G4ZFE Log Search Applet - Log formats

Log File Format

The log search program uses an ASCII log file sorted and split up into 36 files ("A.TXT" to "Z.TXT" and "0.TXT" to "9.TXT"). These files are pre-sorted in callsign order.

For example this is part of a "L.TXT" file:

24-NOV-96 2036  40  CW  LA1K
24-NOV-96 0307 160  CW  LA2KD
23-NOV-96 0113 160  CW  LA2O
23-NOV-96 0306  80  CW  LA2O

Note that only the date, time, band, mode and callsign fields are stored. This is to speed up the search and also to reduce disk space on the server.

To produce these files I have written a 'C' program to do the parsing, sorting and writing of the .TXT files. The input file for conversion can be in any of the following formats:

ADIF (Amateur Data Interchange Format, example file);
Printer output file (example file);
ASCII log file (e.g Super Duper .log or CT .res formats) (example file).
Cabrillo log file (example file).

To use the sortlog program:

Download the MS-DOS (ZIP format) executable and applet (also contains source if you prefer to compile the program yourself).
Run the program "sortlog example1.log". By default the program will not store any date or time information in the log files. This is the recommended way to publish logs on the Internet.
Copy all of the .TXT files produced to your server (including the empty files!). As the files produced have the same names it is a good each to create a sub-directory on the server for each log.

If you have problems or are unsure of the above then e-mail your logs (zipped up) and I'll e-mail the formatted files back to you.

Why is this strange file format used?

It is possible just to store the ASCII log on the server and use it instead of the .TXT files. However as the search program reads the log file from the server then the *whole* of the log file would need to be transferred. For example, the M6A 1996 CQ WW CW log contains 3100 QSOs and even with the minimum amount of data is still 100K which would take a few minutes to download. Splitting the files up mean that a much smaller amount of data needs to be transferred which reduces both the download and search times.

Why does sortlog change my mode from RTTY to DAT?

Given the large number of modes available today it was decided to follow ARRL LoTW by only allowing the following modes - CW/PHO/IMG/DAT. Therefore all data modes are converted to DAT.
The mode conversions are detailed on the LoTW pages.

Sortlog Parameters

Important! By default the program removes date and time information from the log files. This prevents fradulent use of log data and is recommended for Internet logs.

To allow date information to be stored in the log files use the -date switch - not recommended for Internet log files.
For example, "sortlog -date example1.log"
To allow time information to be stored in the log files use the -time switch - not recommended for Internet log files.
For example, "sortlog -time example1.log"
To allow date and time information to be stored in the log files use both the -date and -time switches - not recommended for Internet log files.
For example, "sortlog -date -time example1.log"
To allow the ADIF comment field to be stored in the log files use the -comment switch.
For example, "sortlog -nodate -comment example1.log"
To create lower case output files (e.g. z.txt instead of the default Z.TXT) use the -lower switch.
For example, "sortlog -lower example1.log"

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