I am a regular user of the nifty FLE (“Fast Log Entry”) by DF3CB (DF3CB.com :: Fast Log Entry (FLE)) to log my SOTA and WWFF activations. The latest version (V3) now even allows to generate SOTA compatible CSV files directly.
But, as a Mac user, I felt frustrated by the difficulties to setup a working environment on my laptop. I wrote a Command Line Interface (CLI) that will process a FLE input file and generate CSV or ADIF output files for SOTA or WWFF. The tool is available for Mac, Linux, Raspberry Pi, and Windows.
It is an open source program, under the MIT license.
I wrote it for my own usage but also as an exercise to learn and get proficient at GOlang. But I thought it might be useful to others.
Many thanks for this. I wonder if it will solve my particular problem.
Whilst I use FLE to log my SOTA activations I have a big long list of contacts whilst chasing from home that I need to get into the system. Usually just one or two contacts a day over the course of several months.
If I use FLE as far as I’m aware I would need a separate file for each day’s contacts. if I use your CLI tool am I able to specify multiple sections in one file, each with a different date, so I can generate a single SOTA CSV file to cover a couple of months?
I added some CGI-BIN modules which run GO code to the Wainwrights on the Air site https://wota.org.uk which fit in very well with the existing PHP system. One module allows the use of SOTA CSV compatible logging files to be uploaded. So we are golang amateur radio soulmates in some ways
Thank you for your interest in that humble project. I follow as closely as I can the FLE file “standard”
The latest version of FLE (V3) supports multiple dates. It even supports “date folding” in the UI. (DF3CB.com :: Fast Log Entry (FLE)). Multiple activations in the same file are not possible.
Just by curiosity, of how many QSOs and dates are we speaking. Is this a chaser log? I will reproduce that use case.
Nice for the GOlang CGI. I plan (for the fun) to include a web interface in the FLEcli tool. It would allow to provide an on-line conversion of FLE files. Cloud enabled SOTA or WWFF
Mark,
I use FLE to capture my chaser log. I follow the syntax and usually have one file per 3 month period. It is the best way to capture such data in my opinion.
I copy a text string like “Date 2020/01/“ into the clipboard, then add the day as required. When the next date occurs in the data I paste the date prefix and add the day number.
I take full advantage of FLE’s abbreviated data entry options, entering mode and band only when they change.
I would not do it any other way.
73 Andrew VK1DA/VK2UH
Fast Log Entry is indeed a very handy shorthand log notation. It is “support” agnostic. It can be used analog (like in my RiteInTheRain notebook) or digital with any note-taking app or editor. It is a KISS method (as long as you remember the basic syntax. Cheat sheet helps).
I personally use Google Keep as a simple way to record/store/backup/share the activation FLE log. Works on a mobile phone, tablet or laptop/computer. Minimalist, adaptable and “agile”. (TU to ON6ZQ for the tip).
As I can’t do any chasing (because of very noisy environment and poor aerials), I didn’t include this “chaser log” usecase in my tests. Will fix that asap.
For those interested, I pushed a new release of the tool with the enhancements described hereafter. Automated tests validate that input files of at least 4000 lines can be safely processed.
The release is available at Release v0.1.3 · on4kjm/FLEcli · GitHub
Is there a video available to show the Mac OS installation process and subsequent usage? I managed to get as far as downloading the ARM version (2023 Macbook Pro with M2 Chip). After that, I’m able to double click on the “FLEcli” Unix Executable file, but that’s as far as I’m getting. I can’t type/enter anything after the screen pops up saying “process completed.” None of the other files (readme.md, or others) will open. I’ve attempted to read through the usage information on the Github page, but I’m clearly missing obvious steps/processes.
The instructions appear to be written for someone with terminal/command line/console knowledge already. Is there supposed to be an app that is actually downloaded? I’ve tried to follow the Mac OS installation instructions but I can’t get past the “home brew” or manual installation steps as I don’t even know how to do the console “execution”, step etc. (or Home Brew). I feel a lot of the basic “do this exactly” steps are missing as it’s not written for the novice (non-coder types) like myself. Ha. I thought I was at least basically competent with PCs/Macs. Apparently not! Thanks in advance!
I’m able to use FLE on PCs and got that up and running easily. But, this process has me totally thrown for a loop.
CLI stands for command line interface. So yes it is for use in a terminal. There is no graphical app like FLE included.
Pretty sure examples are in the readme how to use the tool.
Thanks. Yes, I saw that page and read through it completely. I’ll attempt to locate and read through some other materials to assist further. Much appreciated.
It’s the same process on a Mac or Linux machine. Create a text file with your log in FLE format, then run FLEcli on that log to produce the .csv file that you upload to the SOTA DB. Ping me in Slack if you can’t figure it out.
Hey Josh! Yeah, I watched it. It prompted me to re-research FLEcli but for Mac OS. If I was working on a PC, I could probably just copy Tim’s steps easily. But, for Mac OS, there are numerous steps/instructions outlined on the Github pages that don’t click for me. I tried for quite a while last night. It’s probably easy to translate for those familiar with command line processes, but not for this guy. It’s hard for me to move through certain steps without knowing certain concepts, process flows etc. that I assume weren’t included because it’s written from the assumption that the reader gets the “basic” CL stuff that doesn’t need to be explained. Ha. I’ll ping you on Slack at some point. I’ll owe you a bottle of Gin!
