Macros

Macros

On CW/RTTY/PSK31 operations, you can send from a choice of 12 standard messages with a single keystroke or a tap on the screen. 

Macro keys on the display

Each set of macros is stored as a text file in the directory /home/pi/sbitx/web with the filename extension .mc. They are an easy to understand format and you are free to create your own macros file with any text editor.

# Sample macro file for regular dxing
F1 CQ, cq cq cq de {MYCALL} {MYCALL} {MYCALL} ar k
F2 RST, * ur rst {SENTRST} {SENTRST} kn 
F3 End,! de {MYCALL} . tnx fer rpt . 73 es cu agn kn sk 
F4 Call, *
F5 QRZ, qrz?
F6 Chkin, ! de {MYCALL} ur rst {SENTRST} es tnx fer call . hw cpy? AR K 
F7 Exch,! de * ur rst {SENTRSTCUT} {EXCH} K 
F8 Agn?,agn?
F9 Zone?,zn?
F10 About, ! de * . my name is farhan qth hyderabad . rig is sbitx es dipole . hw cpi? ! de * k 
F11 QRZ,qrz?
F12 -,-

The macros are mapped to the  function keys of any attached keyboard, they can also be sent by tapping the macro buttons. You can have a maximum of 12 macros defined. 

  • All the macro files available are listed in the dropbox next to the macro buttons. You can choose a different macro file depending upon the kind of operation you want to do. CW1 macro file is a good option to begin with.
  • The macros will substitute your callsign, grid, the contact’s filled callsign, report (from the logger boxes).

This is best explained with an example. Let’s imagine that you are checking into a CW NET and the net control is VU2TS and we can copy VU2TS as 579.

We enter VU2TS in the CALL text box and 579 in the SENT box.  

Now, we listen to the Net until we have a chance to break-in.

  • Press  F4 Call . This will send your own callsign just once. We wait until the net control replies to us. We can repeat our callsign by pressing F4 again.
  • We press  F6 Chkin .  The macro Fill the contact’s callsign and the signal report entered in the SENT box and sends the following message.

VU2TS DE VU2ESE UR RST 579 es tnx fer call . hw cpy? AR K

The net control will reply to us and give us a report of 559. We enter 559 in the RECV box.

  • Press LOG. When the CALL, SENT and RECV fields are filled, pressing the LOG button will save the QSO as a log entry. The time, frequency, mode, etc., are all picked up from the radio’s settings.

At this point, you can continue with the QSO by transmitting more macros or directly sending CW.  

  • Press WIPE.  You can clear the logger window without having to delete individual entry boxes by pressing the  WIPE  button.

 ESC  You can interrupt a transmission of a macro generated message by pressing the ESC button or pressing the Escape key on the physical keyboard.