Instructions for Using BasicLog
This is a worksheet for use in the Excel spreadsheet program. It enables you to enter QSO data from a paper log and get an ADIF file compatible with most logging programs and the ARRL Logbook of the World (LoTW.)
The purpose of this program is to keep the amount of data entry to an absolute minimum. Don't do any more work than you have to, hi! For example, you can enter an SSB QSO by typing in the Mode field just an "s" or a "3" (A3a), you only need to type in the whole number of MHz., and on the Time field, you can type in a "1" and the program will print "0001." Since a lot of logs have multiple entries on the same date with the same band and mode, BasicLog will automatically enter those items for you on each additional QSO. You can over-write them with new information any time you want but it keeps you from having to enter the data which repeats from one QSO to the next.
IMPORTANT !! Before you make ANY entries in BasicLog, use the File | Save As command to save a copy of BasicLog to the directory you will be using to hold your ADIF files. This is EXTREMELY important because once you input data into BasicLog, you can not just delete it and enter more data. Some of the cells will have their contents changed and if you do not start over with a "clean" version of BasicLog, you WILL get erroneous data.
Simply put, save your ORIGINAL copy of BasicLog to a place where it is safe. Then, make a copy of it by using the Save As command to another folder. Then you can use the "copy" of BasicLog to make entries. I follow this convention, the first copy of BasicLog I save as "BasicLog0001" then the next time I enter QSO's into BasicLog, I open the original BasicLog and save another copy of it as "BasicLog0002" and so on.
BasicLog is set up in Excel to use the Split-Screen display. When you first open BasicLog, the first three rows (Headings) are shown in the upper screen and the lower screen begins with row 4. This way the Field Headings are visible even when you get beyond the number of rows that can be displayed on your screen. If you scroll back up to the top of the lower screen, you will see the top 3 rows twice. This is easily corrected by not scrolling the lower screen clear to the top but stopping with Row 4 at the top of that screen.
Date
You can type in the date as mm-dd-yyyy or just m-d-yy and the program will convert it. But you need to type in either a dash (-) or a slash (/) between the M the D and the Y.
Freq. MHz
This is only a "Basic Log" that is intended for submitting the "MINIMUM" data necessary for LoTW. If you want to enter the exact frequency of your QSO, you will need to use a regular logging program. For this program, just enter the WHOLE number of Megahertz. That is, the number to the left of the decimal in the Frequency. For example, enter just "1" for a QSO anywhere on 160-M or "28" for a logged frequency of "28.505" or just "50" for a frequency of "50.125." For any bands above 6-M, just enter the number you find in Column A of the "Band Table" worksheet. For 2-M contacts, enter "144" regardless of where you made the QSO in the 2-M band and so on. The purpose of this field is to just determine the BAND and it is not concerned with your exact frequency. If you make a mistake and enter, for example, "27" instead of "28" for the Frequency, BasicLog will print "#N/A" in the Band Field. This is a WARNING to you to correct the entry in the Frequency Field.
Mode
In the Mode field, you can type just a "1" for CW (A1), or a "3" for SSB (A3a), or you can type a "c" for CW or an "s" for SSB. It is not case sensitive so you can use the caps lock key for data entry if you like and your calls will all look neater.
If you want to enter a mode other than CW or SSB, you can over-type the data in the "Mode" field and the ADIF file will be correctly created. But, make sure you use a mode that is accepted by the ARRL and type it EXACTLY as the ARRL directs.
Time
You can type in tttt or just ttt or tt or just t for the time and the program will add the leading zero(s). For example, at the beginning of the contest, if you made the first QSO at "0000" GMT, just enter "0" and hit the TAB key. The program will fill in the three leading zeros. Following the same logic, if you enter "14" in the time field, the program will log it as "0014". This saves a few more keystrokes.
Call
For the callsign, this is obvious. Just enter the call of the station you worked. Make sure the slash you use for portable operations is the correct one ( / ) and not this one ( \ ).
Once you have entered your data (and while you are doing the entering) SAVE the worksheet at frequent intervals. Use File | Save from the menu bar. You can enter up to 100 QSO's in BasicLog before you have to start a new worksheet.
I would recommend that you proof the entries you make in BasicLog BEFORE you save the ADIF file and upload it to LoTW or to your logging program. Errors can (and do) creep in when entering lots of data and it is much easier to correct it here before you upload the wrong data.
SAVE the ADIF Worksheet
Once you have entered 100 QSO's (or any number less than 100) you need to SAVE the Excel file by using File | Save from the menu bar. You already did a "Save As" before you started entering QSO data (right?) so you will not have to do anything but a "Save" here. This is good because you now have all your entries saved and should you make any mistakes later, you can easily recover the QSO data without the need to retype it.
Once you have saved the Excel file, click on the ADIF tab at the bottom of Excel to view the ADIF Worksheet. Now go to File | Save As on the menu bar and select the location you want to save to and give the file a name that is enclosed in quotes (one double-quote on each end of the filename) and with an "ADI" file extension inside the quotes. The Filename you are Saving As should look something like this, including the quotes:
"W8TN-0001.adi"
And, Most Important, select the "Save as type:" (right below the filename) as "Text (OS/2 or MS-DOS) (*.txt)" from the drop down box. This is located near the bottom of the drop-down list. This will save the file in TEXT format with an ADI extension and that is what you will need.
Once you click on the "Save" button, you will get a warning that the file type does not support workbooks that contain multiple worksheets. It tells you that to save only the active sheet, click OK. Do that (click OK on the pop-up warning box.)
Once you save the ADIF worksheet you now need to close the Excel worksheet (or the Excel program.) This may give you another warning about "filename.txt" not being in Excel format. Just ignore this warning by clicking on "No." If you have previously saved the Excel worksheet after you typed in your data, this will be no problem as it has already been saved in the Excel format.
After you save the ADIF worksheet you are then ready to load the ADIF file into your regular logging program or upload it to LoTW if you have input EXACTLY 100 QSO's. if you have loaded less than 100 QSO's, you need to load it into a word processor and delete the last line of the program which will look something like:
<call:0><qso_date:8>20000618<time_on:4>000<band:0><mode:0><rst_sent:2>59<rst_rcvd:2>59<eor>
Note that the call field is "0" (<call:0>), this is a clue that this is a line to be deleted.
AND, delete all lines that look like this:
#VALUE!
Now SAVE the file from the word processor. You are now ready to upload it to your regular logging program or the TQSL program for LoTW.
If you want to join together several different sessions of BasicLog to make one large ADIF file, you can just load them into a word processor and combine them. Load the first file then open the second and using Select All and Copy and Paste, bring each additional file into the new combined file. Be sure that each time you bring in an additional file that you delete the first 4 lines which look like this:
Created by BasicLog
A Simple log entry program by W8TN
Email: w8tn@ntelos.net
<eoh>
You should only have those four lines at the very beginning of the final combined file.
These instructions should cover everything you may encounter in using BasicLog. If you find any problems with the spreadsheet, please contact W8TN.