QSL Cards Directly From Your Log

By LA9IHA Ottar

This is the ham-radio operators QSL card machine. When you have logged your QSO on your PC-log, log2ps will generate complete QSL cards on white paper. No sticky labels, no printing expences and no tedious after work.

log2ps is configured through command line switches. You may want to use it to generate QSL cards for special events, DXpeditions, contests etc. Easy set-up routines are provided for K1EA CT and Log-Eqf. The program maintain configuration settings in a config file. It reads your log-program output file and produces output to a PostScript file.

Below you find an example of how a card can look like. You can easily suit it to your own particulars and taste. The good news is when a QSO is registered in the log, the QSL card is almost complete. After a weekend contest it should take you about 15 minutes to make QSL cards for all the QSO's!


The original card is sharp and not blurred like this GIF image.

Technical Topics

log2ps reads your log and generate a PostScript file. To get the cards you can either

To enjoy log2ps you should therefore download log2ps.zip. If your printer is not PostScript compatible, you should download the files associated with GhostScript. If you wish to contribute to the development of log2ps, you can download log2psdev.zip. If you want to study the PostScript code I suggest you download the file qsl.zip.

All my files are zipped and contains both documentation and data. Other files may move around on the web. I will try to maintain the links, but if they go obsolete I would be very grateful if you would notify me.

log2ps reads the log in ASCII format. Each QSO must be on a separate line, no longer than 160 characters.

Download


log2ps.zip		 Contains log2ps.exe which is the program itself, manual.pdf in Acrobat reader format. A viewer is available for download further down this page. The file also contains a readme.txt file and 3 sample logs for K1EA, old CT v. 6.21 and Log-EQF.

log2psdev.zip		 Contains a description, technical.pdf in Acrobat Reader format. The Borland C++ object file, log2ps.obj. Also all the *.cpp and *.h files for log2ps.

qsl.zip		Contains the PostScript QSL.PS which is the complete PostScript program describing the QSL card. With all files as contributed to the Elektor Electronics Software Competition 1996

GhostScript 		GhostScript for those of you who have no PostScript printer. For a simple configuration for DOS you need to download the files: You should also download the manual of Thomas Mertz at ftp://ftp.cs.wisc.edu/ghost/gs5man_e.pdf

Acrobat Reader 		Acrobat Reader to read PDF files. The users manual and tecnical manual in the zip files above needs this viewer.

WinZip		 Unpacking ZIP files. You can of course use the good old pkzip.
Log-EQF A general log-program. log2ps has dedicated set-up routines for this log program.
K1EA CT A dedicated contest log. log2ps has dedicated set-up routines for this log program.
CT v6.26 A freeware version of the log above. log2ps has dedicated set-up routines for this log program.
qsl.pdf A high quality sample of the card in Adobe PDF format

Give Me the News

If you have started using log2ps please let me know. It would be fun if you could send me a sample card, either by snailmail, or a PostScript in an e-mail.

Thanks

Most of the testing and proof-reading of documentation is due to LA2QJA Kjell Arne and LA8XM Trond. Without your help I would be busy writing new bugs.

73

I hope you find the program useful. If you have any comments, wishes etc, please send me a mail and I will respond.

Please return feedback and comments on this page at clank@c2i.net .

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This page has been created in a text editor by a real programmer.