== Identifying and Logging QSOs with Club Members, Callsigns with Leaderboard Competitions, and other Special Callsigns == !SpotCollector's [[http://www.dxlabsuite.com/spotcollector/Help/ConfigurationSpecialCallsigns.htm|Special Callsign List]] enables you to * identify callsigns that when spotted should be flagged and considered for announcement as a '''Special Callsign''', and that when logged via the Capture window are highlighted with Magenta font color * specify one or more '''tags''' that should be associated with each '''Special Callsign''' that * can be displayed when [[http://www.dxlabsuite.com/dxview|DXView]] performs a lookup of that callsign * govern how [[http://www.dxlabsuite.com/spotcollector|SpotCollector]] decides to highlight and announce that callsign * can prevent the [[OptimizeSCPerformance|pruning of Spot Database Entries]] for that callsign, allowing accumulation of a long operating history * can be appended to the '''Comment''' item of QSOs logged with that callsign by [[http://www.dxlabsuite.com/dxkeeper|DXKeeper]] or by [[http://www.dxlabsuite.com/winwarbler|WinWarbler]] ([[http://www.dxlabsuite.com/dxview|DXView]] must be running) === Configuration === 1. on the '''Audio Alarm''' tab of !SpotCollector's '''Configuration''' window, check the '''Announce special callsigns''' box in the '''Audio Alarm trigger''' panel 1. on the '''General''' tab of DXView's '''Configuration''' window, check the '''Query Special Callsign Database''' box 1. on the '''General''' tab of DXKeeper's '''Configuration''' window, check the '''Log Special Callsign Tags''' box 1. on the '''Log''' tab of !WinWarbler's '''Configuration''' window, check the '''log Special Callsign Tags''' box === Adding Callsigns to the Special Callsign List === Each entry on the '''Special Callsign List''' specifies a callsign, and a '''Tag List''' containing '''Tags''' separated by commas. A '''Tag''' is a word of your choosing typically used to indicate why the callsign is ''special'' -- the name of a club, for example, or a membership number like {{{EPC-2640}}}, or simply {{{friend}}}. The absence of any '''Tag''' means [[IdentifyBadCallsigns| ignore all spots of this callsign]] so if that's not your intent, be sure to specify at least one '''Tag'''. If a callsign is participating in a Leaderboard Contest,create a '''Special Callsign List''' entry for the callsign with {{{Leaderboard}}} as its a tag. When a Spot Database Entry is created for such a callsign, !SpotCollector will highlight it as ''needed for Leaderboard'' and announce it as a special callsign if you haven't logged a QSO with the callsign on the entry's band (160m, 80m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m, 6m, 2m) and in the entry's mode (phone, CW, digital). If a callsign is participating in an award program you're pursuing, create a '''Special Callsign List''' entry for the callsign with the award program name as its a '''Tag'''. When a callsign is member of one or more clubs with whom you seek QSOs, create a '''Special Callsign List''' entry for the callsign with each membership number as a '''Tag'''. You can manually enter callsigns and '''Tags''' in the '''Special Callsigns List''', or you can populate the '''Special Callsigns List''' from a text file that specifies a callsign and its '''Tags''' on each line. Files containing membership lists for popular clubs can be obtained from these sources: * [[http://hamclubs.info|Ham Clubs]] (070, DMC, FH, 1010, FISTS, SKCC, FOC, NAQCC, FPQRP, HSC, OQRS Users, ClubLog DXPeds, Special Event Stations, ILLW), maintained by [[mailto:dwestbrook@gmail.com|David KJ4IZW]] * [[https://www.skccgroup.com/member_services/files_and_downloads/N1MM/n1mm.php|SKCC Downloads]] * [[https://groups.io/g/DXLab/files/Special%20Callsign%20Lists|DXLab Special Callsign Lists]] To manually create a [[http://www.dxlabsuite.com/spotcollector/Help/ConfigurationSpecialCallsigns.htm|Special Callsign List]] entry, 1. select the '''Special Callsigns''' tab of !SpotCollector's '''Configuration''' window 1. in the '''Special Callsign List''' panel, a. if necessary, scroll the '''Special Callsign List''' so that its last row is visible; this row contains an asterisk in its left-most column a. type the callsign into the '''Callsign''' column of the last row of the '''Special Callsign List'''; this will create a new row with a pencil icon in it's left-most column a. type one or more tags, separated by commas, into the '''Tag List''' column of the newly-created row of the '''Special Callsign List''' a. strike the '''Enter''' key After adding one or more new entries to the '''Special Callsign List''' or modifying existing entries, you can update !SpotCollector's Spot Database to reflect those changes by clicking the '''Recompute''' button along the right edge of !SpotCollector's Configuration window's '''Spot Database''' tab. === Predefined Tags === ||'''Tag'''||'''Meaning'''|| || ||spots of the callsign will be ignored|| ||{{{BadSource}}}||with the the [[https://www.dxlabsuite.com/spotcollector/Help/ConfigurationSpecialCallsigns.htm#Check%20Spotting%20station%20callsigns%20for%20BadSource%20tags|Check Spotting station callsigns for BadSource tags]] option enabled, spots of the callsign are ignored, and spots sourced by the callsign are ignored|| ||{{{Leaderboard}}}||track the callsign for a Leaderboard competition|| ||{{{NoPrune}}}||when [[https://www.dxlabsuite.com/spotcollector/Help/ConfigurationDatabase.htm#Size%20Control%20panel|pruning the Spot Database]], retain Spot Database Entries for the callsign|| ||{{{PredictSNR}}}||with the [[https://www.dxlabsuite.com/spotcollector/Help/ConfigurationGeneral.htm#Enable_SNR_&_Probability_Prediction|Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and Probability Prediction]] setting enabled, creation of a Spot Database Entry for the callsign will initiate an SNR & Probability prediction|| === Displaying a callsign's Tags === To see the '''Tags''' associated with a callsign, enter that callsign in DXView's Main window and strike the '''Enter''' key; the callsign's '''Tags''' will appear in the '''Special Callsign Tags''' panel on DXView's Main window. Typing a callsign into DXKeeper's '''Capture''' window and then striking the '''Enter''' or '''Tab''' key will also direct DXView to display the callsign's '''Tags'''. === Filtering the Spot Database Display to Show Active Stations with Specified Tags === If you're using a set of tags -- say QWCA, !TenTen, and EuroPSK -- to identify club members, you can setup a [[https://www.dxlabsuite.com/spotcollector/Help/SpotDatabase.htm#Filtering%20with%20SQL%20expressions|filter]] to quickly identify all active stations with a specific tag, e.g. TAGS LIKE '*!TenTen*' or one of several specific tags, e.g. (TAGS LIKE '*QWCA*') or (TAGS LIKE '*EuroPSK*') === Logging a callsign's Tags === With DXView running, DXKeeper will log the '''Tags''' associated with a callsign by appending them to the QSO's [[https://www.dxlabsuite.com/dxkeeper/Help/Items.htm#note|Comment]] item if DXKeeper's '''Log Special Callsign Tags''' box is checked the '''Options''' panel on its Configuration window's '''General''' tab. === Other Topics === * [[IdentifyBadCallsigns|Identifying Callsigns that When Spotted should be Ignored or Whose Spots should be Ignored]] * [[IdentifyNoPruneCallsigns|Identifying Callsigns whose Spot Database Entries whose Spot Database Entries should not be Pruned]] ---- [[DXLabDiscussionGroup|Post a question or suggestion on the DXLab Discussion Group]] [[DxInfo|Getting Started with DX Information]] [[Logging|Getting Started with Logging]] [[CollectingSpots|Getting Started with Spot Collection]] [[GettingStarted|Getting Started with DXLab]]