Some 160m DX

 My XYL asked when I intend to remove the wire that slopes from the tower into our new trees. Yes, I should remove it...but first I want to make some more DX with this very simple 160m band sloper.

Worked some very nice stations which I not worked before on 160m last evening. One of the 4X1UF/QRP (Israel), GU8FBO (Guernsey Isl.) and EA8AR (Canary Isl.). The surprise was that I've been heard on Antarctica.

I guess my XYL needs to have patience....

Nice QSL card received from ON7DY, tnx Marcel!

First 60m ATNO in 2021 - A71AE Qatar

 Have been looking for this station for a while. However he is not on 60m very often. When he is, he's most wanted of course. And with the amount of stations on 60m these days working DX like this is extremely difficult. A first try, I was almost confident he managed to make it.

Unfortunately A71AE was covered by the signal from UR6QV who was on exact the same frequency. But since a slot later he gave CQ I assumed he had been transmitting a 73. Anyway, I decided to ask Mubarak by e-mail. He responded quickly that I was not in the log and should give it another try.

After trying for what looks like a 100 times:

I finally made it. The first new one on 60m this year. Of course I'm happy though checking his clublog upload I'm still not in the log. Mysteriously because to me the screenshot shows enough evidence. It was not a pirate station hopefully!!! I saw lots of others making a QSO, if no one is in the log then it definitely is a pirate...

(Guest post DB6LL) WSJT-X and JTDX sharing logs

 The case: Why should you use both programs on digimode? Well, WSJT-X contains other modes like the new FST. Q65 and MSK, JTDX contains T10 and other features. So sometimes you really need another package to work another digimode or use other features. Since many HAMs use both WSJT-X and JTDX making contacts it would be nice to see what you worked (B4, DXCC etc.) in both software packages. Of course you can make a copy of wsjtx_log.adi and paste it in both WSJT-X/JTDX directory every day. But it is possible to automate something like this so WSJT-X and JTDX share the same ADIF log. DB6LL Hartmut wrote about this for a German language digimode FB page. I asked him if I could use this for my blog and he responded by translate the whole document in English to share it with you all. Isn't that great!

Before you mess up completely I advice to not try this when you don't know much about computers, directories and DOS commands. Please make a back-up from your wsjtx_adi files before trying to modify things.

A shared LOG file for WSJT-X and JTDX under Windows

There is a way to share wsjt_log.adi in Windows (7, 8.1 and 10) WSJT-X and JTDXi. This makes it easier to work alternately with WSJT-X and JTDX and both programmes and also JTAlert show all callsigns e.g. with B4 that you have already worked. This trick works with the command mklink on the command line level and is not quite trivial (keyword: hard link type symlink). I have to assume a certain amount of computer knowledge so that this explanation does not go on forever. 

And as always: following these instructions is at your own risk!

<username> is the Windows user name on your system. In my case, I log in as DB6LL, so there is a directory with the name DB6LL on my PC:

By the way, it can't hurt to make a back-up of the two wsjtx_log-adi files before following this guide. You will find this file in the respective directories:

C:\users\<username>\appdata\local\wsjt-x\

and

C:\users\<username>\appdata\local\jtdx\

First, open the "Run" window with the Windows key & R. Then enter the command cmd.exe in the "Open" line and press ctrl+shift+Enter and answer yes when windows is asking you if it is allright. You will run the command as admin now.

A window called "Windows Command Prompt" opens. 

The cursor flashes in the line C:\WINDOWS\system32

Enter the command cd c:\users\<username>\appdata\local\jtdx\ and Enter.

You are now in the JTDX directory where, among other things, the logbook file wsjtx_log-adi is located.

With the command del C:\users\<username>\appdata\local\wsjt-x\wsjtx_log.adi you first delete the log file of WSJT-X in the target directory. (Of course this is when you want to use your JTDX wsjtx_log.adi as master).

Now you create a new

mklink /H C:\users\<username> \appdata\local\wsjt-x\wsjtx_log.adi wsjtx_log.adi

a HardLink of the file wsjtx_log.adi from the JTDX directory to the WSJT-X directory. It is then one and the same file with one name, which now appears to be in two places.

If you read the message in the CMD window: Hardlink created for... in the CMD window, the command has been executed correctly and you can see the JDTX log file in the WSJT-X directory.

In future, both programmes will write the logged stations to the same log file and display the same information (B4) in colours.

Note: The add-on programme JTAlert analyses the contacts from your main logbook and the information does not have to match the stations in wsjtx_log.adi, as it reports all contacts in all modes....

Good luck and in future always have a correct overview of which station you already have in the log.

vy73 Hartmut, DB6LL

(edited by Bas, PE4BAS)

I've tested the above trick myself and it works very well.