Help - Posting/Editing Messages & SPOTs

[ADMIN]

Once you have signed in, you can post on the Loggers.

Submitting a simple message



To post a chat message is simple;
1) enter your message in the "Chat" area
2) if desired and appropriate, click on a smilie
3) click "Submit"


Submitting a SPOT



1) enter the callsign of the station you wish to SPOT
2) manually enter the grid locator of the station you are spotting... or
2a) click the "Find" icon to try a database look-up
3) enter frequency in MHz - do not forget the decimal point!
4) select mode
5) select Signal report (default=5)
6) select Readability report (default=9)
7) if the mode allows, select a Tone report (default=9)
8] enter an optional comment
8a) if desired and appropriate, enter an optional smilie
9) click "Submit"

If you change your mind, and not want to submit, click the "CLR" (Clear) button:

This will clear all the fields.


Deleting your submission

Click on the Delete icon in your submission you wish to delete:



A prompt will appear confirming you wish to Delete this submission:



At this stage, you have the option of either proceeding with the deletion, or canceling.



Editing your submission

Click on the Edit icon in your submission you wish to delete:



A prompt will appear confirming you wish to Edit this submission:



At this stage, you have the option of either proceeding with the edit, or canceling.
Assuming you click "OK", the submission you wish to edit will appear down the bottom, in the submission area (again!) ready for editing:



Make your desired changes:
In this example, the grid square, frequency, mode, and the comment have been changed:



Click "Submit" to submit the edited version, and it appears in the main Message area.
Of course, if a DX Path Map plot is involved, the plot will be amended accordingly.



If you have made an error with a submission, please edit it, rather than reposting.
This will help prevent the Logger from getting clogged up with rubbish.

[ADMIN]

Both the BOLD and ITALICS formatting tags used on the Logger are very similar to standard html tags, except square brackets are used, instead of the left and right arrows.

If I try to type an example, the forum will modify the tags, so the only way to demonstrate this here, is with screenshots.

The resulting output:




Would be obtained by using the tags like this:




Beware, you need to properly open a tag, and then close it, otherwise the formatting will not look what you are wanting.
Hope that makes sense.

[ADMIN]

New functionality has been added so that the bearing from you to the DX you are spotting, can either be reference to True North, or Magnetic North.

Previously, the bearing calculation has output a result that references to True North.
It has always ignored any magnetic deviation.

Now, you can enter your own magnetic deviation (this various across the planet) so that the calculated bearing is reference to Magnetic North.
This result is a bit more user-friendly, as most rotators are calibrated using a compass (Magnetic North).




Like all other custom settings, you set this in your User Control Panel.
Choose the closest value.
You only have integers to choose from, and the range should satisfy most users.

Once set, VK Loggers bearing calculations should match your rotator dial.
Or rather, the other way around.

Bearing and distance calculations on VK Logger use the Vincenty Formula.
This method is widely recognised as being the most accurate.

Determining your own magnetic offset is easy.
Go to the NOAA web site: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag-web/#declination, and enter your lat/lon.
Just the degrees will be sufficient.
Do not forget to select South and East if you are in VK (defaults suit USA)

The choice is yours.
If you want to use True North as the reference, keep the (default) value of zero degrees offset.