will read and convert this file to the new commands. The
1042 old style file will then be removed.
1045 2.3. Stopping (possibly bad) DX Spots from Nodes or Spotters
1048 There are a number of commands that control whether a spot progresses
1049 any further by regarding it as "bad" in some way.
1052 A DX Spot has a number of fields which can be checked to see whether
1053 they contain "bad" values, they are: the DX callsign itself, the
1054 Spotter and the Originating Node.
1057 There are a set of commands which allow the sysop to control whether a
1069 These work in the same as the set/badword command, you can add any
1070 words or callsigns or whatever to the appropriate database. For
1071 example, to stop a spot from a particular node you do:
1075 set/badnode gb7djk gb7dxc
1084 set/badspotter b0mb p1rat nocall
1093 set/baddx video wsjt
1098 You can remove a word using the appropriate unset command
1099 (unset/baddx, unset/badspotter, unset/badnode) or list them using one
1100 of show/baddx, show/badspotter and show/badnode.
1105 DXSpider deals seamlessly with standard AK1A type mail. It supports
1106 both personal and bulletin mail and the sysop has additional commands
1107 to ensure that mail gets to where it is meant. DXSpider will send
1108 mail almost immediately, assuming that the target is on line.
1109 However, only one mail message is dealt with at any one time. If a
1110 mail message is already being sent or recieved, then the new message
1111 will be queued until it has finished.
1113 The cluster mail is automatically deleted after 30 days unless the
1114 sysop sets the "keep" flag using the msg command.
1119 Personal mail is sent using the sp command. This is actually the
1120 default method of sending mail and so a simple s for send will do. A
1121 full list of the send commands and options is in the command set
1122 section, so I will not duplicate them here.
1125 Bulletin mail is sent by using the sb command. This is one of the
1126 most common mistakes users make when sending mail. They send a
1127 bulletin mail with s or sp instead of sb and of course the message
1128 never leaves the cluster. This can be rectified by the sysop by using
1132 Bulletin addresses can be set using the Forward.pl file.
1137 DXSpider receives all and any mail sent to it without any alterations
1138 needed in files. Because personal and bulletin mail are treated
1139 differently, there is no need for a list of accepted bulletin
1140 addresses. It is necessary, however, to tell the program which links
1141 accept which bulletins. For example, it is pointless sending
1142 bulletins addresses to "UK" to any links other than UK ones. The file
1143 that does this is called forward.pl and lives in /spider/msg. At
1144 default, like other spider files it is named forward.pl.issue. Rename
1145 it to forward.pl and edit the file to match your requirements. The
1151 # this is an example message forwarding file for the system
1153 # The format of each line is as follows
1155 # type to/from/at pattern action destinations
1156 # P/B/F T/F/A regex I/F [ call [, call ...] ]
1158 # type: P - private, B - bulletin (msg), F - file (ak1a bull)
1159 # to/from/at: T - to field, F - from field, A - home bbs, O - origin
1160 # pattern: a perl regex on the field requested
1161 # action: I - ignore, F - forward
1162 # destinations: a reference to an array containing node callsigns
1164 # if it is non-private and isn't in here then it won't get forwarded
1166 # Currently only type B msgs are affected by this code.
1168 # The list is read from the top down, the first pattern that matches
1169 # causes the action to be taken.
1171 # The pattern can be undef or 0 in which case it will always be selected
1172 # for the action specified
1174 # If the BBS list is undef or 0 and the action is 'F' (and it matches the
1175 # pattern) then it will always be forwarded to every node that doesn't have
1176 # it (I strongly recommend you don't use this unless you REALLY mean it, if
1177 # you allow a new link with this on EVERY bull will be forwarded immediately
1178 # on first connection)
1189 Simply insert a bulletin address and state in the brackets where you
1190 wish that mail to go. For example, you can see here that mail sent to
1191 "UK" will only be sent to the UK links and not to PA4AB-14.
1194 To force the cluster to reread the file use load/forward
1198 3.4. The msg command
1200 The msg command is a very powerful and flexible tool for the sysop.
1201 It allows the sysop to alter to and from fields and make other changes
1202 to manage the cluster mail.
1204 Here is a full list of the various options ...
1208 MSG TO <msgno> <call> - change TO callsign to <call>
1209 MSG FRom <msgno> <call> - change FROM callsign to <call>
1210 MSG PRrivate <msgno> - set private flag
1211 MSG NOPRrivate <msgno> - unset private flag
1212 MSG RR <msgno> - set RR flag
1213 MSG NORR <msgno> - unset RR flag
1214 MSG KEep <msgno> - set the keep flag (message won't be deleted ever)
1215 MSG NOKEep <msgno> - unset the keep flag
1216 MSG SUbject <msgno> <new> - change the subject to <new>
1217 MSG WAittime <msgno> - remove any waiting time for this message
1218 MSG NOREad <msgno> - mark message as unread
1219 MSG REad <msgno> - mark message as read
1220 MSG QUeue - queue any outstanding bulletins
1221 MSG QUeue 1 - queue any outstanding private messages
1226 These commands are simply typed from within the cluster as the sysop
1232 You can check on a message from within the cluster by using the
1233 command stat/msg. This will give you additional information on the
1234 message number including which nodes have received it, which node it
1235 was received from and when etc. Here is an example of the output of
1240 G0VGS de GB7MBC 28-Jan-2001 1308Z >
1243 Msg Time: 26-Jan-2001 1302Z
1247 Subject: AMSAT 2line KEPS 01025.AMSAT
1249 Got it Nodes: GB7BAA, GB7ADX
1253 G0VGS de GB7MBC 28-Jan-2001 1308Z >
1257 This is described in the section on Other filters so I will not
1261 3.7. Distribution lists
1263 Distribution lists are simply a list of users to send certain types of
1264 mail to. An example of this is mail you only wish to send to other
1265 sysops. In /spider/msg there is a directory called distro. You put
1266 any distibution lists in here. For example, here is a file called
1267 SYSOP.pl that caters for the UK sysops.
1271 qw(GB7TLH GB7DJK GB7DXM GB7CDX GB7BPQ GB7DXN GB7MBC GB7MBC-6 GB7MDX
1272 GB7NDX GB7SDX GB7TDX GB7UDX GB7YDX GB7ADX GB7BAA GB7DXA GB7DXH
1273 GB7DXK GB7DXI GB7DXS)
1278 Any mail sent to "sysop" would only be sent to the callsigns in this
1284 Spider provides a simple BBS interface. No input is required from the
1285 sysop of the cluster at all. The BBS simply sets the cluster as a BBS
1286 and pushes any required mail to the cluster. No mail can flow from
1287 Spider to the BBS, the interface is one-way.
1290 Please be careful not to flood the cluster network with unnecessary
1291 mail. Make sure you only send mail to the clusters that want it by
1292 using the Forward.pl file very carefully.
1297 From 1.48 onwards it will become increasingly possible to control
1298 DXSpider's operation with scripts of various kinds.
1301 The directory /spider/scripts is where it all happens and is used for
1302 several things. Firstly it contains a file called startup that can be
1303 used to call in any changes to the cluster from the default settings
1304 on startup. This script is executed immediately after all
1305 initialisation of the node is done but before any connections are
1306 possible. Examples of this include how many spots it is possible to
1307 get with the sh/dx command, whether you want registration/passwords to
1308 be permanently on etc. An example file is shown below and is included
1309 in the distribution as startup.issue.
1322 # startup script example
1324 # set maximum no of spots allowed to 100
1325 # set/var $Spot::maxspots = 1
1327 # Set registration on
1328 # set/var $main::reqreg = 1
1331 # set/var $main::passwdreq = 1
1338 As usual, any text behind a # is treated as a comment and not read.
1340 Secondly, it is used to store the login scripts for users and nodes.
1341 Currently this can only be done by the sysop but it is envisaged that
1342 eventually users will be able to set their own. An example is
1343 included in the distibution but here is a further example.
1361 The lines in between commands can simply insert a blank line or a
1362 character such as a + sign to make the output easier to read. Simply
1363 create this script with your favourite editor and save it with the
1364 callsign of the user as the filename. Filenames should always be in
1368 Commands can be inserted in the same way for nodes. A node may wish a
1369 series of commands to be issued on login, such as a merge command for
1373 Thirdly, there are 2 default scripts for users and nodes who do not
1374 have a specifically defined script. These are user_default and
1380 Spider allows the creation of local or remote databases. It supports
1381 chained databases, allowing several different databases to be scanned
1382 with one simple command. Importing of databases is limited at present
1383 to the standard AK1A databases such as OBLAST and the DB0SDX QSL
1384 database but will expand with time.
1387 5.1. Creating databases
1389 Creating a database could not be more simple. All the commands are
1390 sent from the cluster prompt as the sysop user.
1392 To create a database you use the command dbcreate. It can be used in
1393 3 different ways like so ..
1402 To simply create a database locally, you just tell the command the
1403 name of the database. This does not create the actual database, it
1404 simply defines it to say that it exists.
1408 dbcreate <name> chain <name> [<name>...]
1413 This creates a chained database entry. The first database will be
1414 scanned, then the second, the third etc...
1418 dbcreate <name> remote <name>
1423 This creates a remote entry. the first name field is the database
1424 name at the remote node, then the remote switch, then the actual
1425 node_call of the remote node, for example...
1429 dbcreate buckmaster remote gb7dxc
1434 Remote databases cannot be chained, however, the last database in a
1435 chain can be a remote database.
1438 5.2. Importing databases
1440 The only databases that Spider can currently import are the standard
1441 AK1A databases such as OBLAST or the DB0SDX qsl and address database.
1442 This will be added to with time.
1444 To import such a database, first put the file somewhere useful like
1445 /tmp and then issue the following command ...
1449 dbimport oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL
1453 This will update the existing local oblast database or create it if it
1457 5.3. Checking available databases
1459 Once a database is created, you will want to check that it has been
1460 added. To do this use the dbavail command. This will output the
1461 available databases. For example ...
1466 DB Name Location Chain
1470 G0VGS de GB7MBC 3-Feb-2001 1925Z >
1476 5.4. Looking up databases
1478 To look for information in a defined database, simply use the dbshow
1479 command, for example ...
1483 dbshow buckmaster G0YLM
1488 will show the information for the callsign G0YLM from the buckmaster
1489 database if it exists. To make things more standard for the users you
1490 can add an entry in the Aliases file so that it looks like a standard
1491 show command like this ...
1499 Now you can simply use show/buckmaster or an abreviation.
1502 5.5. Removing databases
1504 To delete an existing database you use the dbremove command. For
1514 would remove the oblast database and its associated datafile from the
1515 system. There are no warnings or recovery possible from this command.
1516 If you remove a database it ceases to exist and would have to be
1517 created from scratch if you still required it.
1519 6. Information, files and useful programs
1523 One of the more important things a cluster sysop needs to do is to get
1524 information to his users. The simplest way to do this is to have a
1525 banner that is sent to the user on login. This is know as a "message
1526 of the day" or "motd". To set this up, simply create a file in
1527 /spider/data called motd and edit it to say whatever you want. It is
1528 purely a text file and will be sent automatically to anyone logging in
1534 This message of the day file lives in the same directory as the
1535 standard motd file but is only sent to non-registered users. Once
1536 registered they will receive the same message as any other user.
1539 6.3. Downtime message
1541 If for any reason the cluster is down, maybe for upgrade or
1542 maintenance but the machine is still running, a message can be sent to
1543 the user advising them of the fact. This message lives in the
1544 /spider/data directory and is called "offline". Simply create the
1545 file and edit it to say whatever you wish. This file will be sent to
1546 a user attempting to log into the cluster when DXSpider is not
1550 6.4. Other text messages
1552 You can set other text messages to be read by the user if they input
1553 the file name. This could be for news items or maybe information for
1554 new users. To set this up, make a directory under /spider called
1555 packclus. Under this directory you can create files called news or
1556 newuser for example. In fact you can create files with any names you
1557 like. These can be listed by the user with the command ....
1566 They can be read by the user by typing the command ....
1575 If the file they want to read is called news. You could also set an
1576 alias for this in the Alias file to allow them just to type news
1579 You can also store other information in this directory, either
1580 directly or nested under directories. One use for this would be to
1581 store DX bulletins such as the OPDX bulletins. These can be listed
1582 and read by the user. To keep things tidy, make a directory under
1583 /spider/packclus called bulletin. Now copy any OPDX or similar
1584 bulletins into it. These can be listed by the user in the same way as
1585 above using the show/files command with an extension for the bulletin
1586 directory you have just created, like this ....
1596 An example would look like this ....
1601 bulletin DIR 20-Dec-1999 1715Z news 1602 14-Dec-1999 1330Z
1606 You can see that in the files area (basically the packclus directory)
1607 there is a file called news and a directory called bulletin. You can
1608 also see that dates they were created. In the case of the file news,
1609 you can also see the time it was last modified, a good clue as to
1610 whether the file has been updated since you last read it. To read the
1611 file called news you would simply issue the command ....
1620 To look what is in the bulletin directory you issue the command ....
1625 opdx390 21381 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx390.1 1670 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1626 opdx390.2 2193 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx391 25045 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1627 opdx392 35969 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx393 15023 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1628 opdx394 33429 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx394.1 3116 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1629 opdx395 24319 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396 32647 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1630 opdx396.1 5537 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396.2 6242 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1631 opdx397 18433 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx398 19961 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1632 opdx399 17719 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx400 19600 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1633 opdx401 27738 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx402 18698 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1634 opdx403 24994 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx404 15685 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1635 opdx405 13984 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx405.1 4166 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1636 opdx406 28934 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx407 24153 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1637 opdx408 15081 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx409 23234 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1638 Press Enter to continue, A to abort (16 lines) >
1643 You can now read any file in this directory using the type command,
1651 type bulletin/opdx391
1652 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 391
1653 The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
1657 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
1658 Provided by BARF-80 BBS Cleveland, Ohio
1659 Online at 440-237-8208 28.8k-1200 Baud 8/N/1 (New Area Code!)
1660 Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX
1661 Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, K1XN & Golist, WB2RAJ/WB2YQH
1662 & The 59(9) DXReport, W3UR & The Daily DX, K3TEJ, KN4UG, W4DC, NC6J, N6HR,
1663 Press Enter to continue, A to abort (508 lines) >
1668 The page length will of course depend on what you have it set to!
1671 6.5. The Aliases file
1673 You will find a file in /spider/cmd/ called Aliases. First, copy this
1674 file to /spider/local_cmd/Aliases and edit this file. You will see
1675 something like this ...
1719 # provide some standard aliases for commands for terminally
1720 # helpless ak1a user (helpless in the sense that they never
1721 # read nor understand help files)
1723 # This file is automagically reloaded if its modification time is
1724 # later than the one stored in CmdAlias.pm
1726 # PLEASE make this file consistant with reality! (the patterns MUST
1727 # match the filenames!)
1729 # Don't alter this file, copy it into the local_cmd tree and modify it.
1730 # This file will be replaced everytime I issue a new release.
1732 # You only need to put aliases in here for commands that don't work as
1733 # you desire naturally, e.g sh/dx on its own just works as you expect
1734 # so you need not add it as an alias.
1742 '^\?', 'apropos', 'apropos',
1745 '^ann.*/full', 'announce full', 'announce',
1746 '^ann.*/sysop', 'announce sysop', 'announce',
1747 '^ann.*/(.*)$', 'announce $1', 'announce',
1754 '^del', 'kill', 'kill',
1755 '^del\w*/fu', 'kill full', 'kill',
1756 '^di\w*/a\w*', 'directory all', 'directory',
1757 '^di\w*/b\w*', 'directory bulletins', 'directory',
1758 '^di\w*/n\w*', 'directory new', 'directory',
1759 '^di\w*/o\w*', 'directory own', 'directory',
1760 '^di\w*/s\w*', 'directory subject', 'directory',
1761 '^di\w*/t\w*', 'directory to', 'directory',
1762 '^di\w*/f\w*', 'directory from', 'directory',
1763 '^di\w*/(\d+)', 'directory $1', 'directory',
1780 '^l$', 'directory', 'directory',
1781 '^ll$', 'directory', 'directory',
1782 '^ll/(\d+)', 'directory $1', 'directory',
1787 '^news', 'type news', 'type',
1797 '^r$', 'read', 'read',
1798 '^rcmd/(\S+)', 'rcmd $1', 'rcmd',
1801 '^s/p$', 'send', 'send',
1802 '^sb$', 'send noprivate', 'send',
1803 '^set/home$', 'set/homenode', 'set/homenode',
1804 '^set/nobe', 'unset/beep', 'unset/beep',
1805 '^set/nohe', 'unset/here', 'unset/here',
1806 '^set/noan', 'unset/announce', 'unset/announce',
1807 '^set/nodx', 'unset/dx', 'unset/dx',
1808 '^set/nota', 'unset/talk', 'unset/talk',
1809 '^set/noww', 'unset/wwv', 'unset/wwv',
1810 '^set/nowx', 'unset/wx', 'unset/wx',
1811 '^sh$', 'show', 'show',
1812 '^sh\w*/buck', 'dbshow buck', 'dbshow',
1813 '^sh\w*/bu', 'show/files bulletins', 'show/files',
1814 '^sh\w*/c/n', 'show/configuration nodes', 'show/configuration',
1815 '^sh\w*/c$', 'show/configuration', 'show/configuration',
1816 '^sh\w*/com', 'dbavail', 'dbavail',
1817 '^sh\w*/dx/(\d+)-(\d+)', 'show/dx $1-$2', 'show/dx',
1818 '^sh\w*/dx/(\d+)', 'show/dx $1', 'show/dx',
1819 '^sh\w*/dx/d(\d+)', 'show/dx from $1', 'show/dx',
1820 '^sh\w*/email', 'dbshow email', 'dbshow',
1821 '^sh\w*/hftest', 'dbshow hftest', 'dbshow',
1822 '^sh\w*/vhftest', 'dbshow vhftest', 'dbshow',
1823 '^sh\w*/qsl', 'dbshow qsl', 'dbshow',
1824 '^sh\w*/tnc', 'who', 'who',
1825 '^sh\w*/up', 'show/cluster', 'show/cluster',
1826 '^sh\w*/w\w*/(\d+)-(\d+)', 'show/wwv $1-$2', 'show/wwv',
1827 '^sh\w*/w\w*/(\d+)', 'show/wwv $1', 'show/wwv',
1828 '^sp$', 'send', 'send',
1832 '^ta$', 'talk', 'talk',
1833 '^t$', 'talk', 'talk',
1840 '^wx/full', 'wx full', 'wx',
1841 '^wx/sysop', 'wx sysop', 'wx',
1854 You can create aliases for commands at will. Beware though, these may
1855 not always turn out as you think. Care is needed and you need to test
1856 the results once you have set an alias.
1861 In later versions of Spider a simple console program is provided for
1862 the sysop. This has a type ahead buffer with line editing facilities
1863 and colour for spots, announces etc. To use this program, simply use
1864 console.pl instead of client.
1867 To edit the colours, copy /spider/perl/Console.pl to /spider/local and
1868 edit the file with your favourite editor.
1871 6.7. Updating kepler data
1873 Spider has a powerful and flexible show/satellite command. In order
1874 for this to be accurate, the kepler data has to be updated regularly.
1875 In general, this data is available as an email or via cluster mail.
1876 Updating it is simple. First you need to export the mail message as a
1877 file. You do this with the export command from the cluster prompt as
1878 the sysop. For example ...
1882 export 5467 /spider/perl/keps.in
1887 would export message number 5467 as a file called keps.in in the
1888 /spider/perl directory.
1890 Now login to a VT as sysop and cd /spider/perl. There is a command in
1891 the perl directory called convkeps.pl. All we need to do now is
1892 convert the file like so ...
1896 ./convkeps.pl keps.in
1901 Now go back to the cluster and issue the command ...
1910 That is it! the kepler data has been updated.
1915 6.8. The QRZ callbook
1917 The command sh/qrz will only work once you have followed a few simple
1918 steps. First you need to get a user ID and password from qrz.com.
1919 Simply go to the site and create one. Secondly you need to copy the
1920 file /spider/perl/Internet.pm to /spider/local and alter it to match
1921 your user ID and password. You also at this point need to set
1922 $allow=1 to complete the setup. Many thanks to Fred Lloyd, the
1923 proprieter of qrz.com for allowing this access.
1928 From version 1.49 DXSpider has some additional security features.
1929 These are not by any means meant to be exhaustive, however they do
1930 afford some security against piracy. These two new features can be
1931 used independently of each other or in concert to tighten the
1937 The basic principle of registration is simple. If a user is not
1938 registered by the sysop, then they have read-only access to the
1939 cluster. The only thing they can actually send is a talk or a message
1940 to the sysop. In order for them to be able to spot, send announces or
1941 talks etc the sysop must register them with the set/register command,
1951 The user g0vgs can now fully use the cluster. In order to enable
1952 registration, you can issue the command ...
1956 set/var $main::reqreg = 1
1961 Any users that are not registered will now see the motd_nor file
1962 rather than the motd file as discussed in the Information, files and
1963 useful programs section.
1966 Entering this line at the prompt will only last for the time the
1967 cluster is running of course and would not be present on a restart.
1968 To make the change permanent, add the above line to
1969 /spider/scripts/startup. To read more on the startup file, see the
1970 section on Information, files and useful programs.
1973 To unregister a user use unset/register and to show the list of
1974 registered users, use the command show/register.
1979 At the moment, passwords only affect users who login to a DXSpider
1980 cluster node via telnet. If a user requires a password, they can
1981 either set it themselves or have the sysop enter it for them by using
1982 the set/password command. Any users who already have passwords, such
1983 as remote sysops, will be asked for their passwords automatically by
1984 the cluster. Using passwords in this way means that the user has a
1985 choice on whether to have a password or not. To force the use of
1986 passwords at login, issue the command ...
1990 set/var $main::passwdreq = 1
1995 at the cluster prompt. This can also be added to the
1996 /spider/scripts/startup file as above to make the change permanent.
1999 Of course, if you do this you will have to assign a password for each
2000 of your users. If you were asking them to register, it is anticipated
2001 that you would ask them to send you a message both to ask to be
2002 registered and to give you the password they wish to use.
2005 Should a user forget their password, it can be reset by the sysop by
2006 first removing the existing password and then setting a new one like
2011 unset/password g0vgs
2012 set/password g0vgs new_password
2020 CVS stands for "Concurrent Versions System" and the CVS for DXSpider
2021 is held at Sourceforge. This means that it is possible to update your
2022 DXSpider installation to the latest sources by using a few simple
2026 Please be aware that if you update your system using CVS, it is
2027 possible that you could be running code that is very beta and not
2028 fully tested. There is a possibility that it could be unstable.
2031 I am of course assuming that you have a machine with both DXSpider and
2032 Internet access running.
2035 BEFORE YOU EVEN CONSIDER STARTING WITH THIS MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR
2036 ENTIRE SPIDER TREE!!
2039 Assuming you are connected to the Internet, you need to login to the
2040 CVS repository and then update your Spider source. There are several
2041 steps which are listed below ...
2044 First login as the user sysop. Next you need to connect to the CVS
2045 repository. You do this with the command below ...
2047 cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.DXSpider.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/dxspider login
2051 You will get a password prompt. Simply hit return here and your
2052 machine should return to a normal linux prompt.
2055 What happens next depends on whether you have an existing installation
2056 that you want to update with the latest and greatest or whether you
2057 just want to see what is there and/or run it on a new machine for
2060 If you are installing Spider from CVS then change directory to
2063 If you are wanting to update Spider then cd to /tmp
2066 The next step will create a brand new 'spider' directory in your
2070 cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.DXSpider.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/dxspider co spider
2074 This command is all on one line.
2077 Hopefully your screen should show you downloading files. The -z3
2078 simply compresses the download to improve speed. When this has
2079 finished, you will have exactly the same as if you had untarred a full
2080 tarball PLUS some extra directories and files that CVS needs to do the
2084 Now if you are doing a new installation, that's it. Carry on as if
2085 you have just downloaded and untarred the lastest tarball.
2088 If you want to upgrade your current installation then do this ...
2092 tar cvfz /tmp/s.tgz spider
2094 tar xvfzp /tmp/s.tgz
2099 This is assuming you downloaded to the /tmp directory of course.
2102 NOTE: the 'p' on the end of the 'xvfz' is IMPORTANT! It keeps the
2103 permissions correct. YOU WERE LOGGED IN AS THE USER SYSOP WEREN'T
2106 Remember to recompile the C client (cd /spider/src; make)
2109 At this point the files have been upgraded. You can (usually) restart
2110 the cluster in your own time. However, if you attempt to use any new
2111 commands or features expect it to be fatal! At least your cluster
2112 will have been restarted then so it will be too late to worry about
2116 Now the magic part! From now on when you want to update, simply
2117 connect to the Internet and then, as the user sysop ...
2127 and your files will be updated. As above, remember to recompile the
2128 "C" client if it has been updated (CVS will tell you) and restart if
2129 any of the perl scripts have been altered or added, again, CVS will
2133 You will find any changes documented in the /spider/Changes file.
2136 9. The DXSpider command set
2138 Below is a complete list of commands available from the cluster
2139 prompt. Most maintenance tasks are automatic but there are some
2140 commands that are useful for a sysop. These are listed below in
2141 alphabetical order. The number in brackets following the command name
2142 is the permissions level needed to use the command.
2145 9.1. accept/announce (0)
2147 accept/announce [0-9] <pattern> Set an accept filter line for announce
2150 Create an 'accept this announce' line for a filter.
2152 An accept filter line means that if the announce matches this filter
2153 it is passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please
2154 read this to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief
2157 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2161 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
2162 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2164 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2165 origin_itu <numbers>
2166 origin_zone <numbers>
2171 wx 1 filter WX announces
2172 dest <prefixes> eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros)
2180 acc/ann 2 by_zone 14,15,16
2181 (this could be all on one line: acc/ann dest 6MUK or by_zone 14,15,16)
2195 This filter would only allow announces that were posted buy UK
2196 stations. You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything eg:
2205 but this probably for advanced users...
2208 9.2. accept/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
2210 accept/announce <call> [input] [0-9]<pattern> Announce filter sysop
2214 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
2215 the default for nodes and users eg:-
2220 accept/ann input node_default by G,M,2
2221 accept/ann user_default by G,M,2
2227 9.3. accept/route (8)
2229 accept/route <call> [0-9] <pattern> Set an 'accept' filter line for
2233 Create an 'accept this routing PC Protocol' line for a filter.
2236 An accept filter line means that if a PC16/17/19/21/24/41/50 matches
2237 this filter it is passed thru that interface. See HELP FILTERING for
2238 more info. Please read this to understand how filters work - it will
2239 save a lot of grief later on.
2242 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2245 call <prefixes> the callsign of the thingy
2246 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2249 origin <prefixes> really the interface it came in on
2250 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2251 origin_itu <numbers>
2252 origin_zone <numbers>
2262 acc/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (send only UK+EIRE nodes)
2263 acc/route gb7djk call gb7djk (equiv to SET/ISOLATE)
2269 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything eg:
2279 9.4. accept/spots (0)
2281 accept/announce [0-9] <pattern> Set an accept filter line for spots
2284 Create an 'accept this spot' line for a filter.
2287 An accept filter line means that if the spot matches this filter it is
2288 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
2289 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
2291 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2295 freq <range> eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m
2296 on <range> same as 'freq'
2297 call <prefixes> eg: G,PA,HB9
2298 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
2300 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2311 For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in
2312 SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb -
2313 thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 -
2314 this is more efficient than saying simply: freq HF (but don't get too
2322 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2327 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything, eg:
2336 but this probably for advanced users...
2339 9.5. accept/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
2341 accept/spots <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern> Spot filter sysop version
2344 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
2345 the default for nodes and users eg:-
2349 accept/spot db0sue-7 1 by_zone 14,15,16
2350 accept/spot node_default all
2351 set/hops node_default 10
2353 accept/spot user_default by G,M,2
2361 accept/wcy [0-9] <pattern> set an accept WCY filter
2364 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you
2365 can filter on the following fields:-
2377 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2379 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2380 origin_itu <numbers>
2381 origin_zone <numbers>
2391 There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place
2392 and you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want
2395 This command is really provided for future use.
2397 See HELP FILTER for information.
2400 9.7. accept/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
2402 accept/wcy <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern> WCY filter sysop version
2405 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
2406 the default for nodes and users eg:-
2410 accept/wcy node_default all
2411 set/hops node_default 10
2419 accept/wwv [0-9] <pattern> Set an accept WWV filter
2422 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you
2423 can filter on the following fields:-
2427 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2429 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2430 origin_itu <numbers>
2431 origin_zone <numbers>
2443 accept/wwv by_zone 4
2448 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV
2449 broadcasts by stations in the US).
2451 See HELP FILTER for information.
2454 9.9. accept/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
2456 accept/wwv <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern> WWV filter sysop version
2459 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
2460 the default for nodes and users eg:-
2464 accept/wwv db0sue-7 1 by_zone 4
2465 accept/wwv node_default all
2466 set/hops node_default 10
2468 accept/wwv user_default by W,K
2476 announce <text> Send an announcement to local users
2479 Send an announcement to LOCAL users only, where <text> is the text of
2480 the announcement you wish to broadcast. If you do not wish to receive
2481 announces, use the set/noannounce command. Any announces made by a
2482 sysop will override set/noannounce.
2485 9.11. announce full (0)
2487 announce full <text> Send an announcement cluster wide
2490 This command will send your announcement across the whole cluster
2495 9.12. announce sysop (5)
2497 announce sysop <text>
2500 Send an announcement to Sysops only
2505 apropos <string> Search the help database
2509 Search the help database for <string> (it isn't case sensitive), and
2510 print the names of all the commands that may be relevant.
2515 bye Exit from the cluster
2518 This will disconnect you from the cluster
2523 catchup <node_call> All|[<msgno> ...] Mark a message as sent
2526 When you send messages the fact that you have forwarded it to another
2527 node is remembered so that it isn't sent again. When you have a new
2528 partner node and you add their callsign to your /spider/msg/forward.pl
2529 file, all outstanding non-private messages will be forwarded to them.
2530 This may well be ALL the non-private messages. You can prevent this by
2531 using these commmands:-
2536 catchup GB7DJK 300 301 302 303 500-510
2541 and to undo what you have just done:-
2545 uncatchup GB7DJK all
2546 uncatchup GB7DJK 300 301 302 303 500-510
2551 which will arrange for them to be forward candidates again.
2553 Order is not important.
2556 9.16. clear/announce (8)
2558 clear/announce [input] <callsign> [0-9|all] Clear an announce filter
2562 A sysop can clear an input or normal output filter for a user or the
2563 node_default or user_default.
2566 9.17. clear/route (8)
2568 clear/route [input] ^lt;callsign> [0-9|all] Clear a route filter line
2571 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a route filter or
2572 to remove the whole filter.
2575 see CLEAR/SPOTS for a more detailed explanation.
2577 A sysop can clear an input or normal output filter for a user or the
2578 node_default or user_default.
2581 9.18. clear/spots (0)
2583 clear/spots [1|all] Clear a spot filter line
2586 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a spot filter or
2587 to remove the whole filter.
2589 If you have a filter:-
2594 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2608 you will be left with:-
2612 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2626 the filter will be completely removed.
2629 9.19. clear/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
2631 clear/spots [input] <callsign> [0-9|all] Clear a spot filter line
2634 A sysop can clear an input or normal output filter for a user or the
2635 node_default or user_default.
2643 clear/wcy [1|all] Clear a WCY filter line
2646 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a WCY filter or to
2647 remove the whole filter.
2649 see CLEAR/SPOTS for a more detailed explanation.
2652 9.21. clear/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
2654 clear/wcy [input] <callsign> [0-9|all] Clear a WCY filter line
2657 A sysop can clear an input or normal output filter for a user or the
2658 node_default or user_default.
2663 clear/wwv [1|all] Clear a WWV filter line
2666 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a WWV filter or to
2667 remove the whole filter.
2669 see CLEAR/SPOTS for a more detailed explanation.
2672 9.23. clear/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
2674 clear/wwv [input] <callsign> [0-9|all] Clear a WWV filter line
2677 A sysop can clear an input or normal output filter for a user or the
2678 node_default or user_default.
2683 connect <callsign> Start a connection to another DX Cluster
2686 Start a connection process that will culminate in a new connection to
2687 the DX cluster <callsign>. This process creates a new 'client' process
2688 which will use the script in /spider/connect/<callsign> to effect the
2689 'chat' exchange necessary to traverse the network(s) to logon to the
2695 dbavail Show a list of all the databases in the system
2698 The title says it all really, this command lists all the databases
2699 defined in the system. It is also aliased to SHOW/COMMAND.
2704 dbcreate <name> Create a database entry
2705 dbcreate <name> chain <name> [<name>..] Create a chained database
2707 dbcreate <name> remote <node> Create a remote database entry
2710 DBCREATE allows you to define a database in the system. It doesn't
2711 actually create anything, just defines it.
2713 The databases that are created are simple DB_File hash databases, they
2714 are therefore already 'indexed'.
2716 You can define a local database with the first form of the command eg:
2720 You can also chain databases with the addition of the 'chain' keyword.
2721 This will search each database one after the other. A typical example
2724 DBCREATE sdx_qsl chain sql_ad
2726 No checking is done to see if the any of the chained databases exist,
2727 in fact it is usually better to do the above statement first then do
2728 each of the chained databases.
2730 Databases can exist offsite. To define a database that lives on
2733 DBCREATE buckmaster remote gb7dxc
2735 Remote databases cannot be chained; however, the last database in a a
2736 chain can be a remote database eg:
2738 DBCREATE qsl chain gb7dxc
2740 To see what databases have been defined do:
2742 DBAVAIL (or it will have been aliased to SHOW/COMMAND)
2744 It would be normal for you to add an entry into your local Aliases
2745 file to allow people to use the 'SHOW/<dbname>' style syntax. So you
2746 would need to add a line like:-
2753 '^sh\w*/buc', 'dbshow buckmaster', 'dbshow',
2765 to work as they may be used to.
2767 See DBIMPORT for the importing of existing AK1A format data to
2768 databases. See DBSHOW for generic database enquiry
2775 dbimport <dbname> Import AK1A data into a database
2778 If you want to import or update data in bulk to a database you can use
2779 this command. It will either create or update entries into an existing
2780 database. For example:-
2782 DBIMPORT oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL
2784 will import the standard OBLAST database that comes with AK1A into the
2785 oblast database held locally.
2790 dbremove <dbname> Delete a database
2793 DBREMOVE will completely remove a database entry and also delete any
2794 data file that is associated with it.
2796 There is no warning, no comeback, no safety net.
2802 will remove the oblast database from the system and it will also
2803 remove the associated datafile.
2807 There is no warning, no comeback, no safety net.
2809 You have been warned.
2814 dbshow <dbname> <key> Display an entry, if it exists, in a database
2817 This is the generic user interface to the database to the database
2818 system. It is expected that the sysop will add an entry to the local
2819 Aliases file so that users can use the more familiar AK1A style of
2829 but if he hasn't and the database really does exist (use DBAVAIL or
2830 SHOW/COMMAND to find out) you can do the same thing with:
2841 debug Set the cluster program into debug mode
2844 Executing this command will only have an effect if you are running the
2845 cluster in debug mode i.e.
2854 It will interrupt the cluster just after the debug command has
2858 9.31. delete/user (9)
2860 delete/user <callsign> Delete a user from the User Database
2863 This command will completely remove a one or more users from the
2866 There is NO SECOND CHANCE.
2868 It goes without saying that you should use this command CAREFULLY!
2874 directory List messages
2875 directory own List your own messages
2876 directory new List all new messages
2877 directory to <call> List all messages to <call>
2878 directory from <call> List all messages from <call>
2879 directory subject <string> List all messages with <string> in subject
2880 directory <nn> List last <nn> messages
2881 directory <from>-<to> List messages <from> message <to> message
2884 List the messages in the messages directory.
2886 If there is a 'p' one space after the message number then it is a
2887 personal message. If there is a '-' between the message number and the
2889 You can use shell escape characters such as '*' and '?' in the <call>
2892 You can combine some of the various directory commands together eg:-
2898 DIR SUBJECT IOTA 200-250
2903 You can abbreviate all the commands to one letter and use ak1a
2913 9.33. directory (extended for sysops) (5)
2915 Works just like the user command except that sysops can see ALL
2919 9.34. disconnect (8)
2921 disconnect <call> [<call> ...] Disconnect a user or node
2924 Disconnect any <call> connected locally
2929 dx [by <call>] <freq> <call> <remarks> Send a DX spot
2932 This is how you send a DX Spot to other users. You can, in fact, now
2933 enter the <freq> and the <call> either way round.
2944 will all give the same result. You can add some remarks to the end of
2945 the command and they will be added to the spot.
2949 DX FR0G 144600 this is a test
2954 You can credit someone else by saying:-
2958 DX by G1TLH FR0G 144.600 he isn't on the cluster
2963 The <freq> is compared against the available bands set up in the
2964 cluster. See SHOW/BANDS for more information.
2969 export <msgno> <filename> Export a message to a file
2971 Export a message to a file. This command can only be executed on a
2972 local console with a fully privileged user. The file produced will be
2973 in a form ready to be imported back into the cluster by placing it in
2974 the import directory (/spider/msg/import).
2976 This command cannot overwrite an existing file. This is to provide
2977 some measure of security. Any files written will owned by the same
2978 user as the main cluster, otherwise you can put the new files anywhere
2979 the cluster can access. For example:-
2984 9.37. export_users (9)
2986 export_users [<filename>] Export the users database to ascii
2989 Export the users database to a file in ascii format. If no filename is
2990 given then it will export the file to /spider/data/user_asc.
2992 If the file already exists it will be renamed to <filename>.o. In fact
2993 up to 5 generations of the file can be kept each one with an extra 'o'
2996 BE WARNED: this will write to any file you have write access to. No
2997 check is made on the filename (if any) that you specify.
3002 filtering Filtering things in DXSpider
3005 There are a number of things you can filter in the DXSpider system.
3006 They all use the same general mechanism.
3008 In general terms you can create a 'reject' or an 'accept' filter which
3009 can have up to 10 lines in it. You do this using, for example:-
3011 accept/spots ..... reject/spots .....
3013 where ..... are the specific commands for that type of filter. There
3014 are filters for spots, wwv, announce, wcy and (for sysops) connects.
3015 See each different accept or reject command reference for more
3018 There is also a command to clear out one or more lines in a filter and
3019 one to show you what you have set. They are:-
3021 clear/spots 1 clear/spots all
3027 There is clear/xxxx command for each type of filter.
3029 For now we are going to use spots for the examples, but you can apply
3030 the principles to all types of filter.
3032 There are two main types of filter 'accept' or 'reject'; which you use
3033 depends entirely on how you look at the world and what is least
3034 writing to achieve what you want. Each filter has 10 lines (of any
3035 length) which are tried in order. If a line matches then the action
3036 you have specified is taken (ie reject means ignore it and accept
3039 The important thing to remember is that if you specify a 'reject'
3040 filter (all the lines in it say 'reject/spots' (for instance) then if
3041 a spot comes in that doesn't match any of the lines then you will get
3042 it BUT if you specify an 'accept' filter then any spots that don't
3043 match are dumped. For example if I have a one line accept filter:-
3045 accept/spots on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
3047 then automatically you will ONLY get VHF spots from or to CQ zones 14
3048 15 and 16. If you set a reject filter like:
3050 reject/spots on hf/cw
3052 Then you will get everything EXCEPT HF CW spots, If you am interested
3053 in IOTA and will work it even on CW then you could say:-
3055 reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota
3057 But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say:-
3059 accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota
3061 which is exactly the same. You should choose one or the other until
3062 you are confortable with the way it works. Yes, you can mix them
3063 (actually you can have an accept AND a reject on the same line) but
3064 don't try this at home until you can analyse the results that you get
3065 without ringing up the sysop for help.
3067 You can arrange your filter lines into logical units, either for your
3068 own understanding or simply convenience. I have one set frequently:-
3070 reject/spots 1 on hf/cw reject/spots 2 on 50000/1400000 not (by_zone
3071 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
3073 What this does is to ignore all HF CW spots (being a class B I can't
3074 read any CW and couldn't possibly be interested in HF :-) and also
3075 rejects any spots on VHF which don't either originate or spot someone
3078 This is an exmaple where you would use the line number (1 and 2 in
3079 this case), if you leave the digit out, the system assumes '1'. Digits
3081 You can leave the word 'and' out if you want, it is implied. You can
3082 use any number of brackets to make the 'expression' as you want it.
3083 There are things called precedence rules working here which mean that
3084 you will NEED brackets in a situation like line 2 because, without it,
3087 (on 50000/1400000 and by_zone 14,15,16) or call_zone 14,15,16
3089 annoying, but that is the way it is. If you use OR - use brackets.
3090 Whilst we are here CASE is not important. 'And BY_Zone' is just 'and
3093 If you want to alter your filter you can just redefine one or more
3094 lines of it or clear out one line. For example:-
3096 reject/spots 1 on hf/ssb
3103 To remove the filter in its entirty:-
3107 There are similar CLEAR commands for the other filters:-
3109 clear/announce clear/wcy clear/wwv
3113 Once you are happy with the results you get, you may like to
3116 my example that filters hf/cw spots and accepts vhf/uhf spots from EU
3117 can be written with a mixed filter, eg:
3119 rej/spot on hf/cw acc/spot on 0/30000 acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and
3120 (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
3122 each filter slot actually has a 'reject' slot and an 'accept' slot.
3123 The reject slot is executed BEFORE the accept slot.
3125 It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match,
3126 the default for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for
3127 first, any non hf/cw spot is passed to the accept line, which lets
3128 thru everything else on HF.
3130 The next filter line lets through just VHF/UHF spots from EU.
3133 9.39. forward/latlong (8)
3135 forward/latlong <node_call> Send latitude and longitude information to
3139 This command sends all the latitude and longitude information that
3140 your cluster is holding against callsigns. One advantage of recieving
3141 this information is that more locator information is held by you.
3142 This means that more locators are given on the DX line assuming you
3143 have set/dxgrid enabled. This could be a LOT of information though,
3144 so it is not recommended on slow links.
3147 9.40. forward/opername (1)
3149 forward/opername <call> Send out information on this <call> to all
3153 This command sends out any information held in the user file which can
3154 be broadcast in PC41 protocol packets. This information is Name, QTH,
3155 Location and Homenode. PC41s are only sent for the information that is
3161 help <cmd> Get help on a command
3164 All commands can be abbreviated, so SHOW/DX can be abbreviated to
3165 SH/DX, ANNOUNCE can be shortened to AN and so on.
3167 Look at the APROPOS <string> command which will search the help
3168 database for the <string> you specify and give you a list of likely
3169 commands to look at with HELP.
3174 init <node call> Re-initialise a link to an AK1A compatible node
3177 This command attempts to re-initialise a link to a (usually) AK1A node
3178 that has got confused, usually by a protocol loop of some kind. It may
3179 work - but you usually will be better off simply disconnecting it (or
3180 better, if it is a real AK1A node, doing an RCMD <node> DISC/F <your
3183 Best of luck - you will need it.
3188 kill <msgno> [<msgno> ..] Delete a message from the local system
3191 Delete a message from the local system. You will only be able to
3192 delete messages that you have originated or been sent (unless you are
3198 kill <msgno> [<msgno> ...] Remove or erase a message from the system
3199 kill from <call> Remove all messages from a callsign
3200 kill to <call> Remove all messages to a callsign
3203 You can get rid of any message to or originating from your callsign
3204 using this command. You can remove more than one message at a time.
3206 As a sysop you can kill any message on the system.
3211 kill full <msgno> [<msgno>] Delete a message from the whole cluster
3214 Delete a message (usually a 'bulletin') from the whole cluster system.
3216 This uses the subject field, so any messages that have exactly the
3217 same subject will be deleted. Beware!
3220 9.46. kill/expunge (6)
3222 kill/expunge <msgno> [<msgno>..]Expunge a message
3225 Deleting a message using the normal KILL commands only marks that
3226 message for deletion. The actual deletion only happens later (usually
3229 The KILL EXPUNGE command causes the message to be truly deleted more
3230 or less immediately.
3232 It otherwise is used in the same way as the KILL command.
3237 links Show which nodes are physically connected
3240 This is a quick listing that shows which links are connected and some
3241 information about them. See WHO for a list of all connections.
3245 9.48. load/aliases (9)
3247 load/aliases Reload the command alias table
3250 Reload the /spider/cmd/Aliases file after you have editted it. You
3251 will need to do this if you change this file whilst the cluster is
3252 running in order for the changes to take effect.
3255 9.49. load/badmsg (9)
3257 load/badmsg Reload the bad message table
3260 Reload the /spider/msg/badmsg.pl file if you have changed it manually
3261 whilst the cluster is running. This table contains a number of perl
3262 regular expressions which are searched for in the fields targetted of
3263 each message. If any of them match then that message is immediately
3267 9.50. load/badwords (9)
3269 load/badwords Reload the bad words table
3272 Reload the /spider/data/badwords file if you have changed it manually
3273 whilst the cluster is running. This file contains a list of words
3274 which, if found on certain text portions of PC protocol, will cause
3275 those protocol frames to be rejected. It will all put out a message if
3276 any of these words are used on the announce, dx and talk commands. The
3277 words can be one or more on a line, lines starting with '#' are
3281 9.51. load/bands (9)
3283 load/bands Reload the band limits table
3286 Reload the /spider/data/bands.pl file if you have changed it manually
3287 whilst the cluster is running.
3290 9.52. load/cmd_cache (9)
3292 load/cmd_cache Reload the automatic command cache
3295 Normally, if you change a command file in the cmd or local_cmd tree it
3296 will automatially be picked up by the cluster program. Sometimes it
3297 can get confused if you are doing a lot of moving commands about or
3298 delete a command in the local_cmd tree and want to use the normal one
3299 again. Execute this command to reset everything back to the state it
3300 was just after a cluster restart.
3301 9.53. load/forward (9)
3303 load/forward Reload the msg forwarding routing table
3305 Reload the /spider/msg/forward.pl file if you have changed it manually
3306 whilst the cluster is running.
3309 9.54. load/messages (9)
3311 load/messages Reload the system messages file
3314 If you change the /spider/perl/Messages file (usually whilst
3315 fiddling/writing ne commands) you can have them take effect during a
3316 cluster session by executing this command. You need to do this if get
3319 unknown message 'xxxx' in lang 'en'
3322 9.55. load/prefixes (9)
3324 load/prefixes Reload the prefix table
3327 Reload the /spider/data/prefix_data.pl file if you have changed it
3328 manually whilst the cluster is running.
3333 merge <node> [<no spots>/<no wwv>] Ask for the latest spots and WWV
3336 MERGE allows you to bring your spot and wwv database up to date. By
3337 default it will request the last 10 spots and 5 WWVs from the node you
3338 select. The node must be connected locally.
3340 You can request any number of spots or wwv and although they will be
3341 appended to your databases they will not duplicate any that have
3342 recently been added (the last 2 days for spots and last month for WWV
3348 msg <cmd> <msgno> [data ...] Alter various message parameters
3351 Alter message parameters like To, From, Subject, whether private or
3352 bulletin or return receipt (RR) is required or whether to keep this
3353 message from timing out.
3367 MSG TO <msgno> <call> - change TO callsign to <call>
3368 MSG FRom <msgno> <call> - change FROM callsign to <call>
3369 MSG PRrivate <msgno> - set private flag
3370 MSG NOPRrivate <msgno> - unset private flag
3371 MSG RR <msgno> - set RR flag
3372 MSG NORR <msgno> - unset RR flag
3373 MSG KEep <msgno> - set the keep flag (message won't be deleted ever)
3374 MSG NOKEep <msgno> - unset the keep flag
3375 MSG SUbject <msgno> <new> - change the subject to <new>
3376 MSG WAittime <msgno> - remove any waitting time for this message
3377 MSG NOREad <msgno> - mark message as unread
3378 MSG REad <msgno> - mark message as read
3379 MSG QUeue - queue any outstanding bulletins
3380 MSG QUeue 1 - queue any outstanding private messages
3385 You can look at the status of a message by using:-
3389 This will display more information on the message than DIR does.
3394 pc <call> <text> Send text (eg PC Protocol) to <call>
3397 Send some arbitrary text to a locally connected callsign. No
3398 processing is done on the text. This command allows you to send PC
3399 Protocol to unstick things if problems arise (messages get stuck etc).
3402 pc gb7djk PC33^GB7TLH^GB7DJK^400^
3404 You can also use in the same way as a talk command to a connected user
3405 but without any processing, added of "from <blah> to <blah>" or
3408 pc G1TLH Try doing that properly!!!
3413 ping <node> Check the link quality between nodes
3416 his command allows you to send a frame to another cluster node on the
3417 network and get a return frame. The time it takes to do this is a
3418 good indication of the quality of the link. The actual time it takes
3419 is output to the console in seconds. Any visible cluster node can be
3426 rcmd <node call> <cmd> Send a command to another DX cluster
3429 This command allows you to send nearly any command to another DX
3430 Cluster node that is connected to the system.
3433 Whether you get any output is dependant on a) whether the other system
3434 knows that the node callsign of this cluster is in fact a node b)
3435 whether the other system is allowing RCMDs from this node and c)
3436 whether you have permission to send this command at all.
3441 read Read the next unread personal message addressed to you
3442 read <msgno> Read the specified message
3445 You can read any messages that are sent as 'non-personal' and also any
3446 message either sent by or sent to your callsign.
3450 9.62. read (extended for sysops) (5)
3452 read <msgno> Read a message on the system
3455 As a sysop you may read any message on the system
3458 9.63. reject/announce
3460 reject/announce [0-9] <pattern> Set a reject filter for announce
3463 Create an 'reject this announce' line for a filter.
3465 An reject filter line means that if the announce matches this filter
3466 it is passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please
3467 read this to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief
3470 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
3474 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
3475 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
3477 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3478 origin_itu <numbers>
3479 origin_zone <numbers>
3484 wx 1 filter WX announces
3485 dest <prefixes> eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros)
3494 rej/ann by_zone 14,15,16 and not by G,M,2
3499 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
3508 but this probably for advanced users...
3511 9.64. reject/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
3513 reject/announce <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern> Announce filter sysop
3517 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
3518 the default for nodes and users eg:-
3523 reject/ann input node_default by G,M,2
3524 reject/ann user_default by G,M,2
3530 9.65. reject/route (8)
3532 reject/route <call> [0-9] <pattern> Set an 'reject' filter line for
3536 Create an 'reject this routing PC Protocol' line for a filter.
3539 An reject filter line means that if a PC16/17/19/21/24/41/50 matches
3540 this filter it is NOT passed thru that interface. See HELP FILTERING
3541 for more info. Please read this to understand how filters work - it
3542 will save a lot of grief later on. You can use any of the following
3543 things in this line:-
3547 call <prefixes> the callsign of the thingy
3548 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3551 origin <prefixes> really the interface it came in on
3552 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3553 origin_itu <numbers>
3554 origin_zone <numbers>
3565 rej/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (everything except UK+EIRE nodes)
3571 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
3575 rej/route all (equiv to [very] restricted mode)
3581 9.66. reject/spots (0)
3583 reject/spots [0-9] <pattern> Set a reject filter line for spots
3586 Create a 'reject this spot' line for a filter.
3588 A reject filter line means that if the spot matches this filter it is
3589 dumped (not passed on). See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read
3590 this to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief
3593 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
3597 freq <range> eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m
3598 on <range> same as 'freq'
3599 call <prefixes> eg: G,PA,HB9
3600 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
3602 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3614 For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in
3615 SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb -
3616 thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 -
3617 this is more efficient than saying simply: on HF (but don't get too
3625 rej/spot 2 on vhf and not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
3631 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
3640 but this probably for advanced users...
3643 9.67. reject/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
3645 reject/spots <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern> Reject spot filter sysop
3649 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
3650 the default for nodes and users eg:-
3654 reject/spot db0sue-7 1 by_zone 14,15,16
3655 reject/spot node_default all
3656 set/hops node_default 10
3658 reject/spot user_default by G,M,2
3664 9.68. reject/wcy (0)
3666 reject/wcy [0-9] <pattern> Set a reject WCY filter
3669 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you
3670 can filter on the following fields:-
3674 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
3676 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3677 origin_itu <numbers>
3678 origin_zone <numbers>
3687 There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place
3688 and you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want
3691 This command is really provided for future use.
3693 See HELP FILTER for information.
3697 9.69. reject/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
3699 reject/wcy <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern> WCY reject filter sysop
3703 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
3704 the default for nodes and users eg:-
3706 reject/wcy gb7djk all
3709 9.70. reject/wwv (0)
3711 reject/wwv [0-9] <pattern> Set a reject WWV filter
3714 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you
3715 can filter on the following fields:-
3719 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
3721 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3722 origin_itu <numbers>
3723 origin_zone <numbers>
3736 reject/wwv by_zone 14,15,16
3741 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV
3742 broadcasts by stations in the US).
3744 See HELP FILTER for information.
3747 9.71. reject/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
3749 reject/wwv <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern> WWV reject filter sysop
3753 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
3754 the default for nodes and users eg:-
3758 reject/wwv db0sue-7 1 by_zone 4
3759 reject/wwv node_default all
3761 reject/wwv user_default by W
3765 reply Reply (privately) to the last message that you have read
3766 reply <msgno> Reply (privately) to the specified message
3767 reply B <msgno> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified message
3768 reply NOPrivate <msgno> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified message
3769 reply RR <msgno> Reply to the specified message with read receipt
3772 You can reply to a message and the subject will automatically have
3773 "Re:" inserted in front of it, if it isn't already present.
3775 You can also use all the extra qualifiers such as RR, PRIVATE,
3776 NOPRIVATE, B that you can use with the SEND command (see SEND for
3782 send <call> [<call> ...] Send a message to one or more callsigns
3783 send RR <call> Send a message and ask for a read receipt
3784 send COPY <msgno> <call> Send a copy of a message to someone
3785 send PRIVATE <call> Send a personal message
3786 send NOPRIVATE <call> Send a message to all stations
3789 All the SEND commands will create a message which will be sent either
3790 to an individual callsign or to one of the 'bulletin' addresses.
3792 SEND <call> on its own acts as though you had typed SEND PRIVATE, that
3793 is it will mark the message as personal and send it to the cluster
3794 node that that callsign is connected to.
3796 You can have more than one callsign in all of the SEND commands.
3798 You can have multiple qualifiers so that you can have for example:-
3802 SEND RR COPY 123 PRIVATE G1TLH G0RDI
3807 which should send a copy of message 123 to G1TLH and G0RDI and you
3808 will receive a read receipt when they have read the message.
3810 SB is an alias for SEND NOPRIVATE (or send a bulletin in BBS speak) SP
3811 is an alias for SEND PRIVATE
3814 9.74. set/address (0)
3816 set/address <your_address> Record your postal address
3819 Literally, record your address details on the cluster.
3822 9.75. set/announce (0)
3824 set/announce Allow announce messages
3827 Allow announce messages to arrive at your terminal.
3829 9.76. set/arcluster (5)
3831 set/arcluster <node_call> [<node_call> ...] Make the node_call an AR-
3835 Set the node_call as an AR-Cluster type node
3840 set/baddx <call> Stop words we do not wish to see in the callsign
3841 field of a dx spot being propagated
3844 Setting a word as 'baddx' will prevent spots with that word in the
3845 callsign field of a DX spot from going any further. They will not be
3846 displayed and they will not be sent onto other nodes.
3848 The word must be wriiten in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:-
3852 set/baddx FORSALE VIDEO FR0G
3857 To allow a word again, use the following command ...
3867 9.78. set/badnode (6)
3869 set/badnode <node_call> Stop spots from this node_call being
3873 Setting a callsign as a 'badnode' will prevent spots from that node
3874 going any further. They will not be displayed and they will not be
3875 sent onto other nodes.
3877 The call can be a full or partial call (or a prefix), eg:-
3886 will stop anything from K1TTT (including any SSID's)
3895 will allow spots from him again.
3897 Use with extreme care. This command may well be superceded by
3901 9.79. set/badspotter (8)
3903 set/badspotter <call> Stop spots from this callsign being propagated
3906 Setting a callsign as a 'badspotter' will prevent spots from this
3907 callsign going any further. They will not be displayed and they will
3908 not be sent onto other nodes.
3910 The call must be written in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:-
3914 set/badspotter VE2STN
3919 will stop anything from VE2STN. If you want SSIDs as well then you
3920 must enter them specifically.
3924 unset/badspotter VE2STN
3929 will allow spots from him again.
3931 Use with extreme care. This command may well be superceded by
3935 9.80. set/badword (8)
3937 set/badword <word> Stop things with this word being propogated
3940 Setting a word as a 'badword' will prevent things like spots,
3941 announces or talks with this word in the the text part from going any
3942 further. They will not be displayed and they will not be sent onto
3945 The word must be written in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:-
3947 set/badword annihilate annihilated annihilation
3949 will stop anything with these words in the text.
3951 unset/badword annihilated
3953 will allow text with this word again.
3959 set/beep Add beeps to terminal messages
3961 Add a beep to DX and other terminal messages.
3966 set/bbs <call> [<call>..]Make <call> a BBS
3971 set/clx <node_call> [<node_call> ...] Make the node_call a CLX type
3975 Set the node_call as a CLX type node
3980 set/debug <name> Add a debug level to the debug set
3983 You can choose to log several different levels. The levels are
3985 chan state msg cron connect
3987 You can show what levels you are logging with the show/debug command.
3989 You can remove a debug level with unset/debug <name>
3994 set/dxAllow DX messages to arrive at your terminal
3997 You can stop DX messages with the unset/dx command
4000 9.86. set/dxgrid (0)
4002 set/dxgridAllow grid squares on the end of DX messages
4005 Some logging programs do not like the additional information at the
4006 end of a DX spot. If this is the case, use the unset/dxgrid command
4007 to remove the grid squares.
4012 set/dxnet <node_call> [<node_call> ...] Make the node_call a DXNet
4016 Set the node_call as a DXNet type node
4021 set/echo Make the cluster echo your input
4024 If you are connected via a telnet session, different implimentations
4025 of telnet handle echo differently depending on whether you are
4026 connected via port 23 or some other port. You can use this command to
4027 change the setting appropriately.
4029 You can remove the echo with the unset/echo command
4031 The setting is stored in your user profile.
4033 YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE THIS COMMAND IF YOU ARE CONNECTED VIA AX25.
4038 set/email <email_address> Set email address(es) and forward your
4042 If any personal messages come in for your callsign then you can use
4043 these commands to control whether they are forwarded onto your email
4044 address. To enable the forwarding do something like:-
4046 SET/EMAIL mike.tubby@somewhere.com
4048 You can have more than one email address (each one separated by a
4049 space). Emails are forwarded to all the email addresses you specify.
4051 You can disable forwarding by:-
4058 set/here Set the here flag
4061 Let others on the cluster know you are here by only displaying your
4062 callsign. If you are away from your terminal you can use the
4063 unset/here command to let people know you are away. This simply puts
4064 brackets around your callsign to indicate you are not available.
4067 9.91. set/homenode (0)
4069 set/homenode <node_call> Set your home cluster
4072 Tell the cluster system where you normally connect to. Any Messages
4073 sent to you will normally find their way there should you not be
4086 set/hops <node_call> ann|spots|wwv|wcy <n> Set hop count
4089 Set the hop count for a particular type of broadcast for a node.
4091 This command allows you to set up special hop counts for a node for
4092 currently: announce, spots, wwv and wcy broadcasts.
4094 set/hops gb7djk ann 10
4095 set/hops gb7mbc spots 20
4100 Set SHOW/HOPS for information on what is already set. This command
4101 creates a filter and works in conjunction with the filter system.
4104 9.93. set/isolate (9)
4106 set/isolate <node call> Isolate a node from the rest of the network
4109 Connect a node to your system in such a way that you are a full
4110 protocol member of its network and can see all spots on it, but
4111 nothing either leaks out from it nor goes back into from the rest of
4112 the nodes connected to you.
4114 You can potentially connect several nodes in this way.
4116 You can see which nodes are isolated with the show/isolate (1)
4119 You can remove the isolation with the command unset/isolate.
4122 9.94. set/language (0)
4124 set/language <language> Set the language you wish to use
4127 You can select the language that you want the cluster to use.
4128 Currently the languages available are en (English) and nl (Dutch).
4131 9.95. set/location (0)
4133 set/location <lat and long> Set your latitude and longitude
4136 You can set your latitude and longitude manually or alternatively use
4137 the set/qra command which will do the conversion for you.
4141 set/location 54 04 N 2 02 E
4148 9.96. set/sys_location (9)
4150 set/sys_location <lat & long> Set your cluster latitude and longitude
4153 In order to get accurate headings and such like you must tell the
4154 system what your latitude and longitude is. If you have not yet done a
4155 SET/QRA then this command will set your QRA locator for you. For
4159 SET/LOCATION 52 22 N 0 57 E
4165 9.97. set/logininfo (0)
4167 set/logininfo Show logins and logouts of nodes and users
4170 Show users and nodes when they log in and out of the local cluster.
4171 You can stop these messages by using the unset/logininfo command.
4175 9.98. set/lockout (9)
4177 set/lockout <call> Stop a callsign connecting to the cluster
4180 You can show who is locked out with the show/lockout command. To
4181 allow the user to connect again, use the unset/lockout command.
4186 set/name <your_name> Set your name
4189 Tell the cluster what your name is, eg:-
4201 set/node <call> [<call> ...] Make the callsign an AK1A cluster
4204 Tell the system that the call(s) are to be treated as AK1A cluster and
4205 fed PC Protocol rather normal user commands.
4207 From version 1.41 you can also set the following types of cluster
4219 To see what your nodes are set to, use the show/nodes command.
4225 9.101. set/obscount (9)
4227 set/obscount <count> <node call> Set the 'pump-up' obsolescence
4231 From version 1.35 onwards neighbouring nodes are pinged at regular
4232 intervals (see SET/PINGINTERVAL), usually 300 seconds or 5 minutes.
4233 There is a 'pump-up' counter which is decremented on every outgoing
4234 ping and then reset to the 'obscount' value on every incoming ping.
4235 The default value of this parameter is 2.
4237 What this means is that a neighbouring node will be pinged twice at
4238 (default) 300 second intervals and if no reply has been heard just
4239 before what would be the third attempt, that node is disconnected.
4241 If a ping is heard then the obscount is reset to the full value. Using
4242 default values, if a node has not responded to a ping within 15
4243 minutes, it is disconnected.
4248 set/page <n> Set the number of lines per page
4251 Tell the system how many lines you wish on a page when the number of
4252 lines of output from a command is more than this. The default is 20.
4253 Setting it explicitly to 0 will disable paging.
4263 The setting is stored in your user profile.
4266 9.103. set/password (0)
4268 set/password Set your own password
4271 This command only works for a 'telnet' user (currently). It will only
4272 work if you have a password already set. This initial password can
4273 only be set by the sysop.
4275 When you execute this command it will ask you for your old password,
4276 then ask you to type in your new password twice (to make sure you get
4277 it right). You may or may not see the data echoed on the screen as you
4278 type, depending on the type of telnet client you have.
4281 9.104. set/password (9)
4283 set/password <callsign> <string> Set a users password
4286 The password for a user can only be set by a full sysop. The string
4287 can contain any characters.
4289 The way this field is used depends on context. If it is being used in
4290 the SYSOP command context then you are offered 5 random numbers and
4291 you have to supply the corresponding letters. This is now mainly for
4294 If it is being used on incoming telnet connections then, if a password
4297 set/var $main::passwdreq = 1
4299 command is executed in the startup script, then a password prompt is
4300 given after the normal 'login: ' prompt.
4302 The command "unset/password" is provided to allow a sysop to remove a
4303 users password completely in case a user forgets or loses their
4307 9.105. set/pinginterval (9)
4309 set/pinginterval <time> <node call> Set the ping time to neighbouring
4313 As from version 1.35 all neighbouring nodes are pinged at regular
4314 intervals in order to determine the rolling quality of the link and,
4315 in future, to affect routing decisions. The default interval is 300
4318 You can use this command to set a different interval. Please don't.
4320 But if you do the value you enter is treated as minutes up 60 and
4321 seconds for numbers greater than that.
4323 This is used also to help determine when a link is down at the far end
4324 (as certain cluster software doesn't always notice), see SET/OBSCOUNT
4325 for more information.
4328 9.106. set/privilege (9)
4330 set/privilege <n> <call> [<call> ...] Set the privilege level on a
4334 Set the privilege level on a callsign. The privilege levels that
4335 pertain to commands are as default:-
4340 1 - allow remote nodes normal user RCMDs
4341 5 - various privileged commands (including shutdown, but not disc-
4342 connect), the normal level for another node.
4343 8 - more privileged commands (including disconnect)
4344 9 - local sysop privilege. DO NOT SET ANY REMOTE USER OR NODE TO THIS
4350 If you are a sysop and you come in as a normal user on a remote
4351 connection your privilege will automatically be set to 0.
4357 9.107. set/spider (5)
4359 set/spider <node_call> [<node_call> ...] Make the node_call a DXSpider
4363 Set the node_call as a DXSpider type node
4366 9.108. set/sys_qra (9)
4368 set/sys_qra <locator> Set your cluster QRA locator
4373 set/qra <locator> Set your QRA locator
4376 Tell the system what your QRA (or Maidenhead) locator is. If you have
4377 not done a SET/LOCATION then your latitude and longitude will be set
4378 roughly correctly (assuming your locator is correct ;-). For example:-
4390 set/qth <your QTH> Set your QTH
4393 Tell the system where your are. For example:-
4397 set/qth East Dereham, Norfolk
4403 9.111. set/register (9)
4405 set/register <call> Mark a user as registered
4408 Registration is a concept that you can switch on by executing the
4410 set/var $main::regreq = 1
4412 command (usually in your startup file)
4414 If a user is NOT registered then, firstly, instead of the normal motd
4415 file (/spider/data/motd) being sent to the user at startup, the user
4416 is sent the motd_nor file instead. Secondly, the non registered user
4417 only has READ-ONLY access to the node. The non-registered user cannot
4420 The only exception to this is that a non-registered user can TALK or
4421 SEND messages to the sysop.
4423 To unset a user use the 'unset/register' command
4428 set/talk Allow talk messages to be seen at your console
4431 Allow talk messages to arrive at your console. You can switch off
4432 talks with the unset/talk command.
4437 set/wcy Allow WCY messages to be seen at your console
4440 Allow WCY information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
4441 WCY messages with the unset/wcy command.
4446 set/wwv Allow WWV messages to be seen at your console
4449 Allow WWV information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
4450 WWV messages with the unset/wwv command.
4455 set/wx Allow WX messages to be seen at your console
4458 Allow WX information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
4459 WX messages with the unset/wx command.
4462 9.116. show/baddx (1)
4464 show/baddxShow all the bad dx calls in the system
4467 Display all the bad dx callsigns in the system, see SET/BADDX for more
4471 9.117. show/badnode (6)
4473 show/badnode Show all the bad nodes in the system
4476 Display all the bad node callsigns in the system, see SET/BADNODE for
4480 9.118. show/badspotter (1)
4482 show/badspotter Show all the bad spotters in the system
4485 Display all the bad spotter's callsigns in the system, see
4486 SET/BADSPOTTER for more information.
4489 9.119. show/badword (1)
4491 show/badword Show all the bad words in the system
4494 Display all the bad words in the system, see SET/BADWORD for more
4498 9.120. show/configuration (0)
4500 show/configuration [<node>] Show all visible nodes and their users
4503 This command allows you to see all the users that can be seen and the
4504 nodes to which they are connected. With the optional node, you can
4505 specify a particular node to look at.
4507 This command is normally abbreviated to: sh/c
4509 BE WARNED: the list that is returned can be VERY long
4512 9.121. show/configuration/node (0)
4514 show/configuration/node Show all the nodes connected
4517 Show all the nodes connected locally and the nodes they have
4521 9.122. show/connect (1)
4523 show/connect Show all the active connections
4526 This command shows information on all the active connections known to
4527 the node. This command gives slightly more information than WHO.
4530 9.123. show/date (0)
4532 show/date [<prefix>|<callsign>] Show the local time
4535 This is very nearly the same as SHOW/TIME, the only difference the
4536 format of the date string if no arguments are given.
4538 If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the
4539 local time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some
4540 prefixes then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not
4541 including DST) at the prefixes or callsigns that you specify.
4544 9.124. show/debug (9)
4546 show/debug Show what levels of debug you are logging
4549 The levels can be set with set/debug
4557 show/dx [options] interrogate the spot database
4560 If you just type SHOW/DX you will get the last so many spots (sysop
4561 configurable, but usually 10).
4563 In addition you can add any number of these options in very nearly any
4564 order to the basic SHOW/DX command, they are:-
4569 on <band> - eg 160m 20m 2m 23cm 6mm
4570 on <region> - eg hf vhf uhf shf (see SHOW/BANDS)
4572 <number> - the number of spots you want
4573 <from>-<to> - <from> spot no <to> spot no in
4576 <prefix> - for a spotted callsign beginning with <prefix>
4577 *<suffix> - for a spotted callsign ending in <suffix>
4578 *<string>* - for a spotted callsign containing <string>
4580 day <number> - starting <number> days ago
4581 day <from>-<to> - <from> days <to> days ago
4583 info <text> - any spots containing <text> in the info or remarks
4585 by <call> - any spots spotted by <call> (spotter <call>
4588 qsl - this automatically looks for any qsl info on the call
4589 held in the spot database.
4591 iota [<iota>] - If the iota island number is missing it will
4592 look for the string iota and anything which looks like
4593 an iota island number. If you specify then it will look
4596 qra [<locator>] - this will look for the specific locator if
4597 you specify one or else anything that looks like a locator.
4608 SH/DX on 20m info iota
4609 SH/DX 9a on vhf day 30
4621 9.126. show/dxcc (0)
4623 show/dxcc <prefix> Interrogate the spot database by country
4626 This command takes the <prefix> (which can be a full or partial
4627 callsign if desired), looks up which internal country number it is and
4628 then displays all the spots as per SH/DX for that country.
4630 The options for SHOW/DX also apply to this command. e.g.
4636 SH/DXCC W on 20m info iota
4642 9.127. sh/dxstats (0)
4644 sh/dxstats Show the DX Statistics for last 31 days
4647 Show the total DX spots for the last 31 days
4651 9.128. show/files (0)
4653 show/files [<filearea> [<string>]] List the contents of a filearea
4656 SHOW/FILES on its own will show you a list of the various fileareas
4657 available on the system. To see the contents of a particular file area
4667 where <filearea> is the name of the filearea you want to see the
4670 You can also use shell globbing characters like '*' and '?' in a
4671 string to see a selection of files in a filearea eg:-
4675 SH/FILES bulletins arld*
4680 See also TYPE - to see the contents of a file.
4683 9.129. show/filter (0)
4685 show/filter Show the filters you have set
4687 Show the contents of all the filters that are set by you. This command
4688 displays all the filters set - for all the various categories.
4691 9.130. show/filter (extended for sysops) (5)
4693 show/filter <callsign> Show the filters set by <callsign>
4696 A sysop can look at any filters that have been set.
4699 9.131. show/hfstats (0)
4701 show/hfstats Show the HF DX Statistics for last 31 days
4704 Show the HF DX spots breakdown by band for the last 31 days
4707 9.132. show/hftable (0)
4709 show/hftable Show the HF DX Spotter Table for your country
4712 Show the HF DX Spotter table for your country for the last 31 days
4715 9.133. show/hops (8)
4717 show/hops <node_call> [ann|spots|wcy|wwv|] Show the hop counts for a
4721 This command shows the hop counts set up for a node. You can specify
4722 which category you want to see. If you leave the category out then all
4723 the categories will be listed.
4726 9.134. show/isolate (1)
4728 show/isolate Show a list of isolated nodes
4731 Show which nodes are currently set to be isolated.
4734 9.135. show/lockout (9)
4736 show/lockout Show a list of excluded callsigns
4739 Show a list of callsigns that have been excluded (locked out) of the
4740 cluster locally with the set/lockout command
4745 show/log [<callsign>] Show excerpts from the system log
4748 This command outputs a short section of the system log. On its own it
4749 will output a general logfile. With the optional callsign it will
4750 show output from the log associated with that callsign.
4753 9.137. show/moon (0)
4755 show/moon [<prefix>|<callsign>] Show moon rise and set times
4758 Show the Moon rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or
4759 callsigns, together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun
4760 currently at those locations.
4762 If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times
4763 for your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or
4764 SET/QRA), together with the current azimuth and elevation.
4766 In addition, it will show the gain or loss dB relative to the nominal
4767 distance of 385,000Km due to the ellipsoidal nature of the orbit.
4769 If all else fails it will show the Moonrise and set times for the node
4770 that you are connected to.
4785 show/muf <prefix> [<hours>][long] Show the likely propagation to
4789 This command allow you to estimate the likelihood of you contacting a
4790 station with the prefix you have specified. The output assumes a
4791 modest power of 20dBW and receiver sensitivity of -123dBm (about
4794 The result predicts the most likely operating frequencies and signal
4795 levels for high frequency (shortwave) radio propagation paths on
4796 specified days of the year and hours of the day. It is most useful for
4797 paths between 250 km and 6000 km, but can be used with reduced
4798 accuracy for paths shorter or longer than this.
4800 The command uses a routine MINIMUF 3.5 developed by the U.S. Navy and
4801 used to predict the MUF given the predicted flux, day of the year,
4802 hour of the day and geographic coordinates of the transmitter and
4803 receiver. This routine is reasonably accurate for the purposes here,
4804 with a claimed RMS error of 3.8 MHz, but much smaller and less complex
4805 than the programs used by major shortwave broadcasting organizations,
4806 such as the Voice of America.
4808 The command will display some header information detailing its
4809 assumptions, together with the locations, latitude and longitudes and
4810 bearings. It will then show UTC (UT), local time at the other end
4811 (LT), calculate the MUFs, Sun zenith angle at the midpoint of the path
4812 (Zen) and the likely signal strengths. Then for each frequency for
4813 which the system thinks there is a likelihood of a circuit it prints a
4816 The value is currently a likely S meter reading based on the
4817 conventional 6dB / S point scale. If the value has a '+' appended it
4818 means that it is 1/2 an S point stronger. If the value is preceeded by
4819 an 'm' it means that there is likely to be much fading and by an 's'
4820 that the signal is likely to be noisy.
4822 By default SHOW/MUF will show the next two hours worth of data. You
4823 can specify anything up to 24 hours worth of data by appending the no
4824 of hours required after the prefix. For example:-
4837 RxSens: -123 dBM SFI: 159 R: 193 Month: 10 Day: 21
4838 Power : 20 dBW Distance: 6283 km Delay: 22.4 ms
4839 Location Lat / Long Azim
4840 East Dereham, Norfolk 52 41 N 0 57 E 47
4841 United-States-W 43 0 N 87 54 W 299
4842 UT LT MUF Zen 1.8 3.5 7.0 10.1 14.0 18.1 21.0 24.9 28.0 50.0
4843 18 23 11.5 -35 mS0+ mS2 S3
4844 19 0 11.2 -41 mS0+ mS2 S3
4849 indicating that you will have weak, fading circuits on top band and
4850 80m but usable signals on 40m (about S3).
4861 will get you the above display, but with the next 24 hours worth of
4872 Gives you an estimate of the long path propagation characterics. It
4873 should be noted that the figures will probably not be very useful, nor
4874 terrible accurate, but it is included for completeness.
4877 9.139. show/newconfiguration (0)
4879 show/newconfiguration [<node>] Show all the nodes and users visible
4882 This command allows you to see all the users that can be seen and the
4883 nodes to which they are connected.
4885 This command produces essentially the same information as
4886 SHOW/CONFIGURATION except that it shows all the duplication of any
4887 routes that might be present It also uses a different format which may
4888 not take up quite as much space if you don't have any loops.
4890 BE WARNED: the list that is returned can be VERY long
4893 9.140. show/newconfiguration/node (0)
4895 show/newconfiguration/node Show all the nodes connected locally
4898 Show all the nodes connected to this node in the new format.
4901 9.141. show/node (1)
4903 show/node [<node_call> ...] Show the type and version number of nodes
4906 Show the type and version (if connected) of the nodes specified on the
4907 command line. If no callsigns are specified then a sorted list of all
4908 the non-user callsigns known to the system will be displayed.
4911 9.142. show/prefix (0)
4913 show/prefix <callsign> Interrogate the prefix database
4916 This command takes the <callsign> (which can be a full or partial
4917 callsign or a prefix), looks up which internal country number it is
4918 and then displays all the relevant prefixes for that country together
4919 with the internal country no, the CQ and ITU regions.
4925 9.143. show/program (5)
4927 show/program Show the locations of all the included program modules
4930 Show the name and location where every program module was load from.
4931 This is useful for checking where you think you have loaded a .pm file
4937 show/qra <locator> [<locator>] Show the distance between locators
4938 show/qra <lat> <long> Convert latitude and longitude to a locator
4941 This is a multipurpose command that allows you either to calculate the
4942 distance and bearing between two locators or (if only one locator is
4943 given on the command line) the distance and beraing from your station
4944 to the locator. For example:-
4951 The first example will show the distance and bearing to the locator
4952 from yourself, the second example will calculate the distance and
4953 bearing from the first locator to the second. You can use 4 or 6
4956 It is also possible to convert a latitude and longitude to a locator
4957 by using this command with a latitude and longitude as an argument,
4962 SH/QRA 52 41 N 0 58 E
4970 show/qrz <callsign> Show any callbook details on a callsign
4973 This command queries the QRZ callbook server on the internet and
4974 returns any information available for that callsign. This service is
4975 provided for users of this software by http://www.qrz.com
4978 9.146. show/registered (9)
4980 show/registered [<prefix>[ Show the registered users
4983 9.147. show/route (0)
4985 show/route <callsign> Show the route to <callsign>
4988 This command allows you to see to which node the callsigns specified
4989 are connected. It is a sort of inverse sh/config.
4999 9.148. show/satellite (0)
5001 show/satellite <name> [<hours> <interval>] Show satellite tracking
5005 Show the tracking data from your location to the satellite of your
5006 choice from now on for the next few hours.
5008 If you use this command without a satellite name it will display a
5009 list of all the satellites known currently to the system.
5011 If you give a name then you can obtain tracking data of all the passes
5012 that start and finish 5 degrees below the horizon. As default it will
5013 give information for the next three hours for every five minute
5017 You can alter the number of hours and the step size, within certain
5020 Each pass in a period is separated with a row of '-----' characters
5027 SH/SAT FENGYUN1 12 2
5035 show/sun [<prefix>|<callsign>] Show sun rise and set times
5038 Show the sun rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or callsigns,
5039 together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun currently at those
5042 If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times
5043 for your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or
5044 SET/QRA), together with the current azimuth and elevation.
5046 If all else fails it will show the sunrise and set times for the node
5047 that you are connected to.
5054 SH/SUN G1TLH K9CW ZS
5060 9.150. show/time (0)
5062 show/time [<prefix>|<callsign>] Show the local time
5065 If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the
5066 local time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some
5067 prefixes then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not
5068 including DST) at the prefixes or callsigns that you specify.
5071 9.151. show/vhfstats (0)
5073 show/vhfstats Show the VHF DX Statistics for last 31 days
5076 Show the VHF DX spots breakdown by band for the last 31 days
5079 9.152. show/vhftable (0)
5081 show/vhftable Show the VHF DX Spotter Table for your country
5083 Show the VHF DX Spotter table for your country for the last 31 days
5088 show/wcy Show the last 10 WCY broadcasts
5089 show/wcy <n> Show the last <n> WCY broadcasts
5092 Display the most recent WCY information that has been received by the
5098 show/wwv Show the last 10 WWV broadcasts
5099 show/wwv <n> Show the last <n> WWV broadcasts
5102 Display the most recent WWV information that has been received by the
5109 shutdown Shutdown the cluster
5112 Shutdown the cluster and disconnect all the users. If you have Spider
5113 set to respawn in /etc/inittab it will of course restart.
5118 spoof <callsign> <command> Run commands as another user
5121 This is a very simple yet powerful command for the sysop. It allows
5122 you to issue commands as if you were a different user. This is very
5123 useful for the kind of things that users seem to always get wrong..
5124 like home_node for example.
5129 stat/db <dbname> Show the status of a database
5132 Show the internal status of a database descriptor.
5134 Depending on your privilege level you will see more or less
5135 information. This command is unlikely to be of much use to anyone
5139 9.158. stat/channel (5)
5141 stat/channel <callsign> Show the status of a channel on the cluster
5144 Show the internal status of the channel object either for the channel
5145 that you are on or else for the callsign that you asked for.
5147 Only the fields that are defined (in perl term) will be displayed.
5151 stat/msg <msgno> Show the status of a message
5154 This command shows the internal status of a message and includes
5155 information such as to whom it has been forwarded, its size, origin
5159 If no message number is given then the status of the message system is
5163 9.160. stat/route_node (5)
5165 stat/route_node <callsign> Show the data in a Route::Node object
5168 9.161. stat/route_user (5)
5170 stat/route_user <callsign> Show the data in a Route::User object
5173 9.162. stat/user (5)
5175 stat/user <callsign> Show the full status of a user
5178 Shows the full contents of a user record including all the secret
5181 Only the fields that are defined (in perl term) will be displayed.
5186 sysop Regain your privileges if you login remotely
5189 The system automatically reduces your privilege level to that of a
5190 normal user if you login in remotely. This command allows you to
5191 regain your normal privilege level. It uses the normal system: five
5192 numbers are returned that are indexes into the character array that is
5193 your assigned password (see SET/PASSWORD). The indexes start from
5196 You are expected to return a string which contains the characters
5197 required in the correct order. You may intersperse those characters
5198 with others to obscure your reply for any watchers. For example (and
5199 these values are for explanation :-):
5203 password = 012345678901234567890123456789
5215 aa2bbbb0ccc5ddd7xxx3n
5222 They will all match. If there is no password you will still be offered
5223 numbers but nothing will happen when you input a string. Any match is
5229 talk <callsign> Enter talk mode with <callsign>
5230 talk <callsign> <text> Send a text message to <callsign>
5231 talk <callsign> > <node_call> [<text>] Send a text message to
5232 <callsign> via <node_call>
5235 Send a short message to any other station that is visible on the
5236 cluster system. You can send it to anyone you can see with a
5237 SHOW/CONFIGURATION command, they don't have to be connected locally.
5239 The second form of TALK is used when other cluster nodes are connected
5240 with restricted information. This usually means that they don't send
5241 the user information usually associated with logging on and off the
5244 If you know that G3JNB is likely to be present on GB7TLH, but you can
5245 only see GB7TLH in the SH/C list but with no users, then you would use
5246 the second form of the talk message.
5248 If you want to have a ragchew with someone you can leave the text
5249 message out and the system will go into 'Talk' mode. What this means
5250 is that a short message is sent to the recipient telling them that you
5251 are in a 'Talking' frame of mind and then you just type - everything
5252 you send will go to the station that you asked for.
5254 All the usual announcements, spots and so on will still come out on
5257 If you want to do something (such as send a spot) you precede the
5258 normal command with a '/' character, eg:-
5262 /DX 14001 G1TLH What's a B class licensee doing on 20m CW?
5268 To leave talk mode type:
5283 type <filearea>/<name> Look at a file in one of the fileareas
5286 Type out the contents of a file in a filearea. So, for example, in
5287 filearea 'bulletins' you want to look at file 'arld051' you would
5292 TYPE bulletins/arld051
5297 See also SHOW/FILES to see what fileareas are available and a list of
5303 who Show who is physically connected locally
5306 This is a quick listing that shows which callsigns are connected and
5307 what sort of connection they have
5312 wx <text> Send a weather message to local users
5313 wx full <text> Send a weather message to all cluster users
5316 Weather messages can sometimes be useful if you are experiencing an
5317 extreme that may indicate enhanced conditions
5320 9.168. wx (enhanced for sysops) (5)
5322 wx sysop <text> Send a weather message to other clusters only
5325 Send a weather message only to other cluster nodes and not to general
projects / spider.git / blob