MoonSked Frequently Asked Questions

Here are a few answers to how MoonSked software handles the schedules and station details supplied by schedule co-ordinators. 

If anyone can fill me in on how 432 and up schedules are handled, or if you find any mistakes in my understanding please email me.

I'm really enjoying your Moonsked  thank you for all your efforts.  I have all 13 files in my folder, which includes uhf data but cannot access 
UHF data even though 432 has been chosen as my preference. sked maker and call find uses the 144 mhz data base rather than the UHF data base. 

The actual station data is contained in DIR.SKD and this is loaded as the program starts up. The normal DIR.SKD file is for 144MHz operators only, however there are others available for other bands. PLEASE NOTE from v 1.4.7 upwards MoonSked  now uses CALL3.TXT as the data file for callsigns.

The Schedule data is contained in SCHED.SKD for UHF and VHFSCHED.SKD for VHF. This data is only the current schedules for the appropriate bands, not the station details (other than the email addresses).

You should find that if you have 432 or above selected in the preferences that the actual schedules shown in the Schedules window are different from those shown when you have 144 selected..

You are correct - the data in Callfinder and the list of stations in the preferences and skedmaker window are always 144MHz. (They are from DIR.SKD)

I have another DIR.SKD file that Darrell VE1ALQ supplied (It contains UHF station data). Just substitute it in your folder for the existing DIR.SKD and try again.

You can of course edit or add to DIR.SKD youself, it is just a text file.

How do  I enter email information? I understand it resides in the SkedDatabase, but how does it get there?

The Schedule data is contained in sched.skd for 432 and above and VHFSCHED.SKD for 144.
This data text file contains current schedules for the appropriate bands, not the station details (other than the email addresses).

You have to import the data from the .SKD files to the databases from the Databases menu when you receive an updated .SKD file. They are sent out on a weekly basis from the International Schedule co-ordinator.
(W3EME distributes them for 144)

You should find that if you have 432 or above selected in MoonSked's preferences, the actual scheds shown in the Schedules window are different to those shown when 144 is selected.

Can I enter different station data for different bands?

You are correct - the data in Callfinder and the list of stations in the preferences and skedmaker window are always 144MHz.

I have another DIR.SKD file that Darrell VE1ALQ supplied (It contains UHF station data)

- please appreciate that the program was originally written primarily to handle the existing 144 schedules distributed weekly by W3EME on behalf of Lionel VE7BQH who does all the hard work collating everything via HF and email.
(He must have been doing this for at least 20 years now)

Above 144 things may be a little different, I am not sure if there is such a formal distribution of schedules in this format, the 432 and above Newsletter carries details of schedules.

http://www.nitehawk.com/rasmit/em70cm.html

As you know you can edit or add to DIR.SKD yourself, it is just a text
file.


What is the overall procedure distributing station and schedule file updates?

How are my local file changes handled for general distribution?
Is there a central clearing house to which users send changes?
What is the process, format, etc.?

For 144MHz you can send your schedules to Lionel VE7BQH  by email ve7bqh@shaw.ca
and he will distribute them via email via W3EME. 

Format would normally be the SKD80 format (check that option in the schedules window). Just copy and paste from the schedules window into an email.

For example:

K6PF,LU6KK,01,30,0330,083,I,I,CONFIRMED,,
K6PF,K9TI,01,30,0430,083,I,I,CONFIRMED,,
K6PF,SM5TSP,01,30,0500,083,I,I,CONFIRMED,,
K6PF,F8DO,01,30,0530,083,I,I,CONFIRMED,,
K6PF,LU6KK,01,31,0430,083,I,I,CONFIRMED,,
K6PF,OK1VVP,01,31,0500,083,I,I,CONFIRMED,,
 

If it is a schedule that is going to happen before the following week, then you can just email the sked to the station you are scheduling.

For 432 and above I am not sure of the details - please consult the 432 and above newsletters for details of schedule management.

      
Once collected and collated, are they sent automatically to registered users?

They can be.

Must they be requested?  If so, to whom? 

Yes
W3EME

Yes you have to request them from W3EME and he will send them to you on a weekly basis.
They are normally sent in a zipped archive format.
(On the Macintosh Stuffit Expander will expand them into a folder) 
You can then replace your existing .SKD files with the new ones and import them into the database.

No it is not a requirement that you are a registered user of MoonSked.
However MoonSked can only import the data if it is registered. 

The data is free to anyone who needs it (PC DOS users can use SKD80 for reading the files) I wrote MoonSked initially because Mac users had no software to read the files that were produced for SKD80. MoonSked now supports PC Windows users as well as Macintosh.

How often?

144 is sent weekly - not sure about 432 and up.

 I understand that the Preference box allows me to select which bands I will be viewing.  I gather from the documentation and the displays that 50, 144, and 222 are all lumped into the import files VHFSCHED.SKD, and that 432 and up are lumped into sched.skd (and then they spawn the VHF and UHF databases.

Yes that is the correct idea. Note there are not ever any 50 or 222 scheds in all the time I have been using the program. Activity is so sparse on those other bands.


From the Freq column in Schedules, how do I tell which band of the several grouped bands is being referred to (does 095 = 50.095, 144.095 or 222.095)?

Always 144.XXX because in practise there are no 50 or 222 schedules in the file normally.

 
What do Freq entries like D040 or E050?

In 432 and above they use a prefix letter A=432 B=1296 C=2304 and so on up through the bands. (I think I have got that correct)

What role does the freq.skd and its database play?

Hey you have asked some good questions!

On 144MHz if you pay me an annual fee then you can buy your own exclusive EME schedule frequency. Only kidding :-)

No, what it actually is, is a list of the preferred frequencies that are used by active EME stations on 144MHz for schedules. This list is co-ordinated by VE7BQH. It is to ensure that where possible mutual interference is avoided.


In Schedules, what is does Pa and Pb refer to?

These are the 'Pass Markers' (This is used by the schedule co-ordinator to indicate how the schedule has been passed to the individual stations a and b)

 What are expected symbolic entries (e.g. what does I mean)?

An easy way to see this is to do a find all on "PASS" in the schedules window and you will see the notes on this:

PASS    MARKERS                    P    P    DIRECT EMAIL; TELEPHONE        
PASS    MARKERS                    P    P    OR HF TO/FROM VE7BQH        
PASS    MARKERS                    D    D    PASS BY W5UN        
PASS    MARKERS                    S    S    PASS BY VE1KG        
PASS    MARKERS                    B    B    STATION GETS SKED FROM        
PASS    MARKERS                    B    B    Gets file from AF9Y WWW        
PASS    MARKERS                    F    F    FAX PASS        
PASS    MARKERS                    I    I    EMAIL AUTO DISTRIBUTION        
PASS    MARKERS                    #    #    1-9 & A-Z FOR DXPEDITIONS        
PASS    MARKERS                    #    #    TO IDENTIFY GROUPS OF         
PASS    MARKERS                    #    #    SKEDS PASSED        
PASS    MARKERS                    E    E    EMAIL;STATION FILE ONLY        




