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<!doctype linuxdoc system>
<article>
<!-- Title information -->
<title>The DXSpider User Filtering Primer v1.0</title>
<author>Compiled By W3BG - Jim Samuels (jimsam@comcast.net) With Introduction by N3RD - Dave Hawes (dave.n3rd@comcast.net)</author>
<date>April 2003 revision 0.2</date>
<abstract>
A primer and tutorial for Users and SysOps of the DXSpider DXCluster program.
</abstract>
<!-- Table of contents -->
<toc>
<!-- Begin the document -->
<sect>Introduction.
<P>
The PacketCluster software written in the mid-80s by Dick Newell, AK1A, has
served us well. Dick has moved on though and has not supported the software
with updates etc. for the last 10 years. Numerous PacketCluster "clones" have
come and gone over the years, however there is one, called DX Spider, which
provides a very similar user interface to that of AK1A, allows internet
connections of users and node-to-node links, is actively supported by the
author, and best of all is freeware. FRC has started to convert several nodes
to Spider.
<P>
One of the strengths of DX Spider is its very powerful and flexible DX spot
filtering routines. These filters are totally different from anything we
learned how to do with PacketCluster, and along with their power and
flexibility comes somewhat of a learning curve. Hence the need for this
primer.
<P>
In the following sections, you will learn that you can filter DX spots by:
<tscreen><verb>
Frequency of the spot
Mode of the spot
Callsign of the spot (by state, country, zone, or specific callsign)
Callsign of the spotter (by state, country, zone, or specific callsign)
Callsign of the source node of the spot (by state, country, zone, or specific callsign)
</verb></tscreen>
<P>
With a few keystrokes, you can set up a filter for the CQ WW SSB contest, for
example, that says that you only want to see SSB spots on the contesting bands.
In the ARRL contest, it is simple to exclude spots for Ws and VEs. For example,
the best all around one-line filter for users in the CQ WW SSB contest would be:
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spots on contesthf/ssb
</verb></tscreen>
This simply reads, "I want to get spots on the hf contesting bands on SSB only."
<P>
Jim Samuels, W3BG, has put together this primer which not only provides complete
details on the format for all the available filter commands, but also provides
useful examples that can be simply typed in, without the need to learn the
specifics.
<P>
I would be remiss in not thanking Charlie Carroll, K1XX, who gave a lot of
encouragement and mentoring, and provided some of the material in this primer.
<P>
As always, your local sysop is available to help you out, if need be. Don't
hesitate to contact him for assistance.
<P>
73 - Dave N3RD
<sect>Foreword
<P>
While attempting to learn how DXSpider filters work, I found that I had to glean
bits and pieces of information from the DXSpider User Manual and Administrators
Guide as well as various posted messages, help files and the program and
data-base files themselves. Therefore, this is by no means an original work. I
have used and in some cases copied from some of these sources. What I have tried
to accomplish is to gather this scattered information, put it in one spot
(please pardon the pun) so others might benefit. I would advise those with
interest to go back and read these other sources at their leisure.
<sect>Configuring Spot Filters
<sect1>What is a spot filter?
<P>
A spot filter is one rule (a one line spot filter) or multiple rules (multiple
line spot filters) that a user can setup within DXSpider to control which
specific spot(s) are received at the shack console. These configurable
filters/rules reside on the DXSpider node and are stored along with the user's
other information. Filters can be likened to a car wash . . . . . like cars,
information goes in one end dirty, gets washed and comes out the other end
cleaned.
<P>
All spots received from other users on the cluster, or those received from other
nodes, start out life destined for each and every connected user's console. If
spot filtering has been configured, all spots headed for that user first go into
the filter input, are processed and sent out the other end of these filters
before being sent to the user's console. Like a car wash, each spot goes through
one or many stages depending on whether the user wanted a simple or a
super-duper filtering job. Along the way, the spot gets scrubbed, unwanted
information removed or wanted information passed on and finally the wanted spots
only are spit out the other end - nice and clean with all unwanted "stuff" sent
down the drain to the infamous "bit-bucket."
<sect1>How can filters be used?
<P>
For example, let's say our local user has never owned a microphone in his life
and definitely doesn't want to see any of those useless SSB spots. Our user
simply sets up a basic filter to reject any SSB spots before they reach the
user's console. Similarly, it's now the ARRL CW DX contest weekend, so not only
does our user not want to see SSB spots, but now doesn't want to see any UHF,
VHF, DATA or any US/Canadian "DX" spots. Our user now only accepts HF CW
CONTEST spots and in the same rule rejects spots for W and VE stations. In these
and many more situations, "filters are our friends."
<sect>Types of spot filters used in DXSpider
<P>
Basic filter types are "accept", "reject", and "clear" where the following
applies ...
<tscreen><verb>
Reject filters - any spots that match will be dumped, all others passed on.
Accept filters - any spots that match are passed on, all others are dumped.
Clear filters - the filter slot(s) referenced will be cleared from the filter
repository
</verb></tscreen>
For the most part we will use only reject and accept filters. These are the main
filter types. Basically, reject means dump it and accept means take it and pass
it on to the user. By nature, accept filters are more powerful than reject
filters. A user can generally do with a one line accept rule what it could take
many lines of reject rules to accomplish. However, the flip-side of this
statement is that a series of reject filters are usually easier to administer
and change.
<sect1> Numbering lines and slots
<P>
There are ten usable filter slots in DXSpider. Each slot holds one reject and
one accept rule. Therefore, each type filter can have up to ten lines of rules
contained in these ten slots. The filter rules must be numbered sequentially,
that is, 0-9 lines of reject filter rules and 0-9 lines of accept filter rules
to correspond to their respective slot position. If no number is used, every
line is assumed to be in slot 1 and the addition of a second filter line of the
same type without a number will just over-write the first that was previously
written to slot 1. (Why not slot 0? I don't know. This is the way it works.)
<P>
<em>Important:</em> The filter rules are applied in sequence, i.e., 0-9. If a
line matches, action is taken on that line. The filter sequence acts on rules
in the order listed. It acts on the reject filter in each slot before acting
on the accept filter contained in that slot. If the slot is completely blank or
if a reject or accept filter line is missing in that slot it skips right over
to the next filter rule in the sequence. A picture of a filter set might look
like this ...
<tscreen><verb>
Execution Sequence Slot Number Filter Rule
1 Slot0 reject/spot 0 <pattern>
2 accept/spot 0 <pattern>
3 Slot1 reject/spot 1 <pattern>
4 accept/spot 1 <pattern>
5 Slot2 reject/spot 2 <pattern>
6 accept/spot 2 <pattern>
. .
19 Slot9 reject/spot 9 <pattern>
20 accept/spot 9 <pattern>
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Reject before accept
<P>
This is not a good rule for life, but it makes sense for DXSpider filters. As
a general rule, reject filter rules within a slot are always executed before
accept filter rules. There is a very good reason for this. If a spot doesn't
match a reject filter, the spot is passed to the next filter line in the set.
However, if a spot matches an accept filter, it is sent immediately to the user.
<sect1>Using Multiple Reject Filter Rules
<P>
Another important concept to know is that you can do everything you want to do
with multiple reject filters AND NO ACCEPT FILTERS. By default, if a spot
doesn't match any of the reject filter definitions, then the system considers
you want the spot and sends it to you. For example, the following two filters
perform exactly the same thing ...
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spots on contesthf
reject/spots not on contesthf
</verb></tscreen>
So, why would we choose one rather than the other? Using reject syntax allows
you to add another filter line easily, without disturbing the first line. A
real example will show us how this works. Let's say that there is a RTTY
contest coming up and you don't wish to see the RTTY spots. Simply add another
reject filter like this ...
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spots 2 on hf/rtty
</verb></tscreen>
Note that we need to specify that this is the second line of reject filter
definitions. Also, the "RTTY" sub-band specification has to be associated with
a range of bands; it can't be specified all by itself. So, we just add it
behind the range of bands defined by "HF". So in our example, if the user does
a show/filter, he will be told by the Spider that his current filters are ...
<tscreen><verb>
filter 1 reject not on contesthf
filter 2 reject on hf/rtty
</verb></tscreen>
With these filters set up, if a spot comes through on 14085 kHz, the filter
works like this ...
<tscreen><verb>
filter1: Is spot NOT on the HF contest bands? No.
The spot doesn't match the filter definition, so pass it to
next filter.
filter2: Is spot within the frequency range defined for RTTY? Yes.
Since the spot matches the filter definition, the spot is rejected
and the user never sees it.
</verb></tscreen>
Had the frequency of the spot been 14025, then the spot would have not matched
the filter2 definition either, would have passed through all the filters, and
would have been sent to the user at the end of the filter set. Similarly, had
the spot been on 10 MHz, it would have met the definition of filter1, been
rejected immediately, and the filtering process would have stopped before
processing
filter2.
<P>
In addition, the filtering system has a rough time handling accept filters
followed by reject filters and adds inefficiency to the processing.
(Note: a reject as a "qualifier" to an accept rule in an accept filter line is
okay as we will see below)
<sect1>A very useful command
<P>
To see all active filters in use at any time, just type the following command
...
<tscreen><verb>
show/filter
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Case does not matter
<P>
In entering any filter - case does not matter. Upper, lower, or mixed case
will not effect how filters work or perform.
<sect1>Qualifiers
<P>
Logical operands can be used in rule sets to combine multiple actions or
qualify others. These are ...
<tscreen><verb>
and a and b= action
not a not b= action
or a and not (c or b)= action
</verb></tscreen>
Note: as a general rule when or is used you must also use parentheses ().
We will see how these can be used in examples later.
<sect1>Comma Separation
<P>
Any command can have multiple pattern variables if commas separate them.
For example ...
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot call_state nj,ny,pa,de,md
</verb></tscreen>
<sect>Reject filters
<P>
A reject filter line means that if a spot matches, send it to the trash, dump
it, do not send it down the line to the next rule or to the user, but pass-on
all other spots that do not match.
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: reject/spots [0-9] <pattern>
</verb></tscreen>
Any of the following patterns may be used in this line ...
<tscreen><verb>
freq <range>
on <range>
info <string>
call <prefixes>
call_dxcc <numbers>
call_itu <numbers>
call_zone <numbers>
call_state <state 2-letter abbreviations>
by <prefixes>
by_dxcc <numbers>
by_itu <numbers>
by_zone <numbers>
by_state <state 2-letter abbreviations>
origin <prefixes> Used primarily be SYSOPS, not by users and not discussed.
channel <prefixes> Used primarily be SYSOPS, not by users and not discussed.
</verb></tscreen>
<sect>Filters to reject spots based on frequency
<P>
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] freq <range>
or
reject/spot [0-9] on <range>
</verb></tscreen>
Important: both <em>freq</em> and <em>on</em> are exactly the same and can be
used interchangeably - most persons use <em>on</em> (less typing.)
<P>
For range, you can specify a frequency like 7040, a range of frequencies like
0/30000 ( the whole HF band) or use any of the "band" or "region" names defined
in the show/bands command.
<sect1>Bands Available
<P>
<tscreen><verb>
73kHz: 71 -> 75
136kHz: 135 -> 138
160m: 1800 -> 2000
80m: 3500 -> 4000
60m: 5258 -> 5407
40m: 7000 -> 7400
30m: 10100 -> 10150
20m: 14000 -> 14350
17m: 18068 -> 18168
15m: 21000 -> 21450
12m: 24890 -> 24990
10m: 28000 -> 29700
military: 29700 -> 50000, 230000 -> 420000
band1: 47000 -> 49999, 52000 -> 68000
6m: 50000 -> 52000
pmrlow: 68000 -> 87500
4m: 70000 -> 70500
band2: 87500 -> 108000
aircraft: 108000 -> 137500
pmrmid: 138000 -> 165000
2m: 144000 -> 148000
pmrhigh: 165000 => 174000
band3: 176000 => 230000
220: 220000 => 222000
pmruhf: 425000 => 430000, 440000 => 471000
70cm: 430000 => 450000
band4: 471000 => 550000
band5: 550000 => 868000
23cm: 1240000 => 1325000
13cm: 2310000 => 2450000
9cm: 3400000 => 3475000
6cm: 5650000 => 5850000
3cm: 10000000 => 10500000
12mm: 24000000 => 24250000
6mm: 47000000 => 47200000
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Regions Available
<P>
<tscreen><verb>
all: 73khz 136khz 160m 80m 60m 40m 30m 20m 17m 15m 12m 10m 6m 4m
2m 220 70cm 23cm 9cm 6cm 3cm 12mm 6mm
vhfradio: band1 band2
vhf: 6m 4m 2m 220
contesthf: 160m 80m 40m 20m 15m 10m
warc: 60m 30m 17m 12m
pmr: pmrlow pmrmid pmrhigh pmruhf
spe: 10m 6m 4m 2m
shf: 23cm 13cm 9cm 6cm 3cm
vlf: 73khz 136khz
uhftv: band4 band5
hf: 160m 80m 60m 40m 30m 20m 17m 15m 12m 10m
vhftv: band1 band3
uhf: 70cm 23cm
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Examples
<P>
The following line will reject spots on 7,040 kHz and pass all others.
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 0 freq 7040
</verb></tscreen>
The next line will reject spots from 0 to 30,000 kHz and pass on all others.
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 1 on 0/30000
</verb></tscreen>
This next will trash all spots in the frequency range 144000 -> 148000 kHz and
pass on all others.
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 2 freq 2m
</verb></tscreen>
This rule will reject all spots on 6m, 4m, 2m, and 220 and pass on all
others.
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 3 on vhf
</verb></tscreen>
This rule will dump all spots on the 160m, 80m, 60m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, 15m,
12m, 10m bands and all spots on 70cm and 23cm bands passing all other spots.
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 4 freq hf and freq uhf
</verb></tscreen>
This is a special spot to be used only by members of the Yankee Clipper
Contest Club during contest weekends. Hi!
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot on all
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Sub-bands as part of range
<P>
In conjunction with range, you can use the following sub-band names,
<tscreen><verb>
cw, rtty, data, ssb, and sstv
</verb></tscreen>
by using a forward-slash [(band or region)/sub-band] as part of the range
definition. For example ...
<P>
This rule will reject all HF phone spots passing on all others
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 0 freq hf/ssb
</verb></tscreen>
This filter rule will reject all HF CW spots but will not reject DATA and RTTY
spots in the CW range and will pass on all other spots.
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 1 on hf/cw and not (on hf/data or on hf/rtty)
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Filters to reject spots based on the "info" data in the spot
<P>
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] info <string>
</verb></tscreen>
This filter is used to key on information contained in the information section
of the spot. One could use this to reject any spots containing IOTA, QSL OP or
any other "key-word" used in the information string of the spot.
<P>
Examples ...
<P>
This filter will reject spots containing IOTA information and pass on all
others
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 0 info IOTA
</verb></tscreen>
This filter will reject all general CW spots on HF, but will still permit any
HF CW spots that contain iota information in addition to passing all others.
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 1 on hf/cw and not info iota
</verb></tscreen>
This next filter will reject spots asking or containing QSL information and
pass on all others
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 2 info QSL
</verb></tscreen>
Note: The following series of filters are based on <em>call</em> and
<em>by</em>. Call always references the callsign of the spotted DX station.
By always references the callsign of the spotting station.
<sect1>Filters to reject spots based on call
<P>
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] call <prefixes>
</verb></tscreen>
This filter is misleading in a way. It is strictly based on the spotted call
sign letters or numbers entered and not based on countries or DXCC entities.
One could filter on JIMSAM62 if desired.
<P>
Examples ...
<P>
This filter will reject spots for G1AAA, GJ2BBB, and GW3CCC and will pass on
spots for M0AAA.
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 0 call G
</verb></tscreen>
This next filter will reject spots for PA3AAA and pass on spots for PB4BBB
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 1 call PA
</verb></tscreen>
This filter will reject spots for K1AA, KC4AAA, and KH6DDD and pass on spots
for W3BG and N3RD
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 2 call K
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Filters to reject spots based on call_dxcc
<P>
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] call_dxcc <numbers or prefixes>
</verb></tscreen>
This filter is based on DXCC entities and uses either the country prefix or
the DXCC entity number, found by using the command <em>show/prefix</em>.
<P>
As in ...
<tscreen><verb>
show/prefix w
W DXCC: 226 ITU: 7 CQ: 4 LL: 43 0 N 87 54 W (W, United-States-W)
</verb></tscreen>
<tscreen><verb>
show/prefix VE
VE DXCC: 197 ITU: 9 CQ: 5 LL: 45 18 N 66 6 W (VE, New-Brunswick-VE)
DXCC: 197 ITU: 9 CQ: 5 LL: 48 30 N 56 0 W (VE, Newfoundland-VE)
DXCC: 197 ITU: 9 CQ: 5 LL: 44 36 N 63 36 W (VE, Nova-Scotia-VE)
DXCC: 197 ITU: 4 CQ: 5 LL: 45 30 N 73 36 W (VE, Quebec-VE)
DXCC: 197 ITU: 4 CQ: 4 LL: 43 42 N 79 24 W (VE, Ontario-VE)
DXCC: 197 ITU: 3 CQ: 4 LL: 49 54 N 97 6 W (VE, Manitoba-VE)
DXCC: 197 ITU: 3 CQ: 4 LL: 50 30 N 104 36 W (VE, Saskatchewan-VE)
DXCC: 197 ITU: 2 CQ: 3 LL: 51 0 N 114 6 W (VE, Alberta-VE)
DXCC: 197 ITU: 2 CQ: 3 LL: 49 18 N 123 6 W (VE, British-Columbia-VE)
DXCC: 197 ITU: 75 CQ: 1 LL: 60 42 N 135 6 W (VE, Yukon-VE)
</verb></tscreen>
Example ...
<P>
This spot filter will reject all spots for US and Canada stations and pass on
all others.
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 0 call_dxcc 226,197
</verb></tscreen>
This spot filter will reject all spots for US and Canada stations and pass on
all others including the special event station, W2WTC, who I want to work the
next time he is on the air.
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 1 call_dxcc w,ve not call w2wtc
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Filters to reject spots based on call_itu
<P>
Similarly, call_itu and call_zone use ITU regions that can also be obtained
using the show/prefix &lt;prefix&gt; command (see above.)
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call_itu <numbers>
</verb></tscreen>
Example ...
<P>
This spot filter will reject all spots for ITU region 7 and pass on all
others.
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 0 call_itu 7
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Filters to reject spots based on call_zone
<P>
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] call_zone <numbers>
</verb></tscreen>
This filter is based on CQ zones and uses the CQ zone number found by using the
command <em>show/prefix</em> (see above.)
<P>
Example ...
<P>
This spot filter will reject all spots for CQ zone 5 and pass on all others.
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 0 call_zone 5
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Filters to reject spots based on call_state
<P>
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] call_state <state2-letter abbreviations>
</verb></tscreen>
This filter is based on the state of the call spotted, for those callsigns
contained in the usdb database. Use the command <em>show/usdb</em> to see an
example of a listing in the database, like this ...
<tscreen><verb>
show/usdb k3ww
K3WW -> Perkasie, PA
</verb></tscreen>
Example ...
<P>
This spot filter will reject all spots for stations in the Mid-Atlantic
states and pass on all others.
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot call_state nj,ny,pa,de,md
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Filters to reject spots based on by
<P>
<em>by</em> filters are similar to and function exactly as call filters except
that they act on the spotting station callsign and not the spotted callsign.
<P>
So ...
<P>
This filter is similar to and functions like the call &lt;prefixes&gt;
(See above) except that it rejects spots generated by the spotting callsign
and passes all other spots.
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] by <prefixes>
</verb></tscreen>
This next filter is based on DXCC entities and uses the DXCC entity number
found by using the command show/prefix &lt;prefix&gt; and it rejects spots
generated within the spotting DXCC entity and passes all other spots.
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] by_dxcc <numbers>
</verb></tscreen>
This next filter is based on ITU regions and uses the ITU region number found by
using the command <em>show/prefix</em> (see above), except that it rejects
spots generated by a spotting callsign within the ITU region and passes all
other spots.
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] by_itu <numbers>
</verb></tscreen>
This filter is based on CQ zones and uses the CQ zone number found by using
the command <em>show/prefix</em> (see above), except that it rejects spots
generated by a spotting callsign within the CQ zone and passes all other
spots.
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] by_zone <numbers>
</verb></tscreen>
This filter is based on the state of the spotting station found by using the
command <em>show/usdb</em> and passes all other spots.
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] by_state <state2-letter postal codes
</verb></tscreen>
<sect>Accept filters
<P>
An accept filter line means that if a spot matches pass it on to the user, send
it down the line to the next rule or to the user, and trash, dump, all other
spots that do not match to the next filter line.
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: accept/spots [0-9] <pattern>
</verb></tscreen>
Any of the following patterns may be used in this line ...
<tscreen><verb>
freq <range>
on <range>
info <string>
call <prefixes>
call_dxcc <numbers>
call_itu <numbers>
call_zone <numbers>
call_state <state2-letter abbreviations>
by <prefixes>
by_dxcc <numbers>
by_itu <numbers>
by_zone <numbers>
by_state <state2-letter abbreviations>
origin <prefixes> Used primarily be SYSOPS, not by users and not discussed.
channel <prefixes> Used primarily be SYSOPS, not by users and not discussed.
</verb></tscreen>
Using these patterns, we can accept spots based upon ...
<tscreen><verb>
Frequency of the spot
Callsign of the spot (country or zone)
Callsign of the spotter (country or zone)
Contents of the "information field" which comes with the spot
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Filters to accept spots based on frequency
<P>
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] freq <range>
or
accept/spot [0-9] on <range>
</verb></tscreen>
Important: as noted before, both <em>freq</em> and <em>on</em> are exactly
the same and can be used interchangeably.
<P>
For range, you can specify a frequency like 7040, a range of frequencies
like 0/30000 ( the whole HF spectrum) or use any of the band/region names
defined in the SHOW/BANDS command (see above).
<P>
Examples...
<P>
This will pass on a HF spots only from 0 to 30,000 kHz and dump all others.
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 1 on 0/30000
</verb></tscreen>
This passes on all spots in the frequency range 144000 -> 148000 kHz and trash
all others.
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 2 freq 2m
</verb></tscreen>
This rule will only pass on spots on 6m, 4m, 2m, and 220 and reject all
others.
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 3 on vhf
</verb></tscreen>
This rule will pass on all spots on the 160m, 80m, 60m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m,
15m, 12m, 10m bands and all spots on 70cm and 23cm bands only. All other
spots are trashed.
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 4 freq hf and freq uhf
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Sub-bands as part of range
<P>
In conjunction with range, you can use the following sub-band names: CW, RTTY,
DATA, SSB, and SSTV by using a back-slash [(band or region)/sub-band] as part
of the range definition.
<P>
Examples ...
<P>
This rule will only accept and pass on HF phone spots rejecting all others
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 0 freq hf/ssb
</verb></tscreen>
This filter rule will accept all HF CW spots but will not include DATA and
RTTY spots in the CW range. In addition all other spots will be dumped.
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 1 on hf/cw and not (on hf/data or on hf/rtty)
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Filters to accept spots based on info
<P>
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] info <string>
</verb></tscreen>
This filter is used to key on information contained in the information section
of the spot. One could use this to accept any spots containing IOTA, QSL OP or
any other "key-word" used in the information string of the spot.
<P>
Examples ...
<P>
This filter will accept spots containing IOTA information only and reject all
others
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 0 info IOTA
</verb></tscreen>
This filter will accept only 10m SSB spots, but will still permit any spots
that contain iota information in addition - rejecting all other spots.
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 1 on 10m/ssb and info iota
</verb></tscreen>
This next filter will accept spots asking or containing QSL information and dump
all other spots
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 2 info QSL
</verb></tscreen>
Note: The following series of filters are based on <em>call</em> and
<em>by</em>. Call always references the callsign of the spotted DX station.
By always references the callsign of the spotting station.
<sect1>Filters to accept spots based on call
<P>
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call <prefixes>
</verb></tscreen>
This filter is misleading in a way. It is strictly based on the spotted call
sign letters or numbers entered and not based on countries or DXCC entities.
<P>
Examples ...
<P>
This filter will accept spots for G1AAA, GJ2BBB, and GW3CCC and reject all
others, including M0AAA.
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 0 call G
</verb></tscreen>
This next filter will accept spots for PA3AAA and reject spots for PB4BBB as
well as all others.
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 1 call PA
</verb></tscreen>
This filter will accept spots for callsigns beginning with "K", i.e., K1AA,
KC4AAA, KH6DDD and reject spots for W3BG and N3RD as well as all other
spots.
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 2 call K
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Filters to accept spots based on call_dxcc
<P>
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call_dxcc <numbers or prefixes>
</verb></tscreen>
This filter is based on DXCC entities and uses either the country prefixes or
the DXCC entity number found by using the command <em>show/prefix</em>. See
example of <em>show/prefix</em> above.
<P>
Examples ...
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 0 call_dxcc 226,197
or
accept/spot 0 call_dxcc ve,w
</verb></tscreen>
(Both will work) These spot filters will accept all spots for US and Canada
stations and trash all others.
<P>
The folowing spot filter will accept all spots for US stations and yet reject
any spots for W3FM who is always being spotted by Europeans and filling up my
screen.
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 1 call_dxcc w not call w3fm
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Filters to accept spots based on call_itu
<P>
Similarly, call_itu and call_zone use ITU regions that can also be obtained
using the <em>show/prefix</em> command (see above.)
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call_itu <numbers>
</verb></tscreen>
Example ...
<P>
This spot filter will accept all spots for ITU region 7 and reject all
others.
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 0 call_itu 7
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Filters to accept spots based on call_zone
<P>
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call_zone <numbers>
</verb></tscreen>
This filter is based on CQ zones and uses the CQ zone number found by using
the command <em>show/prefix</em> (see above.)
<P>
Example ...
<P>
This spot filter will accept all spots for CQ zone 5 and reject all others.
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 0 call_zone 5
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Filters to accept spots based on call_state
<P>
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call_state <state2-letter postal codes>
</verb></tscreen>
This filter is based on state of the call spotted for those callsigns contained
in the usdb database.
<P>
Example ...
<P>
This spot filter will accept all spots of stations located in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and reject all others. It's the PA QSO Party
Weekend.
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot 0 call_state pa
</verb></tscreen>
<sect1>Filters to accept spots based on by
<P>
<em>by</em> filters are similar to and function exactly as call filters except
that they act on the spotting station callsign and not the spotted callsign
<P>
So ...
<P>
This filter is similar to and functions like the call &lt;prefixes&gt; (See above)
except that it accepts spots generated by the spotting callsign and dumps all
other spots.
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] by <prefixes>
</verb></tscreen>
This filter is based on DXCC entities and uses the DXCC entity number found
by using the command <em>show/prefix</em> and it accepts spots generated
within the spotting DXCC entity and rejects other spots.
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] by_dxcc <numbers>
</verb></tscreen>
This next filter is based on ITU regions and uses the ITU region number found by
using the command <em>show/prefix</em> (see above), except that it accepts
spots generated by a spotting callsign within the ITU region and rejects all
other spots.
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call_itu <numbers>
</verb></tscreen>
This filter is based on CQ zones and uses the CQ zone number found by using
the command <em>show/prefix</em> (see above), except that it accepts spots
generated by a spotting callsign within the CQ zone and rejects all other
spots.
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call_zone <numbers>
</verb></tscreen>
This filters is based on the state location of the spotting station found
by using the command <em>show/usdb</em> and accepts only those spots
generated by stations from the states(s) specified rejecting all other spots.
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] by_state <state2-letter postal codes>
</verb></tscreen>
<sect>Clear filters
<P>
A clear filter line will delete the slot number specified or all slots and
consequently all filters that have been created by a user.
<P>
<tscreen><verb>
Syntax: clear/spots [0-9]
or
clear/spots all
</verb></tscreen>
Example ...
<P>
This will clear any or both accept and reject spot filters in slot 2.
<tscreen><verb>
clear/spots 2
</verb></tscreen>
This will clear each and every user spot filter - it will clear out all
filters in all slots.
<tscreen><verb>
clear/spots all
</verb></tscreen>
Note - if you just want to replace a spot filter, enter the rule again (with a
line number) and it will overwrite the previous filter in that slot. If you
forget the line number, it will overwrite the filter in slot 1 by default.
<sect>Some Practice Examples
<P>
The proceeding sections have discussed the basics of DXSpider filters. The
following are some examples utilizing basic filters and some not so basic
combination filters.
<P>
Let's say you don't want to see any of those 6m, 2m, or 220 spots.
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 0 on uhf
</verb></tscreen>
As a good stand alone contest filter ...
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spot on contesthf/<mode> where mode is either CW, SSB, or RTTY
</verb></tscreen>
Note: since a slot number is not included slot 1 is assumed.
<P>
It's a CW contest weekend so you don't want to see any WARC band or SSB spots.
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spots 0 on contesthf/cw
</verb></tscreen>
It's the same weekend, but you also don't want to see any US or Canadian spots,
or any rtty and data spots that are included in the CW portion of the bands.
Any of the following will accomplish the same result:
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spot 0 not on contesthf/cw
reject/spot 1 on contesthf/data
reject/spot 2 call_dxcc w,ve
or
accept/spot 0 on contesthf/cw and not (call_dxcc 226,197 or on contesthf/data)
or
accept/spot 0 on contesthf/cw and not (call_dxcc w,ve or on contesthf/data)
</verb></tscreen>
The following two discussions are from the Administrator Manual and are good
"textbook" examples:
<tscreen><verb>
rej/spot on hf/cw
acc/spot on 0/30000
acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
</verb></tscreen>
Note that accept and reject can be abbreviated. Also, the first filter has not
been specified with a number. This will automatically be assumed to be number 1.
In this case, we have said to reject all HF spots in the CW section of the bands
but accept all others at HF. Also accept anything in VHF and above that is
spotted in or by operators in the zones 14, 15 and 16. Each filter slot actually
has a 'reject' rule slot and an 'accept' rule slot. The reject rule slot is
executed BEFORE the accept rule slot.
<P>
It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match, the
default for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for 'accept'. In
the example what happens is that the reject is executed first, any non hf/cw
spot is passed to the accept line, which lets through everything else on HF.
The next filter line lets through just VHF/UHF spots from EU.
<P>
If you set a reject filter like this ...
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spots on hf/cw
</verb></tscreen>
Then you will get everything except HF CW spots. You could make this single
filter even more flexible. For example, if you are interested in IOTA and will
work it on CW even though normally you are not interested in CW, then you could
say ...
<tscreen><verb>
reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota
</verb></tscreen>
But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say,
<tscreen><verb>
accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota
</verb></tscreen>
which achieves exactly the same thing. Note that since slot numbers were
not used, slot 1 is assumed.
<sect>Contacts
<P>
This Primer is a work in progress. Additional features and filters are added
from time to time by Dirk Koopman, G1TLH, the developer behind DXSpider. So
periodic revisions will be made to this document. If you have any questions,
comments, or suggestions relative to this primer on spot filtering, please
contact,
<tscreen><verb>
Jim Samuels, W3BG jimsam@comcast.net
or
Dave Hawes, N3RD (W3FRC Cluster SYSOP) dave.n3rd@comcast.net
</verb></tscreen>
</article>
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