Hi All,

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There have been a couple of enhancements to the Who's On The Air Database (WOTA) that AC Log has been modified to support.? Most notably, WOTA now supports group messaging!

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Group messaging has a variety of applications.? For example, if you include EMCOMM in your message groups, you can send and receive?instant messages to all others in that group for emergency coordination.? This enables "real time" communication with potentially thousands of hams all over the world!? On a more local level, your area EMCOMM group can choose a group name for local communication.?

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Group messaging isn't limited to EMCOMM.? A WX group can be used to report real time weather observations, or your local club can create a group name for general communication.? Groups can be created "on the fly" to track a balloon launch, coordinate a net, etc.?

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Another important change to WOTA is that western longitude values should be negative.? This only applies to the WOTA form for now (the longitude value in AC Log's settings form is still positive).? I plan to make that change generally in AC Log and the rest of my contesting software in?future enhancements.

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When you enter your coordinates, please be as precise as possible.? AC Log has also been modified to allow for more digits in the WOTA?coordinate upload and to save the WOTA lat/long independently.

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Mark, WE6N, has done a fantastic job developing a map to display stations by band on a world map.? This map is still under development and not yet linked from , but you can take a look by clicking here:

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You'll notice that some of the stations are not properly located on the map.? That's because the change to the longitude specification just happened yesterday, and the software developers are just now getting the word out to our users.? Hopefully, most users will get the word in the next few days.

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Click on the balloon to find out more details, or click on the station listed on the right to zoom in on the station.? Click the plus and minus signs, and you can zoom into neighborhood level!? Not only is it a great way to see DX, but it also has applications for EMCOMM to see where stations are deployed on a local level.? Precise coordinates will make the map much more accurate, so please enter your values with care.

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The changes I've made to AC Log are not represented by a version number change.? The latest is still 3.0.? If you haven't yet upgraded to 3.0, please download the latest from .? The installation package now has the latest WOTA enhancements.

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If you are already running version 3.0, please download the following update by performing the these steps:

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- Close AC Log 3.0.

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- Click this link to download the updated .exe file:

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- Save the file in c:\program files\ACLog 3.0.

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- Start AC Log.

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- Click Settings > DX Spotting > WOTA.

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- Make sure your longitude is entered as a negative value if you have a western longitude and check the participate check box.

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The following are some tips that should help smooth the setup for the Field Day Network software:

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- For the messaging features to work properly, the path to the log file from the computer hosting the log should NOT route through the network. The client's path must route through the network and begin with \\ (the \\ tells the software that it is a client and which PC to connect to as the server). For example, the server's path might be: C:\FD\FDLog.mdb and each of the client's paths would be: \\Develop\C\FD\FDLog.mdb (assuming the PC hosting the file was Develop).

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- Because some versions of Windows can be particular about accessing files in the c:\program files directory via the network, it is best to create a separate directory outside of program files on the PC hosting the log file such as c:\FD.

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- Make sure that all PCs and your router or hub are on a UPS (uninterruptible power supply)! If your PC loses power when your generator runs out of gas you are tempting fate!

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- A backup of all your data is written to every PC connected to the log file every 15 minutes.? Even if the PC hosting the log file has a catastrophic failure, you can recover your log from any other PC on the network by clicking File > Combine or Restore from Backup.

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- Don't wait until the Saturday morning of Field Day to install and test out the software on your network! If you haven't already done so, get the PCs together before Field Day, hook them up and make sure that each PC is able to access and update the common data file. Problems solved very easily in a relaxed atmosphere can seem insurmountable when the clock is ticking.
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Please send us a link of pictures of your Field Day after this year's event.? It is really fun to see the activity from all setups, large and small.? You'll find?pictures of our 2005 FD here:

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We will be operating with the Northeast Maryland Amateur Radio Contest Society (NE3MD) again this year.? Have fun, and we hope to work you!?