TLF(1) Ham radio TLF(1)

Tlf - amateur radio contest keyer/logging program for Radiosport

tlf [-?dilnrvV] [-f config_file] [-s user:password@host/dir/logfilename] [--debug] [--config=config_file] [--import] [--list] [--no-cluster] [--no-rig] [--sync=user:password@host/dir/logfilename] [--verbose] [--version] [--help] [--usage]

Tlf is a console (ncurses) mode general purpose CW keyer, logging and contest program for amateur radio operators. It supports the CQWW, WPX, ARRL-DX, ARRL-FD, STEWPERRY, PACC, FOC Marathon and EU SPRINT contests as well as a lot more basic contests, general QSO and DXpedition mode. It interfaces with a Morse Code generator, a number of radios via the Hamlib library, and with a DX Cluster via telnet or packet radio. Tlf can project DX cluster data into the excellent Xplanet program, written by Hari Nair.

Contest operation mimics the popular TR-Log program for DOS, the output file is TR-Log compatible. The log can be exported in ADIF or Cabrillo 3.0 format.

The program was written for console mode on purpose, which allows it to run on smaller machines, or remotely via SSH or a modem link.

CW keying via cwdaemon is fully supported, featuring direct mode for the keyboard and output to parallel and serial ports and speed and weight control from the keyboard, and band info output on the parallel port. Likewise, CW keying via Hamlib is supported for rigs that feature the capability. Tlf can set the CW speed, and at the same time read back the speed if changed using the knob on the rig.

For users of the K1EL series of “Win Keyers”, the winkeydaemon is available from GitHub. Setup is the same as for cwdaemon(1).

For radio control Tlf works with Hamlib (version >= 1.2.8), you can find it at www.hamlib.org.

Tlf provides full TCP/IP networking between Tlf nodes, syncing/distributing log, packet data, frequency data, local talk, serial numbers, time sync etc.

Options given to Tlf on the command line.

-?, --help
Print a summary of options to the screen and exit.
Start with a non-default configuration file:
tlf -f PA0R
Defaults to logcfg.dat in the current working directory.
Synchronize log with other node
tlf -s user:password@host/dir/logfilename
Start without packet/cluster.
Start without radio control.
List all built-in contests.
Import an existing Cabrillo file and generate Tlf log files.
When Tlf starts, it looks for YOURCALL.cbr file in the current directory, reads the configuration and rule files, and based on the current setup generates the log(s). If the contest is WAE and you have QTCs in Cabrillo, then Tlf generates the QTC logfiles. Tlf will not write over the existing log(s).
The generated import will be IMPORT_CONTEST.log, where the CONTEST is the name of contest in the config. If QTC exists, then the files IMPORT_QTC_sent.log and IMPORT_QTC_recv.log will be created.
Verbose startup.
Debug rigctld(1).
Print the version information to the screen and exit.
Print a short usage message to the screen and exit.

Tlf has been written for console mode. If you want to run Tlf from a terminal in X or Wayland, you will probably get the best results if you set TERM=linux and use a Linux console terminal. Both KDE and GNOME terminals have a facility to start a Linux console in an X terminal as does Xfce-terminal.

By default, xterm(1) or urxvt(1) may give unreadable colours. If so, you will have to set different colours in logcfg.dat or prepare $HOME/.Xresources to the preferred colour scheme (a sample Xresources file that contains usage instructions is included in the doc directory). One advantage of xterm or urxvt are that they do not consume the F11 key which other terminal emulators reserve for full screen mode nor Ctrl-PgUp/Ctrl-PgDn which may be used for tab switching in other emulators.

Recent efforts have resulted in improved keyboard handling. If you find keys that do not work, the developers would like to receive your report of which keys and which terminal have the problem. Please send the report to the mailing list shown in the BUGS section below.

There are excellent results with the latest KDE, GNOME, and Xfce terminal emulators (vi colours are preferred by some). As Tlf uses ncurses to format its display you must use a proper font. (Good choices are the Linux font, Inconsolata, Hack, or any monospace font that dots or slashes the zero character). If you have problems, try the linux text console first and work from there.

Normally you start or restart Tlf in fast mode with “tlf”. During debugging of a logcfg.dat file you can start in verbose mode, to have a look at the startup messages. The config file can also be specified on command line:

tlf -f config_file

If you have the packet cluster enabled you will first see the packet screen (if you are using telnet and you have provided your callsign in logcfg.dat you will be automatically logged in switched to the main logging screen). Log in with your callsign, if needed, and switch to the main logging screen with the ‘:’ command. You can come back to the packet screen later with the :PACket command from the call input field of the main logging screen.

You can exit and close Tlf with the :EXIt or :QUIt commands or with Alt-X.

At restart Tlf recalculates the score, which may take some time depending on the number of QSOs in the logfile and the speed of your system. Tlf takes the points as they are in the log, and calculates the multiplier from either callsign or exchange field (depending on the contest).

These commands are entered in the callsign field of the main logging screen. Each command consists of the leading ‘:’ and at minimum the upper case characters of the command name plus any needed parameters separated by ‘Space’.

:ADIf
Writes the log to an Amateur Data Interchange Format (ADIF) file logfile.adif.
:CHAr
Input the number of characters for CW auto-start or ‘m’ for manual start. Possible values are: ‘0’ (off), ‘2’...‘5’ or ‘m’ (manual).
After typing as many characters in the input field or after pressing the ‘Enter’ key in manual mode Tlf starts sending the callsign without further keystrokes. You can type in the rest of the call (but quickly). As soon as the sending catches your last typed character Tlf automatically sends the exchange and the cursor jumps to the exchange field.
‘Escape’ stops sending.
This works only in CW contests in RUN mode.
:CHEck
:NOCheck
Turn the dupe check window On|Off.
:CQDelay
Change Auto_CQ delay (in 1/2 seconds, with PageUp/PageDown keys).
:CLOff
No cluster information (non-assisted contest operation).
:CLUster
:MAP
Show cluster window or bandmap.
:CONtest
Toggle contest mode On|Off.
:CTY
:ZONe
:MULt
Show needed country multipliers, zones, multipliers per continent (depends on the contest).
:CWmode
:SSBmode
:DIGimode
Switch TRX to CW|SSB|DIGi mode.
:EDIt
Edit the log with your favourite editor. Be careful!
:EXIt
:QUIt
Exit Tlf (synonym to Alt-X, but without asking for confirmation).
:FILter
Filter cluster info (announce, dx-spots, all).
:FREq
Show frequency or band/score information of your other tlf nodes.
:FLDIGI
Toggle Fldigi communication On|Off.
:HELp
Show online help (displays help.txt from working directory or from /usr/share/tlf if no local one exists).
:INFo
Show network status.
:MESsage
Edit CW (Morse Code) messages.
:MODe
Toggle TRX mode (CW|SSB|DIG).
:PACket
Switch to the packet terminal. Switch back to the main logging screen with ‘:’.
:REConnect
Re-opens the connection to the DX cluster in case it was disconnected.
:REScore
Recalculates the values in the score window (e.g. after deleting or editing QSOs).
:RITclear
Toggle the RIT reset after QSO On|Off.
:SET
:CFG
Edit various parameters in logcfg.dat file and reload it.
:SCOre
Toggle the score window On|Off.
:SCVolume
Adjust the soundcard volume for the sidetone (Up|Down).
Range: 0–99.
:SIMulator
Toggle simulator mode On|Off. In simulator mode you can work a complete CQWW CW contest in TR-Log mode. Set CONTEST=cqww.
:SOUnd
Opens the sound recorder menu.
The sound recorder is a utility for recording the voice keyer messages and enables recording a complete contest in chunks of 1 hour to the hard drive.
Using the sound recorder requires the installation of the sox(1) package, which provides the rec utilities used by the script.
For recording voice messages, the keys F1–F12, s, or c will record the voice keyer message for that key.
The sound recorder uses the /usr/bin/soundlog script which should already be installed to a location in the $PATH. The recording is written to the ./soundlogs directory by default.
The soundlog script now defaults to the rec utility provided with the Sox package. The command syntax is not compatible with the previous default rec utility.
The previous default rec utility is assumed to be from the Open Sound System (OSS) package (sound system used on Linux prior to ALSA). Its default soundcard device is /dev/dsp. To enable the OSS version uncomment the needed line in the soundlog script and comment the Sox rec line.
The recorded file extension is .au, the Sun μ–law format.
The recorder produces less than 60 MegaBytes per hour in single channel mode. Recording a complete 48 hour CQWW event requires less than 3 GigaBytes of disk space. If local disk space must be preserved, the sound file can be moved to another host using FTP, rsync, scp, or any other network transfer protocol.
Sound recorder menu:
1: Start/Stop contest recording to ddhhmm.au.
2: List contest recordings and play back selected recording ddhhmm.
To create a new file every hour add a crontab(1) job to run the following command every hour (syntax for SoX rec shown):

/usr/bin/pkill -x rec

Running the crontab job at other intervals will create sound recordings of the interval period in length.

Once started the recorder will run until the lock file $HOME/.VRlock is removed and the script gets stopped (performed by menu item 1).
If you leave TLF with the recorder running TLF will ask for confirmation. Depending on your answer TLF can stop it or keep it running. In the latter case just restart TLF and use :sound again to stop it.
Cabling and setting up the radio to record both received and transmitted audio is left as an exercise for the reader simply due to the variety of radios and station configurations.
To ease the adaption to the local environment record and play back commands for voice keyer messages and contest audio can be configured by the following keywords: VK_RECORD_COMMAND, VK_PLAY_COMMAND, SOUNDLOG_RECORD_COMMAND and SOUNDLOG_PLAY_COMMAND. The directory where soundlogs gets stored can be configured with SOUNDLOG_DIRECTORY. See “Sound Commands” section below.
:SYNc
Synchronize the logfile of this node with the logfile pointed to by the parameter SYNCFILE=user:password@host/dir/logfile. Tlf will wget(1) the logfile from the relevant node, make a dated backup of your local logfile, and merge the 2 files. The score will be recalculated.
:TONe [dd]d
Set PC sidetone frequency in Hertz.
Range: 300–900, 0 = Off.
:TRXcontrol
Toggle rig control On|Off.
Default is Off unless RADIO_CONTROL is given in logcfg.dat (only makes sense with rig control capability).
:VIEw
View the log with less(1).
:WRIte
Write Cabrillo file according to specified format (see CABRILLO statement in the RULES section).
The file is created in the current directory as YOURCALL.cbr (with slashes as part of YOURCALL converted to underscores, such as WX9XYZ/8.cbr to WX9XYZ_8.cbr).

Work has been ongoing to unify the key map between the Linux text console and the various X terminals. It may be slightly different on certain X terminals depending on which keys they consume for their own use. Turn off any key recognition by the terminal for its own purposes (menu access, help display, etc.) if possible. Pay special attention to the F1-F12 and Alt-<char> keys. Moreover, on some systems you must set the TERM=linux or TERM=rxvt environment variable, although variables such as xterm, xterm-color, or xterm-256color should work. This also works under VNC.

Certain key combinations will probably not be usable as the Linux console consumes Alt-F1 through Alt-Fx (often F7, but could be greater) for switching its virtual consoles. Likewise, the various desktop environments consume key combinations for their own use. Ctrl-F1 through Ctrl-Fx are used to switch desktop workspaces. Alt-Fx combinations are used for various desktop features and are unavailable for Tlf use.

Some desktop terminal emulators are capable of being configured to allow the application running in them to get all of the keys the desktop environment does not consume. In testing good choices seem to be Gnome Terminal, Rox Terminal, or the classic Xterm (although its default color presentation differs slightly from the Linux console and other terminal emulators) or URxvt (with a very distinct default color palette). Xfce Terminal is known to consume F11 and Ctrl-PageUp and Ctrl-PageDown. The Tlf developers have implemented Alt-PageUp and Alt-PageDown as a work-around for the Ctrl counterparts. Reports of success with other terminals are welcome.

The Call Input and Exchange Fields are the two main entry fields of Tlf where the majority of the keyboard entry takes place. The call input field is active when Tlf completes its initialization and presents the main screen.

Most key sequences are the same in both fields. Differences are noted as necessary.

Call input: ASCII letters, numerals, and the / character that make up an internationally recognized amateur radio callsign plus temporary location identifiers. Spaces are not allowed.
Exchange: information provided by the other station possibly separated by spaces, such as ARRL Field Day and ARRL Sweepstakes.
Switch from call input to exchange field.
Separates exchange field elements when multiple exchange elements must be entered, such as ARRL Field Day and ARRL Sweepstakes.
Switch between call input and exchange fields (jump back to call input from exchange field).
Smart key depending on contest mode.
Tlf follows the TR operating style which has two modes, CQ and S&P (Search and Pounce).
CQ mode is used for “running”, that is staying on one frequency and having other stations answer your call.
S&P mode is for tuning up or down the band and answering the calls of other stations.
In CQ Mode:
  • With the call input field empty, Enter sends the F12 message (Auto CQ).
  • With characters in the call input field, Enter answers the calling station by sending the F3 message (RST) and moves the cursor to the exchange field.
  • If the exchange field is empty, Enter repeats the F3 message (RST).
  • After the exchange information received from the other station is entered, Enter sends the CQ_TU_MSG message if defined, or “TU” (CW mode) and your call otherwise. Afterwards it logs the QSO, and returns the cursor to the call input field to answer the next call.
In S&P Mode:
  • When the call input field is empty, Enter sends the S&P_CALL_MSG if defined, or your call otherwise.
  • When the exchange field is empty, Enter sends the S&P_CALL_MSG if defined, or your call otherwise.
  • When the call input field has been filled, Enter sends the S&P_CALL_MSG if defined, or your call otherwise. Afterwards it moves the cursor to the exchange field.
  • Once the exchange has been received, Enter sends the S&P_TU_MSG if defined, otherwise it sends your call followed by the F3 message (RST). Afterwards it logs the QSO and returns the cursor to the call input field to answer the next call.
Erase the character to the left of the cursor and moves the cursor one position to the left.
Stop CW transmission, clears characters, returns to call input field, keyboard off (universal undo).
Note: Some changes are being considered to modify the behavior of Escape slightly. The intent will be to have Escape only stop sending on first press and not clear any entered information. It is planned that Escape will stop the playback of the voice keyer as well.
As an example, characters have been entered in both the call input and exchange fields, the cursor is in the exchange field, and the transmission of a CW message is in progress.
The first press of Escape will stop the CW transmission and clear the exchange field and position the cursor to the leftmost position of the exchange field.
The second press of Escape will move the cursor to the right of the last character in the call input field.
The third press of Escape will clear the call input field.
You can disable the above described UNDO functionality by setting ESC_STOPS_TX_ONLY (see below).
← (Left-Arrow)
Call input field is empty: change to next band lower in frequency or wrap to highest band if already on the lowest band.
Characters in the call input field: enter edit mode while moving the cursor to the left onto the rightmost character. In edit mode successive presses will move the cursor left until the first character is reached.
→ (Right-Arrow)
Change to next band higher in frequency or wrap to the lowest band if already on the highest band when call input field is empty.
In CQ mode, send message F1 (CQ).
In S&P mode send message F6 (MY).
Restore previous CQ frequency from MEM and send message F1 (CQ).
Send CW, RTTY or VOICE messages 2 through 11. If the callsign field is empty the messages will be sent with the preceding qso data.
Start Auto_CQ (only activated from the call input field). Sends F12 message repeatedly pausing for Auto_CQ delay time between messages. Auto_CQ is cancelled with first character entry into the call input field.
+ (Plus)
Toggle between the CQ and S&P modes.
Increase CW (Morse Code) speed (from call and exchange fields).
If the cursor is in the call input field and it is not empty and CHANGE_RST is set: increase sent RST.
If the cursor is in the exchange field and it is not empty and CHANGE_RST is set: increase received RST.
Decrease CW (Morse Code) speed (from call input and exchange fields).
If the cursor is in the call input field and it is not empty and CHANGE_RST is set: decrease sent RST.
If the cursor is in the exchange field and it is not empty and CHANGE_RST is set: decrease received RST.
Increase Auto_CQ delay pause length (+1/2 sec).
Set Auto_CQ delay to message length + pause length.
Decrease Auto_CQ delay pause length (-1/2 sec).
As some terminals, Xfce Terminal is one such, consume Ctrl-PageUp/Ctrl-PageDown, the Alt-PageUp/Alt-PageDown combinations allow for setting the Auto_CQ delay pause length.
Note: If neither key combination works try :CQD instead.
? (Query)
In CW or DIGIMODE sends the partial call followed by “ ?”. In VOICE mode sends recorded message 5 (F5).
; (Semicolon)
Insert note in log.
, (comma)
Activate Morse Keyboard.
" (Double quotation)
Send talk message to other Tlf nodes.
- (Minus)
Delete last QSO (Use :REScore to correct scoring afterward).
↑ (Up-Arrow)
In empty call input field: Edit last QSO: Insert, overwrite, and delete; + log view.
Increment serial number in exchange input field.
↓ (Down-Arrow)
Decrement serial number in exchange input field.
= (Equals)
Confirm last call.
_ (Underscore)
Confirm last exchange.
{ (Open brace)
In RTTY (DIGIMODE), keyboard mode switch TX on.
} (Close brace)
In RTTY (DIGIMODE), keyboard mode switch TX off (RX).
\ (Backslash)
Log QSO without CW output.
In RTTY (DIGIMODE), keyboard mode switch controller to command mode (back to operating mode with ‘K’Enter).
# (Hash)
Transceiver VFO frequency → MEM, MEM → transceiver VFO frequency.
$ (Dollar)
Pop MEM frequency: MEM → transceiver VFO frequency and clear MEM.
% (Percent)
Swap transceiver VFO frequency and MEM.
! (Exclamation)
Get a new shell. Come back with “exit”.
. (Period)
Change bandmap filter configuration. You can filter to show spots from all or own band only, from all/own mode only and if you want to see dupes or not (see the help (Alt-H) display), only new multiplier or all call (only CQWW).
Add a spot to bandmap and broadcast it on the local network.
Send a spot to the DX Cluster (a connection to a DX cluster must exist). TLF prepares a minimal spot line and allows you to edit it. Finish editing and send the spot with ENTER or abort sending by pressing the ESCAPE key.
End modem capture for RTTY mode in QTC window (started with Ctrl-S).
See /usr/share/doc/tlf/Manual.md for more information.
Set frequency. Use Up/Down-Arrow for 100Hz steps and Pg-Up/Pg-Down for 500Hz steps. Return to logging with Escape.
Grab next DX spot from bandmap. The indicator on the right of the bandmap shows the current grabbing direction. It can be toggled with Ctrl-V.
Keyboard (CW and RTTY).
Reset the screen.
Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) display.
Open the QTC window for receiving QTCs if QTC=RECV or QTC=BOTH or sending QTCs if QTC=SEND is set in logcfg.dat. Same as Ctrl-S if QTC=SEND.
See /usr/share/doc/tlf/Manual.md for more information.
Toggle /dev/lp0 pin 14 (Mic/Soundcard switch | trx1/trx2 switch).
Open the QTC window for sending QTCs if QTC=SEND or QTC=BOTH in logcfg.dat. Saves QTCs while in QTC window.
In RTTY mode starts capture from the modem after the window has been opened with Ctrl-Q. End capture with Ctrl-E.
See /usr/share/doc/tlf/Manual.md for more information.
Show talk messages. In the QTC window shows RTTY lines.
Wipe out whole input line (call input and exchange), clear all information about current contact. If entered by accident a second Ctrl-U restores the line.
Toggle grabbing direction in which Ctrl-G looks for a spot.
Wipe actual field the cursor is in (call input OR exchange). If entered by accident a second Ctrl-W restores the field.
Suspend Tlf returning to shell prompt. To return to Tlf use the ‘fg’ command (Bourne Shell) or the equivalent command for your shell.
Send alternate CW (Morse code) messages. If the callsign field is empty the messages will be sent with the preceding qso data.
Cycle cluster window: NOCLUSTER → CLUSTER → BANDMAP → ...
Band up in TR-Log mode.
Toggle display of checkwindow.
Enter QSO edit mode.
Grab first spot from bandmap which has the characters in the call input field in its call. Allows the operator to selectively grab a specific call from the bandmap.
Show help file /usr/share/tlf/help.txt.
Show talk messages.
Show the frequencies of other local station(s).
Keyboard (CW and RTTY).
Show multipliers.
Add Note to log.
Toggle PTT (via cwdaemon).
Exit Tlf (synonym to :EXIt and :QUIt, but asks for confirmation).
Toggle score window.
Toggle score window.
Tune your transceiver (via cwdaemon). Activates PTT and Key output, by default for 6 seconds. Stop tuning by pressing any key. You can override the default value using the TUNE_SECONDS configuration statement. In addition to cwdaemon, tune also works with winkeydaemon (tested with v1.0.10).
Band down.
Set CW weight.
Show zones worked.

Tlf has limited support for the logging sequence keys used in the once popular CT logging program. Unlike the default Enter  Sends  Message (ESM) mode, the CT Compatible mode uses the Insert and + keys in the logging sequence and Enter logs a complete QSO. Unlike ESM mode, CT mode does not have separate CQ or S&P modes.

CT Compatible mode is enabled with the CTCOMPATIBLE keyword in logcfg.dat (see the PREFERENCES section below).

The following keys differ in behavior in CT Compatible mode.

Log the complete QSO without sending any message macro.
If the callsign field is empty, pressing Enter will activate the Auto-CQ function. If the exchange field is empty, pressing Enter in either the callsign or exchange field will result in no action.
Send the RST (F3) macro.
Since the RST macro includes the other station's callsign by default, the HIS macro is not sent first. This differs from classic CT, but is a compromise to use the default Tlf macros.
+ (Plus)
Send the TU macro and log the QSO.
The + key checks if the exchange field is empty and if it is nothing is sent or logged. In rare cases where nothing needs to be entered in the exchange field, such as when working DX from USA in ARRL 160, simply enter a space to allow the + key to send the TU message and log the QSO.
Change CW speed.

Tlf can be fully configured by editing the logcfg.dat file. Normally you keep one logcfg.dat file, setting up your callsign, the log file name, the ports and addresses for packet, the radio, the network etc., and a separate rules file per contest.

The logcfg.dat file can be edited from within Tlf by the :CFG or :SET commands (or with any other plain text editor before starting Tlf). It contains keyword-argument pairs, one per line. Lines starting with “#” and empty lines are interpreted as comments and are ignored.

You can set your favourite editor in the logcfg.dat file.

The rules file is associated with the statement RULES=contest_rules_file_name in logcfg.dat.

Note: Both logcfg.dat and rules file support the same configuration parameters except RULES which is allowed only in logcfg.dat.

Tlf will first look in the current working directory for a logcfg.dat file, and if it cannot find one it will look in /usr/share/tlf for a default one. Make sure you edit the logcfg.dat file for at least your callsign and your preferred system configuration.

Parameters requiring a boolean value (like true/false) can have an optional case-insensitive argument. Alternatively, both yes and on are treated as true. Similarly instead of false also no or off can be used. Without the argument the default assigned value is yes.

Configuration parameters are set in logcfg.dat which is located in the working directory (where Tlf is started).

RULES=contest_rules_filename
Name of the rules file to load.
It helps to name the rules file according to the contest you want to describe. The rules file is located under the rules directory of the working directory.
File on remote host you want to synchronize with (use wget(1) syntax).
Do not use the TR-Log QSO sequence, but use +, Insert and Enter to log the QSO.
The default mode of operation is the TR-Log sequence which uses + to switch between CQ and S&P modes, in which Enter is the sole key used to call the other station, send the exchange, and log the QSO.
Defaults:
TLFCOLOR1=23 (Header and footer)
TLFCOLOR2=67 (Pop up windows)
TLFCOLOR3=70 (Log window)
TLFCOLOR4=57 (Markers/dupe colour)
TLFCOLOR5=43 (Input fields)
TLFCOLOR6=63 (Window frames)
The numbers are given in octal, FG/BG or BG/FG (some experimentation likely required).
You should only specify these if you wish to modify the standard colours of Tlf. In some Terminals you can set a special profile for Tlf with your own colours. Another way is to define the colours via the $HOME/.Xresources file for XTerm and rxvt.
Note: A sample /usr/share/doc/tlf/Xresources file has been provided that sets the colour scheme for XTerm and rxvt to the same colour pallet as the Linux console. Most other terminals have their own way of setting the colour pallet.
Use rxvt's colours.
Editor used to modify the QSO log or logcfg.dat. The command specified receives the file name as an argument.
When using a GUI editor that runs in the background (such as gvim) make sure to exit the editor before logging new stations. Use the :RES command to rescore the log. It is best to force such an editor to stay in the foreground (such as with ‘gvim -f’).
The station callsign used in messages; also used to determine the station's country, zone and continent.
Set operating mode for start up. Use CQ for "run" and S&P for "search and pounce". The default mode is CQ.
Used to shift the Tlf time with respect to the computer clock. Normally 0.
Range: 0–23.
This node transmits the time over the network (only one master allowed!).
Adds an IP address (and optionally a port number) to which we broadcast stuff. (WARNING: Only add addresses of other nodes).
Node designator (default “A”). If Tlf hears its own node ID on the network it will exit and ask you to pick another one!
Range: A–H.
Specifies on which port number (default “6788”) Tlf is listening for broadcasts from other instances.
Activates the debug function for recording Tlf network traffic.
Dumps all Tlf net traffic received on this node into a file named debuglog in the working directory. This log can be used as a backup log for the whole network, as it is easy to retrieve QSO data, cluster messages, gab messages etc. after the contest. Some users have this enabled all the time.
Start Tlf in SSB mode (default is CW).
Start Tlf in RTTY mode (default is CW)
Tell miniterm(1) where to get the data.
Tell Tlf where to send the macros.
Generate marker file for Xplanet.
Xplanet (a GUI program for the X Window System) will show the last 8 DX cluster spots on an azimuthal map. See the relevant Xplanet documentation.
Use azimuthal projection and center the map on your QTH (station location).
Define band edges. NN is the band designator (wavelength), allowed values are: 160, 80, 60, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12, 10.
All 4 comma separated parameters are mandatory and shall be specified in integer Hz units with an optional k suffix.
Example specification for Region 1 40 m band:

BAND_40 = 7000k, 7040k, 7050k, 7200k
Internal default band definitions are based on a superset of all Regions. For example, 40 m ends by default at 7300 kHz. In addition to configuring the legal limits BAND_NN can also be used to fine tune actual band configurations for a specific contest.

Activates the CW keyer.
Only the IP networked keyer cwdaemon or any other program that emulates cwdaemon such as winkeydaemon is supported. You may also need the keyer for PTT control or band info output.
Default port is 6789.
Default host is 127.0.0.1 (localhost).
Activate CW keying via Hamlib.
Note: The + and - macros to control speed from within messages are not yet supported.
Activates support for the MFJ-1278B multi-mode controller.
The MFJ-1278 supports CW as well as RTTY contesting. The serial port rate is fixed at 9600 bps.
Set the initial CW (Morse Code) speed.
Can be changed with PgUp (increase), or PgDn (decrease) while sending CW messages or logging.
Range: 4–69.
Set the CW (Morse Code) dot to dash ratio.
Only for the NETKEYER.
Range: -45–50.
Delay activation of the Push To Talk pin.
Range: 0–50.
Support backspace key in keyer window.

Use soundcard for CW sidetone output.
Set soundcard sidetone volume (default is 70).
A value of 0 turns off sidetone output (even for the console speaker).
Range: 0–99.
Set automatic CQ pause delay in 1/2 seconds increments between message transmissions.
Range: 3–60.
Set the PC speaker or soundcard frequency.
A value of 0 switches the sidetone off.
Range: 0–999.
(Due to a bug in cwdaemon it also turns off the Alt-T tune function. Use SIDETONE_VOLUME=0 instead).
The command to play a voice keyer message file.
It default to “play_vk $1”, where “$1” will be replaced by the file name to play.

Command to record voice keyer messages.
“rec -r 8000 $1 -q” is used by default. Again “$1” stands for the file to write during recording.
Playback command for soundlog recordings (default is “play -q $1 2> /dev/null”):
Command to record contest audio stream. Runs out of the SOUNDLOG_DIRECTORY.
The script “soundlog” which is part of TLF is used by default. See :Sound for details.
The directory in which recorded contest sound files are stored (default “./soundlogs”).

Outputs band information to pins 2, 7, 8, 9 on the parallel port.
Output is 1 (160m), 2 (80m) ... 9 (10m).
This format is compatible with the standard interface for antenna switches, band filters etc.
BANDOUTPUT=124181818
Output pin 2 for 160, 30, 17 and 12, pin 7 for 80, pin 8 for 40, and pin 9 for 20, 15 and 10.
This comes in handy when you have 3 dipoles and a 3-band beam (...).
This will prevent unwanted band switching when you are not using rig control.
Band up = Alt-B, band down = Alt-V (TR-Log mode).

Use Telnet to connect to a DX Cluster node using a DNS name or IP address, such as claudia.esrac.ele.tue.nl or 131.155.192.179.
DX Clusters often use a non-standard port for Telnet, e.g. 8000.
Automatic login for the telnet client.
Write clusterlog to disk.
You can use /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyUSB1, etc. anything that looks like a tty.
Tlf supports 1200, 2400, 4800 and 9600 bps.
The FIFO (First In First Out) interface is used when you want to receive cluster info from the network, or from another source. The FIFO interface uses a special FIFO file in the working directory called clfile. Anything you dump into this FIFO will be displayed by the packet interface.

Switches the radio interface on. The rig interface makes use of the Hamlib library which supports a number of different rigs.
Look at the Hamlib documentation for the rig_number.
Hint: rigctl -l and its manual page (rigctl(1)).
Speed of the serial port for rig control.
You can use /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyUSB1, etc. anything that looks like a tty.
For rigctld(8) set RIGPORT=localhost and RIGMODEL=2. In this case RIGSPEED is ignored.
Send rig configuration parameters to Hamlib.
e.g. RIGCONF=civaddr=0x40,retry=3,rig_pathname=/dev/ttyS0
Clears the RIT after logging the qso.
This only works if the rig, and the Hamlib routine supports it (tested on the OMNI 6+).
Declares that Hamlib CAT PTT capability should be checked at startup and if available used to activate the radio's PTT for sending voice messages instead of the cwdaemon PTT.
Sets the CW bandwidth of your rig when changing bands.
If unset or 0 the default bandwidth (as determined by Hamlib) is used. (a valid bandwidth for the radio model must be used).
If set along with RADIO_CONTROL option, specifies the mode to change the radio to when :DIG mode is selected.
mode may be one of “USB”, “LSB”, “RTTY”, or “RTTYR”. If this parameter is not set, “USB” is used if the FLDIGI parameter is set else “LSB” is used.

Show DX Cluster window at startup.
Shows cluster bandmap on startup.
Use . (period) to change bandmap filtering.
BANDMAP=xyz[,number]
Show cluster bandmap on startup and set start values for filtering.
<xyz> string parsed for:
“B” - show DX spots only on operating band
“M” - show DX spots only on operating mode
“D” - do not show dupes
“S” - skip dupes during grab_next (Ctrl-G)
“O” - show only new multipliers
“X” - show also out-of-band spots when in all-band mode
<number> lifetime for new spots in seconds (number >= 30)
Show the score window (same as Alt-R).
Show the country/call check window.
Show a list of possible contest calls.
See CALLMASTER in the RULES section below for partials file specification.
Use the auto-complete utility (takes some practice...).
Tlf will complete the call as soon as it is unique in the database.
This can lead to strange effects, but in practice there are far more hits than misses. Sometimes you must edit the call because it has locked on a unique call. Try it, and switch it off when you don't like it.
Put frequency (kHz) into QSO number to enable logging of frequency (only in QSO or DXPED modes).
Enables logging multiple QSOs in a contest with the same station (considered a good idea these days as contest bots that parse the submitted Cabrillo file will determine such dupes (duplicate contacts)).
Set the sunspots number value which is used to do a rough calculation of the MUF (Maximum Usable Frequency).
If the cluster interface is used the SSN will be updated by WWV or WCY messages.
Set SFI used to calculate SSN.
The SSN value is used to do a rough calculation of the MUF. If the packet interface is used the SSN will be updated by WWV or WCY messages.
If set in logcfg.dat, PgUp and PgDown will change sent/received RST instead of CW speed if you are in call/exchange field and call field is not empty.

Default is these keys only change CW speed.
CHANGE_RST=33, 43, 47, 499, ...
Provide a comma separated list of RS(T) values which are used for the sent RST.
Received RST will always be 33–39, 43–49, or 53–59.
Providing a value for T is optional but will be ignored.
In CW and DIGI modes T will always be 9.
Do not send automatic “QSO B4” message.
Default is to send such messages.
No automatic CQ when pressing Enter or F12.
Default is that these keys will start an automatic CQ (see their descriptions in the KEYS section above).
Pressing ESC key does only stop sending CW or voice macros. No further action is taken.
Sends a “DE” word before your callsign, as in “DE W1AW”.
There is a special case; if SEND_DE is present in logcfg.dat, and Tlf if is in :DIGimode, then the other station's callsign will be sent before “DE”, such as “DL1A DE W1AW”.
Sends the full or partial callsign again at the end of the QSO in RUN mode if the call of the other station was corrected. In case of FULL the whole callsign will be sent again. If the value is PARTIAL, then TLF figures out which part of callsign has to be sent. Eg.: if the received call was AB1CD, but later it is corrected to AB1CB, then CB is sent.
Show last worked time instead of QSO number in the worked window.

The contest rules can be put into separate files. Tlf will first look for a directory called rules/ in the working directory, and a file named for the contest, for example, cqww. If Tlf cannot find such a file, it will look into the directory /usr/share/tlf/rules. A rules file contains contest specific parameters like multipliers, scoring rules, CW and voice keyer messages, etc.

Note: The rules file overrides settings from the logcfg.dat file!

WARNING! It is your own responsibility to try these rules well BEFORE the contest. The authors of Tlf cannot possibly check all rules for all contests :) and during the contest there is normally no time to fix it. Of course, Murphy's Law always applies! These commands can generally appear in any order.

General configuration options for the RULES file.

Name of the contest (same as the file name contest_rules_filename given to the RULES parameter referenced above in logcfg.dat). Some contests, like CQWW and WPX, are pre-programmed. Look for the relevant rules file in /usr/share/tlf/rules.
Mandatory!
By convention contest_rules_filename.log, but can be anything meaningful.
Specify the name of the Cabrillo QSO and QTC line format. For most cases UNIVERSAL is a good choice. For further Cabrillo related information see CABRILLO CONFIGURATION below.
Sets Tlf into contest mode.
Do not use this parameter for normal QSO logging!
Uses short form for serial number (9=N, 0=T).
Uses long form for serial number (default).
Controls sending leading zeros in serial number. By default serial numbers are sent with (up to 2) leading zeros.
Do not use RST in contest, such as for CW Open, ARRL Sweepstakes, ARRL Field Day, or various QSO parties and such events.
In such a case when writing a Cabrillo log format template you must provide a conforming format definition without RST values.
Stations can be worked in any mode (CW, SSB and DIG) on a given band without being counted as a DUPE.
Start Tlf in SSB mode.
If radio control is active, the radio will be placed in SSB mode, if not in SSB mode already. Normally Tlf starts in CW mode and will set the radio to CW mode if needed.
Note: At this time Tlf does not follow mode changes on the radio. When switching modes use the :CW, :SSB, or :DIG commands to set both Tlf and the radio mode.
Put the node ID into the logline (just after the QSO number) to support Multi/2 operation where the station logging the QSO must be in the Cabrillo file. This can also be used for M/1 and M/M, to enable post-contest analysis of the nodes.
The actual F-key assignments shown on the top of the main logging screen. Maximum length is 59. The default is: “1=CQ  2=DE  3=RST 4=73  5=HIS  6=MY  7=B4   8=AGN  9=?”
Specify how many seconds you allow tune (Alt-T) remain active before automatically terminating transmit.
Range: 1–100.
The default value is 6, to maintain compatibility with previous TLF versions. After 100 seconds, tuning will automatically be terminated, to allow your PA (and perhaps you too ;-) ) to cool down a bit...
Use a different file name as the callmaster database (default is callmaster in the working directory).
Often downloaded as MASTER.SCP from the Supercheck Partials Web site. See the PARTIALS and USEPARTIALS commands in the User Interface Commands section above and the FILES section below for obtaining Supercheck Partials updates.
If set along with the RADIO_CONTROL and BANDMAP (mandatory for this parameter) options, Tlf will grab the callsign from the bandmap, if the TRX (radio) frequency is equal with the displayed bandmap frequency.
If set along with the RADIO_CONTROL and BANDMAP (mandatory for this parameter) options, Tlf will add the callsign from callsign field, if at least 3 characters have been entered.
Use “S”kip dupes in BANDMAP settings to control if it should also grab dupes.
If set, Tlf will automatically switch its mode between LOG and S&P after every QSO.
If you work RTTY (or any other digital modes), you can communicate with Fldigi through XMLRPC. This parameter activates the interface.
By default Tlf connects to:
http://localhost:7362/RPC2.
If you run Fldigi's XMLRPC server on an different port use FLDIGI=http://localhost:port_#/RPC2
Use this option when the contest is a minitest like contest.
In such contests the full contest interval is divided into shorter sections (e.g. 6 * 10 minute sections in an hour). Any station can be worked once in each of the time sections without counting as a dupe. The default length of the sections is 600 seconds (10 minutes), but you can pass another value (in seconds) after the ‘=’ sign.
There must be an integral number of time sections per hour!

The following parameters configure the CW, Digimode and voice mode keyer message macros.

% = my call, @ = his call, # = serial number, [ = RST, + = increase cw speed, - = decrease cw speed, * = AR, = = BT, < = SK, ( = KN, ! = SN, & = AS, > = BK, ! = his serial (e.g. confirm exchange of station in DIGimode), | = carriage return (only in digi mode messages).

Be aware that unspecified digimode messages gets the value of their CW counterpart prepended with '|'.

F1="cw message 1"
CQ message, (e.g. CQ de PA0R TEST).
S&P call message, (e.g. @ de %).
Exchange message, (e.g. @ ++5NN--#).
TU message, (e.g. TU 73 %).
Call of the other station (e.g. @).
Your call (e.g. %).
QSO B4 message (e.g. @ sri qso b4 gl).
Again message (e.g. AGN).
Query message (e.g. ?).
QRZ message (e.g. QRZ?).
Please reply message (e.g. PSE K).
F12="cw message 12"
Auto-CQ message (e.g. +++TEST %---).
Auto Exchange message in CQ mode (TR-Log mode), (e.g. TU %).
Auto Exchange message in S&P mode (TR-Log mode), (e.g. TU 5NN #).
Custom call message in S&P mode.
Allows replacing the auto-generated S&P call message.
Up to 10 additional messages.
Use F1 ... F12 keys to send recorded messages for phone.
Auto Exchange voice message in CQ mode (TR-Log mode)
Auto Exchange voice message in S&P mode (TR-Log mode)
Use F1 ... F12 keys to send recorded messages for digital.
Auto Exchange TU digi message in CQ mode (TR-Log mode)
Auto Exchange TU digi message in S&P mode (TR-Log mode)
Auto Exchange call digi message in S&P mode (TR-Log mode)

The following parameters configure Tlf's scoring calculations.

One point per QSO (regardless of mode).
Two points per QSO (regardless of mode).
Three points per QSO (regardless of mode).
Points per CW QSO.
Points per SSB QSO.
Note: SSBPOINTS and CWPOINTS need to be set for both to work!
Points for working your own DXCC entity (often zero (0)).
Points for working countries in your own continent.
Points for working a station in other continents.
2EU3DX_POINTS
Deprecated.
Use MY_CONTINENT_POINTS and DX_POINTS instead.
Points for countries in country list.
Score zero points for countries not in the list.
e.g. SM,LA,OZ,OH.
File with a list of prefixes. It can contain multiple records (lines). The one starting with the current contest name is selected. E.g. Scandinavia:SM,LA,OZ,OH.
Not to be confused with so-called "country" files maintained by AD1C.
Multiply points x2 for portable stations (e.g. R1 field day).
Double all points for lowband (40, 80, and 160m) QSOs (can be combined with any other value).
(Will be deprecated in future! Use BANDWEIGHT_POINTS instead.)
Use this value to multiply the final points.

If the contest rule allows one to use the power multiplier (such as Stewperry, ARRL-FD, various QSO parties), set it here.
Note: The value type of POWERMULT is a float, as in POWERMULT=1.5, but the final score will be rounded by the C library floor(3) function, which gives the largest integer value that is not greater than multiplied score.
Exchange is the multiplier, per band, whatever you enter.
Tlf builds its own list of multipliers as QSOs are logged.
Exchange is multiplier, whatever you enter.
Counts once per contest, not per band.
Multiplier is the CQ zone (per band).
Multiplier is the ITU zone (per band).
Multiplier is prefix (PA0, DA2, VE7, etc.).
Counts once per contest, not per band.
Same as WPX, but the WPX only used CQ-WW-WPX, and there a single prefix multiplier only once, not all band.
With this option, the PFX counts as multiplier on all band. This usable in the All Asia DX contest (AA-DX).
Multiplier is the DXCC entity (per band).
Relies on a so-called "country" file by AD1C. An outdated version is supplied in /usr/share/tlf/cty.dat. See the FILES section below.
Name of multipliers file (often sections, provinces, states, counties).
May contain comment lines starting with “#” in the first column. Each multiplier resides on a single line by itself.
Starting from Tlf-1.4 aliases may be defined for the multipliers. Define the aliases as:

multiplier:alias1,alias2,alias3
If you log a QSO with one of the aliases it will be counted as the multiplier. You can have more than one line for the same multiplier.
This is useful for state QSO parties as an instate participant where instate operators exchange county abbreviations rather than the state but the state can only count once (Kansas QSO Party is once such example).
Multiplier is section from multipliers file.
Counts per band.
Multiplier is section from multipliers file.
Counts once per contest, not per band.
Valid values are: SA, NA, EU, AF, AS and OC.
Points for stations from continents in CONTINENTLIST
Score zero points for station from continents not in the list.
Define a point weighting factor for different bands.
For example, setting:

BANDWEIGHT_POINTS=160:3,80:2,40:1,20:1,15:1,10:2
for use in the All Asia DX (AADX) contest will multiply all QSO points by 3 on 160m, by 2 on 80m and 10m and on all other bands only by 1.
Bands not in the list are weighted by 1.
Allow a weighting factor for multipliers on different bands.
For example, setting:

BANDWEIGHT_MULTIS=80:4,40:3,20:2,15:2,10:2
for use in the Worked All Europe DX Contest (WAEDC) will multiply the number of multipliers on 80 by 4, on 40 by 3 and on 20/15/10 by 2.
The multiplication is executed after any other multiplier calculation.
Bands not in list will be weighted by 1.
In WAEDC (and maybe with other contests too) the multipliers are the different countries, but there are some exceptions where the prefix of certain countries is a different multiplier.
In WAEDC these countries are: W, VE, VK, ZL, ZS, JA, PY, RA8/RA9 and RAØ. With this option, you can define the country prefixes:

PFX_NUM_MULTIS=W,VE,VK,ZL,ZS,JA,PY,UA9.
Tlf will read this list, perform a lookup in a countrylist for a country code, and that code will be used. If you include the UA9 prefix and then make a QSO with a station from Asiatic Russia, the PFX number will evaluated with a new multiplier, but European Russia will not.
Some contests have a special multipliers list, which is easier to write by excluding a predefined set.
For example, the main set could be COUNTRY_MULT, and you need to exclude from that list just a few countries, (e.g. the SAC contest excludes the Scandinavian countries as they are not multipliers). In that case you can use this configuration:

COUNTRY_MULT
COUNTRYLIST=JW,JX,LA,OF1,OF0,OJ1,OJ0,OX,OW,OZ,SM,TF
EXCLUDE_MULTILIST=COUNTRYLIST
Another useful example is the WAEDC RTTY contest where all stations can work each other, however, for EU stations only the non-EU stations are the multipliers, and the opposite for non-EU stations where only the EU stations are the multipliers. In that case the EU stations can use this configuration:

CONTINENTLIST=EU
COUNTRY_MULT
EXCLUDE_MULTILIST=CONTINENTLIST
and all countries are multipliers, except for the EU stations.
Also, in this contest the non-EU stations can use this configuration:

CONTINENTLIST=SA,NA,AF,AS,OC
COUNTRY_MULT
EXCLUDE_MULTILIST=CONTINENTLIST
and all EU countries are multipliers and not those from the SA, NA, AF, OC and AS continents, so only the EU stations remain as multipliers.
Multiplier is the callsign.
The argument tells Tlf, how to score the callsigns as multipliers:
ALL means the callsign is a multiplier once per the contest, independent of band.
BAND means the callsign counts as a multiplier per band.
Use generic multiplier determined by the contest plugin.
The argument specifies the multiplier counting rule (see above). Default value is NONE (disabled).
Specifies the argument to the contest plugin's init function. See the PYTHON PLUGIN section below.

The following parameters configure Tlf's handling of the exchange.

Exchange is serial number and section, multiplier is section from multiplier file.
Counts per band.
Exchange is serial number or section.
This option is similar to SERIAL+SECTION, except the exchange could be a serial OR the section. This option was introduced for HA-DX, where HA stations give the shortest form of their county, other stations give serial.
Exchange is serial number and grid (e.g. 001 JO21QI), multiplier is 4-character grid (JO21).
Counts per band.
Multiplier is DXCC country or section from multiplier file.
Exchange can be recycled, will be filled into exchange field when it is known (see also INITIAL_EXCHANGE).
The file must contain a comma-separated list of exchanges.
If the exchange is the name of the operator, the file should contain lines like:

PA0R,rein
PG4I,joop
OK1RR,martin
If RECALL_MULTS is set, Tlf will look in this list for the exchange and fill it in for you. There are various contests which have a standard exchange, such as the FOC Marathon. The module also recognises embedded calls (e.g. CT3/PA0R/QRP).
Exchange is a continent (NA, SA, EU, AS, AF, OC).
Exchange is a serial number (formats received exchange and configures Cabrillo exchange). Set this only if both sent and received exchanges are plain serial numbers.
For the “Stewperry” contest, this option is used to set the QRA (Maidenhead) locator, (e.g. JN97, or the full form: JN97OM).
In Stewperry, the points are calculated based on the distance between the stations as calculated between this setting and the locator entered into the exchange field.

The following parameters configure Tlf for the Worked All Europe DX Contest (WAEDC) exchange of QTCs.

QTC=direction
Send or receive QTCs in a contest (usually on WAEDC).
direction is one of: RECV, SEND, BOTH
Note: Currently just the RECV direction is implemented. For more information, please see the /usr/share/doc/tlf/Manual.md file.
Indicate that the station is QTC capable and highlight it in the bandmap or worked window.
Put the callsigns of such stations in a file in the working directory, one callsign per line, and give its name as an argument to this parameter.
If you use the QTC feature and you are an EU station in CW or SSB modes, then you can only RECEIVE the QTCs.
Most sending stations send their QTCs as a short form. For example, after the first line the first two characters of time field are not sent.
If you set this option, then when you fill the first QTC line, Tlf will fill the other time fields, but only the first two characters. If you change the hour (e.g. if there is a time of 2059 and the next one is 2100), then all next time fields will be changed.
If you use the QTC feature, and you are an EU station in CW or SSB modes, then you can use this feature.
By default, Tlf validates all received QTC lines (i.e. the time field must be four characters long; callsign and serial fields must not be empty).
If you set this parameter, Tlf will not perform validation.

This section covers the configuration of Cabrillo processing.

The fields of the generated Cabrillo file can be either

  • set to a fixed value,
  • input interactively,
  • or disabled.

Note: A template file defines the values used in the headers of the Cabrillo file. A format file defines the fields of the QSO lines in the Cabrillo file.

A Cabrillo template is used to provide station specific values that will be placed into the generated Cabrillo file. Tlf will not prompt for values listed in this file when the :WRI command is issued.

Note: The template keywords are the same as the parameters below with the CABRILLO- prefix omitted. Cabrillo keyword definitions can be found at the World Wide Operators Foundation Cabrillo specification page.

The specified file is parsed and the values from relevant lines are taken the same way as if they were added via a config file.
The header, footer, comment and QSO lines are ignored.
One can, for example, re-use a file from a previous contest or use a sample file provided for the contest. Another possibility is to summarize the station-specific values in a station.cbr file (see as an example /usr/share/doc/tlf/station-sample.cbr). As multiple CABRILLO-TEMPLATE parameters can be specified, it allows for separating the contest and station specific parts.
This is an optional configuration as the same effect can be reached by plain configs (via the logcfg.dat and rules files).
Note: The CABRILLO- prefix is required in the config files.

Following parameters control the generation of QSO lines.

Specifies the sent exchange format.
The hash mark (“#”) stands for QSO serial number. For a contest using a fixed exchange enter the value here (limited to 39 characters).

Set the format of QSO and QTC lines including the separator character for the received exchange.
The format descriptions are contained in cabrillo.fmt either in the current directory or in /usr/share/tlf. The specified format file is used both to generate Cabrillo output and also for Cabrillo import. For technical details see /usr/share/doc/tlf/Manual.md.
A cabrillo.fmt format file is used to generate a Cabrillo file when a predefined format in /usr/share/tlf/cabrillo.fmt does not exist. For many events the UNIVERSAL format is adequate, otherwise you'll need to roll your own based on the log submission rules of the contest organizers.

Cabrillo header fields can be set using the keywords listed below. The value assigned to the keyword controls the processing of the field:

  • value not in parentheses, e.g. “9ACW” taken verbatim,
  • value in parentheses, e.g. “(YES,NO)” will be asked interactively, with the provided text as hint
  • a single dash ”-“ value disables the field (neither asked nor output) keeping its value,
  • no value (i.e. a keyword without equal sign) just enables the field without changing its value.

Note: The order of the headers in the Cabrillo file is fixed and independent of the order they are present in a config or template file.

Note: These keywords and the internal ones can also be used in a Cabrillo template just by removing the CABRILLO- prefix and using ”:“ as value separator.

(Score value is replaced with the calculated score. It can be disabled but not set.)
(Locator automatically filled, if enabled and MYQRA is set.)
(3 generic address lines available)
(3 soapbox lines available)

Tlf uses Python plugins to customize or extend functions beyond the built-in features. Two notable use cases are adding a specific scoring logic and determining multipliers.

The Python plugin file is loaded the same way as the RULES file but the file must have py extension.

Tlf core functionality and constants can be accessed via the pre-imported tlf module.


SSBMODE: int
Returns the distance (in km) and bearing (in degrees) to the specified locator from the current location.
Returns the DXCC information for the given call using the cty.dat file.

callsign
received exchange
band in meters
one of tlf.CWMODE, tlf.SSBMODE or tlf.DIGIMODE
time in integer seconds since epoch
distance in km
bearing in degrees

All plugin functions are optional.

Called once on Tlf start up. It shall initialize the internal state of the plugin.
The parameter cfg contains the value provided to PLUGIN_CONFIG. It can be used to control the internal logic of the plugin. If no PLUGIN_CONFIG is specified then an empty string is passed.
The return value is a string specifying the minimal required Tlf version (e.g. '1.5'). In case of no version dependency None shall be returned.
Called whenever the QSO list is initialized (e.g. on inital loading of the log file or before rescoring it). It shall reset any internal structures related to QSOs.
Called before actually logging a QSO. It shall return a non-negative score value.
Called when exchange is received or updated. From the returned dictionary these (optional) entries are evaluated:
mult1_value is used as a multiplier without further conversion. The handling of this multiplier is controlled by the GENERIC_MULT parameter.
normalized_exchange replaces the received exchange in the finally logged QSO.

/usr/share/tlf/logcfg.dat is a recent example of a generic configuration file. Tlf will copy it into the current working directory if it does not find one there. It is recommended to copy it into the working directory and edit it to match the contest.

It contains, amongst other settings, the name if the rules file, your call, info about ports for CW keying, packet or rig control, etc. related to your station. You should test your settings well before the contest!

/usr/share/tlf/rules/contestname contains the rules of the various contests. You can easily write one for your favourite contest making use of the various multiplier and points capabilities. Test it before the contest and send a message to the Tlf development list if anything is wrong (or right!).

It contains name of the log file, contest rules, points, multipliers, and other parameters related to the contest,

/usr/share/tlf/cty.dat contains a flat ASCII database of info about countries.

This is the same file as used by CT or TR-Log. Updated versions from Jim, AD1C, are available from: Country Files.

Tlf looks for this file first in the current working directory, so an update is possible without root rights to replace the package installed version (likely well out of date).

/usr/share/tlf/callmaster contains a flat ASCII database of known contest callsigns.

Updates are available from Super Check Partial. Save the master.scp file as callmaster in the working directory (or use CALLMASTER=master.scp to use the default file name). It will take precedence over the system installed callmaster file which is likely well out of date.

Section files contain a flat ASCII database of multipliers like states, sections, provinces, districts, names, ages, etc. They are used by including MULT_LIST=section_file_name in the rules file.

Some of these files are supplied by Tlf while others will need to be written by you. Please offer your files to the developers for inclusion in the distribution or placed on the Wiki (see below).

The documentation page at GitHub contains some more information.

An FAQ and other useful tips are installed /usr/share/doc/tlf.

The project Wiki will host various contest specific information and files.

Please send bug reports to the Tlf development list.

Tlf was originally written by Rein Couperus aka Rein Couperus and is maintained from 2009 onward by Thomas Beierlein.

A lot of valuable contributions have been received from PG4I (Joop PA4TU), PA3FWM, LZ3NY, VA3DB, OM4AA, OK1RR, DH5FS, G4KNO and various other contributors. (See the AUTHORS file for more). Thanks to all for improving Tlf!

Beta testers and feedback are always welcome!

Tlf 1.5~git, 2022-09-18 TLF