Category: Software

I’m not much of a programmer. I’ll be the first to admit that. But, now and then, I manage to cobble together a useful script using the Python programming language to make short work of repetitive, tedious tasks. Here’s an example.

I described my process for logging contacts in a previous post. Part of that process is keeping track of where I was at the time and what rig I was using. My main log in N3FJP’s ACLog uses the other fields feature to implement the ADIF tags, MY_QTH and MY_RIG. Adding that information to ADIF files being imported into my main logging program was time-consuming.

I had been using ADIF Master to add these fields and populate them. I still highly recommend ADIF Master but I wanted to see if I could automate things using Python.

What I ended up with is a script that prompts me to enter my location and rig. If the ADIF file doesn’t already include a tag for TX_PWR, the script prompts me to enter my transmit power also. It then generates these new tags and inserts them in each record in the file. It takes me about 15 seconds to execute the script.

As I noted earlier, I’m no programmer. So, this code might not be the most elegant—or “Pythonic,” as they say—way to approach the problem. However, it does exactly what I needed.

Source Code

__author__ = "Craig LaBarge WB3GCK"
__email__ = "wb3gck at arrl.net"
__contact__ = "https://wb3gck.com/contact/"
__date__ = "5/03/2019"
__version__ = "v1.1.0"

# This script is used to add my custom tags to ADIFs exported from SKCCLogger or other programs.
# The script expects:
#     Files in ADIF located in the same working directory as the script
#     ADIF files must have a ".adi" or ".adif" extension.


import os
import sys


def listfiles():
    """This function finds all ADIF files in the working directory and prints out a listing with index
    numbers.  It returns a list of available ADIF files."""
    logs = []
    count = 1
    for filename in (os.listdir('.')):
        if '.adi' in filename:
            logs.append(filename)
            print(str(count) + ' - ' + filename)
            count = count + 1
    if not logs:   # Check for empty list; e.g., no PDFs found
        print('')
        print('Ooops! No ADIF files found!!  \nTerminating script...\n')
        sys.exit()
    else:
        print('')
        return logs


print('\n*** add_tags.py ' + __version__ + ' by WB3GCK ***\n')


# Prompt the user for the integer number corresponding to the desired message file.
# Check to make sure the input is within the proper range
good_file = False
file_choice = ''
file_list = listfiles()  # Get a list of ADIF files
file_in = ''
while not good_file:
    file_in = input('Enter the ADIF file number:  ')
    if not file_in.isdecimal():  # Check for non-numeric input
        print('Input must be a numeral!  Try again, Pal!')
        continue
    else:
        file_nr = int(file_in) - 1
    if file_nr < 0 or file_nr > (len(file_list) - 1):  # Check for out of range input
        print('Input out of range.  Better try that again, Bucko.')
    else:
        file_choice = file_list[file_nr]  # Sets the selected file name
        good_file = True

# Check the selected file for the presence of a TX_PWR tag
if ('TX_PWR' in open(file_choice).read()) or ('tx_pwr' in open(file_choice).read()):
    has_pwr = True
else:
    has_pwr = False

# Prompt user for the MY_QTH value
my_qth = input(r'Enter QTH:  ')
qth_tag = '<MY_QTH:' + str(len(my_qth)) + '>' + my_qth + ' '

# Prompt user for MY_RIG value
my_rig = input(r'Enter Rig:  ')
rig_tag = '<MY_RIG:' + str(len(my_rig)) + '>' + my_rig + ' '


# Prompt user for TX_PWR if there is no TX_PWR in the selected file
good_pwr = False
tx_pwr = ''
pwr_tag = ''
if not has_pwr:
    while not good_pwr:
        tx_pwr = input('Enter TX_PWR:  ')
        # Check for numerals and decimal points only
        try:
            val = float(tx_pwr)
            good_pwr = True
        except ValueError:
            print("Hey Bucko! Numerals and decimal points only!!")
    pwr_tag = '<TX_PWR:' + str(len(tx_pwr)) + '>' + tx_pwr + ' '

# Create the replacement tag
if not has_pwr:
    new_tags = qth_tag + rig_tag + pwr_tag + '<EOR>'
else:
    new_tags = qth_tag + rig_tag + '<EOR>'

# Modify the selected ADIF file
file = open(file_choice, 'r')
filedata = file.read()

# Replace the target string
if '<EOR>' in open(file_choice).read():
    filedata = filedata.replace('<EOR>', new_tags)
elif '<eor>' in open(file_choice).read():
    filedata = filedata.replace('<eor>', new_tags)
else:
    print('Are you sure this is a valid ADIF file?? \nTerminating script...')
    sys.exit()

file = open(file_choice, 'w')
file.write(filedata)

print('\nGreat success! ' + file_choice + ' modified.\n')

How to Run It

I run this script on a Windows machine, so this section is focused on that operating system. For Linux and Mac, you might need to do some research.

• Make sure you have Python 3 installed on your computer. If not, you can get it for free at python.org.
• Download the script file here and unzip it.
• Place the ADIF file you want to modify in the same folder as the script file. 
• Open a command window and navigate to the directory containing the script and ADIF file.
• Start the script with the command: python add_tags.py. I use a Windows batch file to save having to save some typing. Depending on how Python is installed on your system, you might be able to just double-click the script file.
• Following the prompts, enter the necessary information. That’s all there is to it.

Some Precautions

• This script doesn’t check to see if you have already modified the ADIF file. If you have, you’ll end up with redundant fields in your ADIF file. Your logging program probably won’t like that.
• Always keep a backup of your ADIF file or have an easy way to regenerate it. If you make a mistake in one of your inputs, just start over with another copy of the ADIF file.
• I’ve only included a minimal amount of error checking in the script, so it’s far from bullet-proof. Double-check each input carefully before pressing <ENTER>.

Disclaimers

Of course, no article on software is complete without a disclaimer or two.

• Use this script at your own risk. It works for me, but I make no guarantees that it will work for you.
• I can’t offer any technical support or tailor it to your application.

So there you have it. If you find yourself having to routinely add fields to an ADIF file—maybe not, but you never know—feel free to modify this script to suit your needs. It should be easy to adapt it to add other ADIF tags.

If you want to dabble in Python programming, Google is your friend. There are tons of resources out there for learning Python.

73, Craig WB3GCK

I recently discovered a very useful piece of software.  Fast Log Entry (FLE) is a small text editor that lets you quickly get your QSO information from paper logs onto your computer.  I originally installed FLE about a month ago but I didn’t immediately see its benefits.  After taking a closer look at it, I have now added into my logging utility “toolbox.”  FLE is a free download from DF3CB, although donations are welcomed.  It is a Windows application but it runs great on Linux under Wine.

Here’s a typical use case for me.  Quite often, I’m operating portable and logging my contacts in a small notebook.   If there’s a small number of contacts, I could just enter them into N3FJP’s ACLog, which I use for my main log.  However, entering into ACLog can be a little tedious if I have a significant number of contacts to deal with.  This is where FLE comes into play.

FLE provides a simple, keyboard-only, way of entering the information.  It uses a very simple format for the information.  To get started, you enter the date in the format YYYY-MM-DD.  Then, enter the band (e.g., 40m, 20m, etc.). Similarly, for the mode, you can just enter it (like “CW” or “SSB”).  See the screenshot below for an example.

You can now start entering your contacts.  Once you enter a contact at a particular time, you only need to enter the portion of the time that changed for the next contact.  For example, let’s say you worked a station at 1510 and another at 1511. After you enter the contact at 1511, you only have to enter “11” (i.e., just the minutes) for the next contact.  If you run a string of stations, you only need to note the time periodically in your paper log (say every 5 or 10 minutes).  FLE will interpolate the time for your contacts after you enter them if you like.  Also, there’s no need to worry about capitalization; FLE takes care of that.  You can enter RST (send and receive) information, or let it default to 599 or 59.  You can populate the “comments” field by enclosing the comment in angle brackets <>.  You can also add grid square information by prefacing it with a pound sign, like “#FN20.”

After you have finished entering your contacts, you can easily export an ADIF (Amateur Data Interchange Format) file for ingesting into your logging program.  FLE will also let you create a Cabrillo file for contest submissions.

My brief attempt at describing FLE probably doesn’t do it justice.  I recommend going to the author’s website to download a copy and taking it for a spin.  Be sure to check out the step-by-step instructions on the website.  Another great resource is a video by VK5PAS.  He gives a very thorough introduction to FLE and explains it much better that I can.  Although his video is targeted at the WorldWide Flora and Fauna program, it is a great tutorial on using FLE.

So, if you do a lot of portable operating with paper logs (think SOTA, NPOTA, IOTA, WWFF, etc.), take a look at FLE.

72, Craig WB3GCK