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_____________________________________________________________________________
Copyright
2005 Alex Wiecek (VE3GOP)
WorldWide NDB
Search Utility (WWSU) is designed to aid in search for various low frequency
Non Directional Beacons (NDB) around the world. It provides information such as
Latitude, Longitude, City and Country where the beacon is located. It will also
provide the distance and bearing to the navaid based on the geographical
coordinates supplied by the user. A graphical representation of the beacon's
location on the world map is available as well.
WWSU also utilizes a logging feature allowing the user
to record all received NDBs in a master or
session log. This program will allow the listener to keep logs from up to sixteen different
listening locations.
This screen is divided into three sections that can be selected by clicking an appropriate tab.
- Station Info. This section allows you to select one of three listening locations. You can choose a name for each of your listening locations by selecting the appropriate location and then clicking Rename button. A separate window will pop up and allow you to select a name of your choce. When you are satisfied with the location name, click OK to save it. Please keep in mind that the changes will not become permanent until you click Set As Default button at the bottom of the screen.
UTC offset will be automatically calculated for you. Its value depends on the Time Zone selected in Windows Regional Settings screen. You cannot edit this value in WWSU.
You also have the ability to assign the geographical coordinates where the Latitude format is DD MM SS S/N, while Longitude format is DDD MM SS E/W. QRG locator will be automatically calculated for you.
If you don't have your geographical coordinates available, WWSU has the capability of calculating them from the QRG Locator string. Simply enter your QRG Locator into the approprate text box in the format of two letters-two numbers-two letters (case insensitive) and WWSU will automatically fill the Lat and Long windows with your coordinates.
If your computer is connected to a GPS receiver configured to send RMC formatted data, you will see a green GPS indicator flash on the screen. You can then update the coordinates automatically by clicking Update from GPS button. Keep in mind that WWSU listens only for RMC formatted data. Any other data format (ie. DLL) will produce a GPS indicator that is red in colour.
Below the Lat/Lon settings you now have the ability to apply distance filter your searches. This setting will allow you to search only those beacons that fall within the distance criteria. The ON/OFF button allows you to enable or disable the distance filter.
This section also allows you to select whether you want to see distances in kilometres or miles. This setting will apply to all listening locations.
Off to the right of the screen you will notice Closest METAR Location window. This allows you to determine the closest METAR reporting facility where you could obtain barometric pressure information.
Below this window you will find DX Logger Signature. If you happen to be a regular user of DX Beacon Logger (http://dxworld.com/ndblog ) you will undoubtedly find that typing reports can get very tedious. WWSU has made this process very simple and now everytime your searched beacon is displayed on the screen, its information is automatically saved in the Clipboard in the following format:
HM:221, +392 HAMILTON, Ontario, Canada - <your DX Logger Signature>
all you need to do now is go to the DXLogger window, highlight the Input window, press CTRL-V and click Submit.
- Mapping Preferences. In this section you select map attributes (rivers, islands, etc.) as well as map detail. Keep in mind that more detailed maps take a little longer to draw out. These parameters apply only to the maps generated from the main WWSU screen (ie. Show Beacon On Map button).
- GPS Setup. This section allows you to configure your COM port to communicate with a GPS receiver. Select your Com port, speed and parity then click Apply Com Settings. If a successful communication is established, you should see a GPS data string in the GPS Data String window. If WWSU detects an RMC type message ($GPRMC prefix), you should see a green GPS indicator flash on the screen. If the indicator is red, your GPS is sending a data string in a different format, such as $GPDLL prefix. Note: if the GPS indicator flashes in both colours, it means that your GPS unit is sending data in multiple formats - this is normal.
Two buttons are available at the bottom of the screen:
- Set as Default button will apply your preference changes to the program as well as it will write your settings to the registry so that next time you start the program, the new settings will take effect
- Exit
button will apply your preference changes but as soon as you exit the program,
these changes will be replaced with the previously saved configuration
settings.
This function is similar to the mapping function used to look for a beacon, except that in this case this tool will show all beacons within a range that you specify. You can also save the results to a file by checking Generate output file box. If you wish to change the file name, click the Change button.
To start off, enter the range you are interested in. Select your map attributes (Countries, Rivers, etc.) and Map Detail. You now have the ability to view beacons of your choice all beacons, logged beacons, CLE/Session beacons, DGPS or Navtex stations by checking an appropriate box on the bottom right of the screen
Click Generate Map. You will then be presented with a graphical representation of all NDBs in the range of your interest.. Each beacon type and its presence in your log will be shown in a different colour, with the legend found at the bottom right of the radar screen. Please note that if the radar returns more than 200 beacons, the call signs will automatically disappear to prevent clutter on the screen. If there are less than 200 beacons, the call signs will be displayed but you have an option of hiding call signs by clicking Toggle Calls button on the display screen.
If the beacons of your interest are in a certain direction, simply click the Coverage radio button and enter the beam width you are interested in. The program will then list all beacons contained within that width. If you happen to have a bi-directional antenna (i.e. Loop) and are interested in the opposite side of the beam width angle, put a check mark next to Bi-Directional. Note that the bi-directional function is disabled if your beam width happens to be 180° or greater.
To save your mapping
preferences and beacons display options, simply click Save As Default
button.
This function requires a GPS receiver sending a properly formatted GPS data to the computer. At the present WWSU will only accept GPS data send in RMC message format (ie. $GPRMC). The COM port, speed and parity can be selected in the Properties menu accessible from the main WWSU screen.
Once a proper data format is detected, you will see a green GPS indicator flash at the top right of the screen. This indicator may occassionally flash red, which indicates that your GPS receiver is also sending different messages (ie. GPDLL). This is OK and WWSU has been programmed to ignore messages other than RMC.
As soon as WWSU receives
its first message, the radar map centre will change to reflect your position
with respect to other beacons around you. To the left of the radar display you
have an option of selecting the radar range as well as track resolution.
Radar Range allows you to select how far out (in miles or km)
would you like to "see", while Track Resolution
allows you to select how often you would like to have your track updated on the
map as you are moving. Keep in mind that smaller values will most accurately
reflect your movements on the map, however the track length will be
considerably shorter than higher value resolution. The following table
ilustrates the track length vs. track resolution.
0.01 setting = 30 miles (30
km)
0.10 setting = 300 miles (300 km)
1.00 setting = 3000 miles (3000 km)
2.00 setting = 6000 miles (6000 km)
4.00 setting = 12000 miles (6000 km)
8.00 setting = 24000 miles (24000 km)
It is therefore recommended that as you are getting close to a beacon, use smaller value resolution. Use higher value resolution while cruising on a highway or when the beacon chased is still a long ways away.
On the right of the radar display you will also be presented with your current Latitude, Longitude, speed and bearing as provided by your GPS receiver.
Additionally, on the right you can also check the position of your mouse pointer with respect to the centre of the radar display.
Should you wish to start with a fresh GPS track, click the Clear Track button. Your current track will be erased.
Keep in mind that WWSU remembers the track ever if you close the program.
This utility allows the user to analyze the reception logs and graphically represent the reception performance vs. the number of beacons in existence. This function can be used to determine the following:
There are two display functions available to the user: Number of beacons per degree of bearing and Number of beacons per kHz of frequency.
Number of beacons per degree of bearing.
This function simply takes each degree of bearing from your geographical location and calculates the number of beacons in that direction. This number will be represented on the graph in green. The WWSU will analyze your reception logs and count the number of beacons received from each degree of bearing - this will be superimposed on the graph in red.
To start, enter the range you are interested in in the Range window, and click Update. From the results displayed, you can quickly determine whether your antenna is "deaf" in certain directions and whether you need to concentrate more in a given bearing range to maximize the number of received beacons in your log. You can also display these results as percentage of existing beacons vs. number of beacons received by checking % Received box and hitting Update.
Note as you move your mouse accross the display screen, two lower right boxes will show you the pointer's position in terms of bearing (horizontal movement) and the number of beacons (vertical movement).
By clicking Vector Display radio button and hitting Update, you can view these results in a vector format with respect to your location, where 0 degree bearing is on top, 90 degrees on the left, etc. As with the previous display, movement of the mouse will be reflected in the two lower right boxes.
Number of beacons per kHz of frequency
This function is similar to the one above, except instead of bearing WWSU will calculate the number of beacons per each kHz of frequency. This function could be used to determine the performance of your receiver. Too much green (number of beacons) and not enough red (number of received beacons) may indicate your receiver performs poorly in that frequency range.
Once again, select the range of your interest in the Range window. Type in the lower and upper frequency limits you want to analyze and hit Update. You can also display the results as percentage of existing beacons to beacons received by checking % Received and hitting Update.
An area of consistently low red to green ratio can be interpreted that the receiver is performing poorly in that frequency range or that the reception is hindered by interference.
Use this function to check the current extent and position of the Auroral Oval over the North and South Pole. This information is extrapolated from the satellite data taken during the most recent pass over each pole
As a beacon chaser, you can use this information to determine whether you will have much luck receiving beacons that are encompassed by this oval, as well as what receiving conditions to expect if your listening location is affected by this oval. General rules of thumb are:
- the smaller, the better
- yellow good, red bad
Please note that Auroral Oval satellite imagery will only work while your computer is connected to the internet.
This function is used to create customized listening reports based on the date of interest. To start off, using the From and To buttons, select the start and end times for your report. Then select the listening location of interest and hit Create Report.
You will be presented with a screen showing beacons received during that time. Note that in case of multiple instances of the same beacon, only the most recent entry will be shown.
At the bottom of the screen you have a choice of the sort method that you can apply to the output screen. You can sort by Date, Time, Frequency, Ident or Distance. You can also apply a sort order by clicking the Ascending/Descending button. Be sure to hit the GO button to apply the sort criteria to your output.
Two more options are available at the bottom of the screen:
Save Report allows you to save your report in Text or Excel (csv) formats.
Print Report allows you to print out the report.
Database Backup
Your WWSU database consists of sixteen log files: log0.dat, log1.dat.... log15.dat, master lookup database ndb.dat, and session log file cle.dat .
Normally WWSU will back itself up automatically before any write attempt to the database is performed. However, this function forces the backup of your database to a temporary file on the drive of your choice. Additionally, you can also back up your registry entries for WWSU.
To back up your selected components, simply tick off the items of interest and hit Backup. Please note that because the master lookup database ndb.dat is tied to all log files, it is backed up with the rest of the components automatically.
At this time, WWSU does not support file
compression and as such you will not be able to back up you database files
onto a 1.44 MB floppy.
This function will restore
your database files from the drive of your choice.
Once this
function is performed, WWSU will inform you if it was successful
restoring the database, log or registry files, or whether this function was
able to perform a partial restore only.
NOTE:
Please remember to restart the program following a restoration of the registry
file.
this button allows you to clear any listening sessions you conducted in the past and start a new one. This will in no way affect your logged beacons which are kept in a separate database.
this function will clear your master log at a selected listening location. Be extremely careful with this function as it will wipe out years of your listening efforts. As a precaution, WWSU will create a backup of your logs just in case you need to bring them back, but it is advisable to perform a database backup onto a separate drive (if possible).
If you happen to be an existing user of NDB Weblog , you can perform import and export function of your logs between WWSU and NDB Weblog by selecting this function.
Export
First off, select the Export to Weblog tab. Thenselect the location where you want WWSU to export its data to. This can be done by clicking the Change button on top of the screen and navigating to the location of your choice. Once you're happy with the new location, click Set Path .
The export window will show you the number of entries in your log (duplicate entries will be counted as two, etc) and the number of unique beacons in your log (multiple receptions of the same beacon will be counted as one). If you wish to export this log into NDB Weblog, click Export To Weblog button. The appropriate stations.js and log.js files will appear in the folder of your choice.
Import
This function will allow you to import NDB Weblog files into WWSU.
As above, select the location of the stations.js and log.js files by clicking the Change button on top of the screen. Then select which one of your three logs you would like to import this data to.
Lower pane shows the number of log entries in the NDB Weblog . If you wish to replace the entries at the particular listening location with those of the Weblog, check the Delete existing log entries at this location box, otherwise the Weblog entries will be appended to those that already exist at this location.
Then click Import from Weblog button to start importing data into WWSU. Be patient as this is a rather time consuming on slower machines. Beacons that were logged in NDB Weblog but do not exist in WWSU will be displayed on the screen and added to WWSU. Beacons that have existed in WWSU prior to this import will not be wiped out, however beacon's information (Latitude, Longitude, power, etc) will be replaced with that of NDB Weblog.
Pretty self explanatory, it allows you to see how many beacons are contained in the WWSU database, how many you have in your log at each listening location and how many are logged in an individual session/CLE.
To search for a beacon all you need to do is input the data (Frequency or Ident) in the search window and press ENTER or click ? button. WWSU now has the ability to distinguish between frequency and ident searches. The program will return with the first found beacon in the database. If there is more than one beacon that matches your search criteria, you will be presented with a slide bar, which will allow you to move to the next found facility. WWSU will warn you whether or not this beacon already exists in your log and when it was last logged, or whether it has been logged at another location. Off to the left of the search window you will notice a distance filter switch. This switch allows you to select whether you want to limit your searches to beacons that fall within certain distance criteria. The actual distance limit is set in the preferences window.
If WWSU determines that this beacon has already been logged at a different location, move your mouse pointer over the "?" right next to the *** Logged from a different QTH *** message, to reveal which of your listening locations has this beacon logged.
A wild card search is also available, in this case the wild card character is ?. The following examples illustrate WWSUs wild card search abilities:
A? find any two letter beacon that starts with an A
?A find any two letter beacon that ends with an A
A?? find any three letter beacon that starts with an A
??A find any three letter beacon that ends with an A
A?A find any three letter beacon that starts and ends with an A
?A? find any three letter beacon that has an A in the middle
?, ??, ??? this program does not allow wild card only searches
Click this button if you wish to locate found beacon on a map. You will be presented with a radar like display showing your location in the center and beacon's location marked by a white circle with a dot inside. In the upper right you will see beacon's call sign, frequency, distance and bearing from your location. As you move your mouse within the display area, you will also see the mouse pointer's position relative to the radar's center. This position is expressed in miles or km, depending on the settings in the Preferences menu.
Note that you can set the map attributes (rivers, borders, etc) in the Preferences menu as well.
This function is extremely
useful especially when you come across a beacon that is either new to your
database, comes from an exotic location or simply one of those you haven't
heard in a while. This might be an indication that propagation is favorable in
a certain direction. With the click of this button, you will be able to check
whether there are any beacons near the one you just logged, that you might want
to add to your log.
As soon as you click this button,
the main WWSU window will expand and it will display beacons within the default
100mi/160km range of the target beacon. If you wish, you can repeat the search
by narrowing (or widening) up the range and clicking Update. Please note that beacon calls prefixed
by *** indicate that the particular beacon has already been logged at
the present location.
To return to normal display mode, hit the "Hide" button.
Please note that the above two functions will be disabled if the searched beacon does not have any coordinates assigned to it, this is indicated by 00.00.00N and 000.00.00W coordinates.
If you happen to come
across an erroneous WWSU entry or simply want to add a beacon to the database,
click the New / Change button. You will be presented with a screen
showing the contents of the last search. To modify this information,
simply fill in the blanks or correct the entries. Note that Data As Of
field cannot be modified. It simply acts as a reference as to when the change
was last made to the particular record. Once all corrections are done, click
the Update button.
Please note that if you hit New
/ Change button while the WWSU screen is blank, WWSU will assume that you
are trying to enter a new record.
If the beacon in question is to be removed as a result of decommissioning, simply click Delete and this beacon will be permanently removed from the database. However, you may wish to keep decommissioned beacons in the database especially if that beacon had been logged in the past once you remove it, you will not be able to view it in your log.
If a beacon has changed its frequency or call sign and it has been logged in the past, WWSU will automatically create a duplicate entry in the master database so that you will have the ability to view this beacon in your Station Log twice. If you do not wish to view this beacon's old call/frequency, simply call it up the old ident at the Main Screeen, click New/Change and Delete. Again, keep in mind that if you delete the old beacon entry, it will also be erased from your listening log.
If you wish to add a new entry to the database, click New Entry button. This will clear all information from the screen except the Lat and Lon information (filled with zeroes to act as a template) and Data As Of field.
At this point the Update button will be disabled. It will be enabled once the Frequency and Ident info have been entered. Fill in as much information as you possibly can and hit Update.
Any operation that you
perform on the database is recorded in a separate file called added.txt.
If you wish, you can forward this file to the author of this program so that
any changes can be applied to a database that will be distributed to all
registered WWSU users on a regular basis.
This file can be sent to ve3gop@rogers.com
This function allows you to keep a log of all beacons you have received at a particular listening location. Once you do a search for a particular beacon and wish to log it, click Log It button and you will be taken to a screen that allows you to enter the time/date when the beacon was logged as well as comments related to the reception of this beacon. You can also change any particulars about this beacon by clicking Modify Beacon Data button. Should you wish to log a particular beacon without going through the comments window, simply hit the QLOG (Quick Log) button and this beacon will be added to your listening log along with the current date and time.
WWSU will allow you to log the same beacon more than once, up to 20,000 times at the present.
Note that this beacon will also be added to the Session/CLE section of this program.
This is where you get to
see all beacons you have logged. If the beacon has been received more than
once, you will be presented with a slider bar underneath the beacon view
window. You can view the details of each reception by sliding the bar to
the left or right. Note the Date and Time windows have
a green background. This indicates that these fields can be edited in case you
need to make corrections. The Date window has a Select
button next to it. This button is to be used to select the date and it
is necessary to simplify the date entering method as well as
preventing the user from entering the date in format other than what is specified
for the software. After making the necessary changes, click the Update
button for changes to take effect.
Please note that incorrectly
entered time and date will result in the appropriate fields turning red and the
Update button will be disabled.
If you wish to remove a specific entry, just click Delete from Log button.
You also have an option of making a printout of your log by clicking the Print Log button.
This screen allows you to
view beacons logged in a particular session i.e.. CLE (Coordinated
Listening Event). This screen has pretty much the same layout as the Log
screen but it has an additional button called Create Session/CLE Report.
This function will create a CLE/Session report with its output formatted to include items of your choice. To start off, select the items to be included in the final report by ticking off the checkboxes. Then select the frequency range you are interested in using two slide bars to the right. At this point you can click Save As Default to make your changes permanent. Then click Generate Report to display the final CLE/Session Report.
At the bottom of the output screen, you can select the sorting method you would like to apply to the report. You have a choice of sorting by Date, Time, Frequency, Ident or Distance. You can also select the sort order (Ascending or Descending). Click the GO button to apply the sort criteria to your report.
Two more functions are available at the bottom of the screen:
- Save Report - this function allows you to save the report into a text or Excel (csv) type format
- Print Report sends your report to the printer.
Keep in mind that you can paste this report to an email by navigating your mouse onto the output window and pressing CTRL-A. Once all of the text is highlighted, press CTLR-C to copy the contents onto a clipboard. Then press CTRL-V in your email client's window to paste the report to be sent away.
As always, I would appreciate hearing from you. This is an ongoing project and I will be updating it to make it more versatile and user friendly. At the same time, there is a possibility that a bug might be lurking in there somewhere that, at the time of testing, was able to slip through my fingers. Please send any suggestions or bug reports to my email address at ve3gop@ve3gop.com
Also visit http://www.ve3gop.com for future updates and improvements.
4.51 Decimal point fix.
Some European listeners have had their Windows set up so that the decimal point
is a comma instead of a period. This rendered WWSU 4.5 useless to a certain
degree.
4.61 Added beam direction to
the beacon radar function.
4.62 Added a search button
(?) to the main screen.
4.72 Added three more
variables to the database (ident cycle, modulation offset, DAID)
4.73 Removed useless entries
(Airport ICAO, ICAO Country Prefix, Magnetic Variation)
4.74 Fixed Map Feature
Selection in the Preferences window.
4.84 Added New NDB/Record
Modify function.
4.85 Added decimal points to
NDB frequencies
4.95 Added call signs to the
Beacon Radar function
5.05 Added Nearby Beacons
feature to the main screen
5.06 Changed the appearance
of the NDB marker on the map.
5.07 Added Canadian
Provinces to the display
5.10 Modified database for
random access and added extra database maintenance features.
6.00 Complete overhaul of
WWSU. Added more features.
6.10 Added
GPS support, data comparison charts,
and multiple location logging.
6.20 Redesigned main window. Added Distance Filter, DX
Logger Signature, closest METAR station, more logging locations, Listening Report screen, Registry
backup function. Redesigned the CLE/Session reporting screen. Increased logging
capability to include beacons right up to 4.5 MHz.
Addressed numerous bugs and quirks
found in version 6.10
A word about the files used to create our maps. WWSU uses the *.pnt files placed in the public domain by Fred Pospeschil and Antonio Riveria. Original coordinate data was created by the Central Intelligence Agency.
When I initially came up
with the idea of writing WWSU, it was meant to be a free program. Sure enough,
the first few releases were offered free of charge and the program received a
warm welcome from the NDB hunter community.
I have received many requests
- some strange, some not so strange to add features to this program to make it
more versatile. Many have been accommodated, some are still in the works.
Quite a bit of time has been
spent developing the latest release and I have received a few suggestions that
perhaps I should make it a paid release to cover the time and labor put into
it. I thought long a hard about this and eventually gave in to this idea.
As such, this program is available on a free trial basis. It is fully functional up until the point where a certain number of beacons has been added to the log. Once the log capacity in exceeded, the program will automatically scale back many of its features, which can be unlocked by entering a registration code.
Fully registered version is
available for US$15. These funds can be sent to me via Paypal, Personal Check
or MO. Once the payment is received, you will receive
a registration code in your
email. Simply input this code, along with your name and call sign (if
applicable) in the registration window, which can be found under the Help menu
bar. Once all information is entered in, the program will permanently unlock
itself.
Paypal payments can be sent to awiecek@hotmail.com, while Personal Checks or Money Orders can be sent to:
Alex Wiecek
3715 Windhaven Drive
Mississauga, Ontario
L5N 7V2 CANADA
Thank you for your support.
Many thanks go to Vernon Matheson, Robert Gaye and Tjζrand Bauge for crash testing this program for me. Knowing the code and the way this program works makes it rather hard to detect all bugs and it's better to get an objective opinion from those who don't quite know their way around the software.
Thanks go to Martin Francis
for agreeing to interface this software with NDB Weblog. I'm hoping that many
others will discover the advantages of using Martin's excellent program and
publish their accomplishments on the internet for others to browse through. It
can be obtained at http://www.classaxe.com/dx
Martin has also designed the
NDB icon used for this program..
Last but not least, thanks go to all that supplied database corrections and additions, and those who supplied their ideas for the program. Without them, this would simply be a look up only software. It has grown to do much more than that and I'm sure it will grow even further with more input from its users.