ESM (Enter send message)

[awandahl]

A crude proof of concept of the ESM technique. It only halfworks (sometimes it send gibberish instead of CQ) and it only halfworks in RUN mode. I haven't looked into what has to be changed when mode is switched to S&P. In RUN mode:

1. Pressing Enter in empty callsign field sends CQ
2. When callsign of the other station is in the callsign field and Enter is pressed exchange message is sent and focus is changed to "other_2" field (RcvNR in WPX, in CQWW CQ Zone...) for registering the exchange from the other station.
3. When message from other station is registered and Enter is pressed the QSO is logged and focus goes back to callsign window.
   This is basically how N1MM+ does it. Swift and easy: Enter, pick callsign, Enter, pick message, Enter.
   This makes a HUGE difference when it comes to rythm and ergonomics when working a 48 hours contest. CQWW is coming up in November and it would be nice to stress test not1mm in that one ;)
   I'm sure there are a lot of things I haven't thought about, and the S&P mode is completely missing. Any thoughts? Is there another and more efficient way to accomplish what I'm looking for? Five cents from a humble librarian killing time.
   73 Anders SM0HPL

[mbridak]

Okay, looks like I'll be dragged into ESM world one way or another ;-).

I wasn't able to get the patch to do anything, but that's okay. I get the basic idea.

Just off the top of my head, there are things I will need to do.

• Modify settings to:
  • Have a switch to opt in/out.
  • Have a way for the user to tell us which function keys are his CQ, Exchange, AGN, {HISCALL} TU QRZ etc keys. Since they are freely definable there would be no other way to know.

I'll just assume the "next field" logic will follow what happens when you press the SPACE currently.

Since a-lot of the contests are not alike, I'll probably have each contest have a ESM state tree type function. When the user presses Enter, Check for ESM opt-in. Then check if the current contest plug-in has an ESM state tree function and just call it if it does. That way it can be a slow roll out.

The state tree will just check what field is active, see if it has text in it or not. Send a message and wait, or send next message and jump to next field. Rinse-Repeat 'till we can log the info.

Easy Peasy, n'est-ce pas?

[awandahl]

Easy peasy indeed! I think it's wise to follow N1MM's logic as close as possible, and everything doesn't have to be implemented at once, see https://n1mmwp.hamdocs.com/setup/function-keys/#esm-enter-sends-message

It seems from your reply that you have grasped everything about the basic idea. And SPACE should in my view be used for the "last field" logic (rather toggling between first and last field), while TAB will be "next field" as it is now.

As ESM is an option - which can be activated with a disclaimer to begin with - it would be possible to call that specific functionality "alpha" and finalize either RUN or S&P separately. To me the real challenge would be to implement the switch between these modes. Maybe I would eventually figure out how this could be done, but it is 100% more efficient if you do the dirty work. And I'm willing to take part in the testing and evaluation of the function. I will learn a bit more python too...

[mbridak]

@awandahl Okay Sir. I pushed a change adding ESM. It's working currently only in CQ WW CW.

See My ESM PR for specifics.

I think I got pretty close. I'll start modifying more contest plugins once I'm sure it's not causing any problems.

Cheers! Mike, K6GTE