[Dxspider-support] What exactly are the country files used for?

[JOSEPH REED]

Keith,

I don’t load a copy of CTY to my Mac, I trust the cluster to be authoritative in that regard. And that is why we have crontab jobs to keep it current. When a node receives a spot and retransmits it to the user it has all the data it needs for a good log.  And on the flip side, it illuminates the spot as a potentially needed for example if WZ8ZZZ is in KH4 and it is needed on 1.8 MHz it will flag it a needed country in the logging software and not my neighbor down the road in Michigan.

Does that make sense?

Joe N9JR

> On Jan 2, 2023, at 4:33 PM, Keith Maton via Dxspider-support <dxspider-support at tobit.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> Hello Joe,
> 
> Yes, I understand the reason for them when it comes to logging software but that still doesn’t explain why they need to be updated on a dxspider node.  A logbook will read that info from its own local copy of the cty file. 
> 
> How does dxspider use these files?
> 
> 73 Keith G6NHU
> 
> —
> 
> 
>> On 2 Jan 2023, at 22:24, JOSEPH REED <joe at n9jr.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Not a dumb question.  They are used to identify what DXCC entity, CQ and ITQ zone a station is in.  They allow for accurate logging so if you upload a LoTW contact it is for the correct entity.  Today I worked W6W which intuitively you would think it was California, but it was actually Hawaii and my logging program recorded it as KH6.
>> 
>> If they are old you may not get the results you are expecting.
>> 
>> 73,
>> Joe N9JR
>>  
>>> On Jan 2, 2023, at 3:12 PM, Keith Maton via Dxspider-support <dxspider-support at tobit.co.uk <mailto:dxspider-support at tobit.co.uk>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> This may sound like a really dumb question but it only occurred to me earlier today and this is after running a cluster for years.
>>> 
>>> What exactly are cty.dat and wpxloc.raw used for in the context of the dxspider?
>>> 
>>> I know they’re important, it’s a big thing to keep them updated and I have scripts running not only on my node but also on my main logging computer for Fldigi and Aether so that they’re always up to date.  I know why they’re using them.
>>> 
>>> But why?  How does dxspider use these files?  What are the implications if they’re old?
>>> 
>>> My dad always told me that if you want to know something, it’s always better to ask than remain quiet.
>>> 
>>> Thanks.
>>> 
>>> 73 Keith.
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
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>> 
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