So Far DXLogger is
the ONLY logger that is capable of
doing the MAIDENHEAD MAYHEM
completely in every way.
This is how to
set up the DXLogger to run the
MAIDENHEAD MAYHEM.
First go here,
http://www.dxlog.net/sw/
to download the installer for the
logger.
Look for the folder with a name
similar to this,
DXLog.net-2.5.39msi The name may
be slightly different with
up-dated versions, but it will be
the only folder that looks
anything like that. Click on it
and download and save the
installer.
Now install the program. but DO
NOT run or open it yet.
Now click on this ZIP file Link,
and download the Contest
Definition file for the MAIDENHEAD
MAYHEM contest. Click
HERE to download the
ZIP file.
Unzip the zip file and
inside you will find two .TXT
files called, MAIDMAY.txt and MAIDMAY_db.txt
Save these txt files somewhere
convenient. And copy the MAIDMAY.txt one.
Now open the DXLogger, when
it opens you will see like
an artificial "Desktop".
Think of it as a virtual
"Desktop". You can make it
full screen, or any size you
want. You can even expand it
to cover multiple monitors.
Click on "File" and choose
from the drop-down, Open
Configuration Folder.
Now Paste the MAIDMAY.txt
file into the Contest
folder.
Now go and copy the MAIDMAY_db.txt file and paste that into the Database folder.
After Pasting, if
you open these folders
you will see these two files in their respective folders.
MAIDMAY.txt
in the Contest Folder
And MAIDMAY_db.txt in the Database folder.
Now
Close that window.
Now close down the program,
and then re-start it.
Now you should be looking at
something that looks like
this.
Now either click on File,
and choose New, OR
Click on the New
Button,
They both do the same
thing. Now you should
see a window that looks like
this.
First thing to do is in the
Contest area,
In the Contest pull-down,
choose the Maidenhead Mayhem
contest.
Catagory: Keep Single
Operator.
Station: Keep Fixed
Overlay: Choose either
Veteran or Rookie depending
on what you are.
Class: Choose your power
level you will be running.
Mode: Is always Mixed
Operator Name: Your Name
Power: What power you will
actually be running.
Next in the Station area, Now
fill it out as
seen as
completely as
you can.
The Exchange Window is what
you will be sending as your
Grid Square, so make sure
you enter this correctly.
Be sure to ONLY enter in this window your 2 digit grid square. IE: "EN"
Even if you wish to send a 4 digit grid square IE: "EN43" Only enter in the Exchange window here, the 2 digit for your Exchange.
Fill out all the fields the
best you can.
One Important note, For those of you in the USA break down your address
as seen above with the state and zip on that last bottom line.
Otherwise the Cabrillo file later has problems harvesting your state
when it is making itself.
This way if
you win anything we have a
way to contact you!
Once all filled out, click
on the OK and a new window
will appear.
It looks like this.
This is where it saves your
contest. I usually name it
with something that
describes what contest it
is, like above 2023-MAYHEM
Click on save, and the
logger will start.
Now DXLogger can be just as
simple as N1MM+ or as
complicated as N1MM+ can be
also. It can even do more
things than N1MM+ can do, as
seen here with this contest.
Seen here is probably how I
will have my logger set up.
If you want to see a larger
hi-res of this image, right
click and save as.
Then open it. It will be
very large then.
Now by DEFAULT, DXLogger is made to automatically use the Call History
Feature. For those of you not familiar with that Feature. What this
Call History feature does is when you enter a call into the logger, it
goes and looks in the MAIDMAY_db.txt database for that call. If it
finds it in there it can automatically grab the grid square info for
you and automatically populate in the logger for you.
Of course if the call is not found it won't fill in anything.
There are almost 11 Thousand Calls in that database!
=======================================================================
If you choose to use this feature, do nothing and skip this section.
If you want to shut off this Call History feature follow these instructions.
Have the contest all loaded and started up as described above.
Now In the Main looger window in the tool bar choose,
Options->Data files->Prefill database settings.
And you should see a window like this.
Setting the arrowed column to -1 will disable the lookup.
Click on OK
===============================================================
The Online Scoreboard, This is easy bonus
points and is fun to do anyway, AND it will make you more compeditive
too! Visit here to see what it looks like
https://contestonlinescore.com/
To set up the logger to send your data simply go here and follow the instructions.
http://dxlog.net/docs/index.php/Menu_Commands#Live_score
Now
do the Contest!
Just like N1MM+ this
DXLogger has pretty
steep learning curve.
Best thing is to go here, http://dxlog.net/docs/home.php/Main_Page
And 99% of everything you
may need to learn about is
there.
If what you need to learn
about you can't find there,
there is a fantastic
Groups.io E-Mail group that
supports this contest. You
can go here to join.
https://groups.io/g/DXLog
Now since this contest will
be extremely long, most
likely you will need to shut
this logger down sometimes.
Very simple just hit the "X"
in the upper right corner
like any typical window.
Now to start up the logger
where you left off, simply
start the program, but once
it is open this time,
remember this area?
This time click on the blue
box to the right of where
the arrow is pointing.
The window where you named
the contest will appear,
choose whatever you called
the contest, and click on
the OK. Now that setup
window will appear again,
but no changes need to be
made so hit OK again, and
the logger is all set ready
to make more contacts!
Now when the contest is
over, or you are stopping
for good. Time to make the
Cabrillo File. In this
logger, making the Cabrillo
file is a Little different
from most other loggers. But
it still is rather simple.
In the upper left click on
File, from the drop-down
choose Export, And then
choose Cabrillo. A window
called Save Cabrillo File
will appear. You can save
your Cabrillo there, or
choose a different location
if you choose to do so.
You will notice the Cabrillo
file being generated will
most likely NOT have the
name that you need it to be.
Your-Call.log Simply change
the name so it is your
Call.log IE: W9ET.log
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Revised
11-01-2022
N1MM+ Logger is still being
worked on by the program
developers.
When you use the below setup
files, make note of the
above date and check back
before the start of the
contest to make sure you
have the latest UP-Date.
Listed below is what it at
this moment can do, and what
it can not do.
The
Logger will keep track of
all your QSO's and alert
you of Dupes.
The Logger will
keep track of all your
multipliers.
But the visual grids
worked (Multipliers
Display) is very limited
at best.
The grids worked will not
appear in the grid square
window.
They DO appear in the
States/Sections/HQ grid
boxes window.
BUT.. only if you keep
refreshing it. it will not
up-date new ones as
worked.
They
do appear in
the Grid Field
Map. But can
be
sporadically
applied.
The Boxes will
get filled in
as Mults are
worked, but
for some
reason
(not detected
why yet) It
will skip one
that your just
worked, and
continue
filling in the
boxes of other
new ones
worked.
Changing bands
back and forth
causes it to
refresh and
then the
missing ones
show up.
But all this
"Visual"
displays of
"Mults"
"Grids" worked
is still
flawed anyway.
Work Grid "EN"
on 20 CW. And
the box gets
filled in.
Change modes
to SSB. and
the grid "EN"
should be
empty because
you have not
worked a "EN"
grid on 20 SSB
yet.
But it stays
filled in. The
display seems
to only count
bands, not
modes yet.
The Logger
WILL in the
log itself
correctly keep
track of the
mults worked.
The Logger will apply the
correct value of QSO
points by Mode to each
QSO.
The Logger will NOT apply
the Difficulty Factor to
the QSO Points.
Because of the above
issues, the logger's score
will NOT be even close to
what it truly is. But our
post contest software CAN
re-score the contest and
apply all needed parts of
the contest so the final
score is correct. You just
will not know what your
score truly is until we
publish the results. Or
you want to do the math
for each QSO on your own.
This is how to set up
N1MM+ Logger to do the
MAIDENHEAD MAYHEM Contest.
If you already have N1MM+
installed you can skip
this installing the
program section.
Click on this link
https://n1mmwp.hamdocs.com/downloads/n1mm-full-install/
And fully read the
instructions on how to
install the program.
It is IMPORTANT to follow
those instructions.
Many people make mistakes
when installing the
software causing it to not
work correctly. One major
one is NOT allowing the
program to install where
IT WANTS to install all
the components. Changing
anything on locations of
files most likely will
cause the program to
malfunction. A very common
mistake is letting some
files to go to a "One
Drive" location. The
program will NOT work
unless it is allowed to
install where IT WANTS TO
INSTALL!
So follow the instructions
on how to install as
described on that web
page.
Now we need to download
and install the needed
files for N1MM+ to be able
to do the MAIDENHEAD
MAYHEM Contest.
Click HERE
to download a small Zip
file.
Unzip it and save it to a
convenient location.
Now on your computer go
to:
Documents, and choose, the
N1MM Logger+ folder.
In that folder you will
see this.
Now go to the UN-Zipped
folder, and copy the,
MM.udc file, and paste it
into the
UserDefinedContests
folder.
Now copy from the UN-zipped
folder the CallHist_MM.TXT
file, and paste it into
the
CallHistoryFiles folder.
You can open each folder
to verify they did get
copied into their folders.
Close all these windows.
Now Start the program,
First thing you may see is
the Edit Station
Information Window
Fill it out as completely
as possible then hit OK.
The program should open to
at least the main window
that looks like this.
Now click on File, and
Choose New Log in
Database.
Then from the pull-down
menu choose MM Maidenhead
Mayhem
Now you should be seeing
this window.
Working top to bottom
here...
Ignore the Start Date.
Maidenhead Mayhem is
Single OP only so leave it
as Single OP.
Maidenhead
Mayhem is ALL
Band only, so
leave as All.
Choose
your power
level, LOW or
QRP.
Mode: There are
no single mode classes, so
choose, SSB+CW or
SSB+CW+DIGITAL
Overlay: If Veteran leave
it as N/A, if Rookie
Choose Rookie.
Station: Leave as Fixed
Assisted: Leave as
assisted, Assistance is
allowed and encouraged.
Transmitter: leave as
One. Only One is
allowed.
Sent Exchange: Put in here
your Grid Square, IE:
EN FM IO
etc.
Operators: This is single
OP only so put in your
Call.
Ignore Soapbox.
Click on the Associated
Files Tab, and a window
that looks like this
should appear.
In the line Call History
Filename, click on the
change button.
A new window that looks
like this should appear.
Choose the CallHist_MM.TXT
file, and click OPEN
Then click OK. The ready
to use window that looks
like this should be
visible.
You will notice in the
lower left it indicates
that the call history was
imported.
Be sure to activate the
Call History Feature.
Verify it is active by
clicking on Config and a
menu appears, make
sure the
Enable Call History Lookup
is check marked.
If you wish NOT to use the Call History assistance, Un check the Enable
Call History lookup Box.
That's it for the setup!
The Logger is ready to do
the contest.
IMPORTANT!!!
N1MM+ has a strange issue
with the time of Saturday
00:00Z. Any Saturday.
It is as if that time is
when the BIG BANG happened
at that moment and the
whole creation of the
universe and time starts
at that moment. The N1MM+
ability to keep track for
you of your time ON the
air and Off, is greatly
affected by this strange
issue.
If you start the contest
up, Not A RE-Start,
but if you do the Make a
new contest, in other
words do a File> then
choose New log in
database, and choose the
MM Maidenhead Mayhem, and
start a brand new contest.
If you try to use one you
created BEFORE 00:00Z
Saturday, the actual start
of the contest, Your
ON/OFF times will not work
correctly.
You Must start a totally
fresh contest AFTER 00:00Z
Saturday for the ON/OFF
timer to work correctly.
In addition, when you
approach this same time
next weekend, keep track
of your ON/OFF times
because when you cross
that 00:00Z Sat timeline a
week later it breaks the
ON/OFF time tracker.
Now
since this
contest will
be extremely
long, most
likely you
will need to
shut this
logger down
sometimes.
Very simple
just hit the
"X" in the
upper right
corner of the
main logger
window like
any typical
window.
Now to start
up the logger
where you left
off, simply
start the
program, and
it will start
up and be
ready to
resume where
you shut it
down.
If
you are a new user to
N1MM+ this Logger
has pretty steep
learning curve.
Best thing is to go
here, https://n1mmwp.hamdocs.com/
And 99% of everything
you may need to learn
about is there.
If what you need to
learn about you can't
find there, there is a
fantastic Groups.io
E-Mail group that
supports this contest.
You can go here to
join.
https://groups.io/g/N1MMLoggerPlus
Now
when the
contest is
over, or you
are stopping
for good. Time
to make the
Cabrillo File.
In this
logger, making
the Cabrillo
file is rather
simple.
In the upper
left click on
File,
from the
drop-down
choose
Generate
Cabrillo File.
A popup will
appear
called
Export, And
then choose
Cabrillo. A
window called
Check your
Sent Exchange!
Read to see if
anything is
wrong, and
adjust as
directed. If
OK simply
click on OK.
Now it will
ask you where
you want to
save the
Cabrillo file.
Save it
anywhere you
want, just
remember where
it is so you
can send it to
us!
E-Mail this
Cabrillo log
and any other
supporting
documents to
logs@w9et.com
Check in the Rukes page for log submittal deadlines.
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