TLF(1)

📦

version 1.4.1-396-ge6385f8 · 6 versions

1.4.1-396-ge6385f8 · ubuntu stonking (latest)
1.4.1-unstable-2026-03 · nixos 26.05
1.4.1-unstable-2026-03 · nixpkgs unstable
1.4.1-327-g7b714df · ubuntu noble
1.4.1 · debian bookworm, fedora 43, fedora 44, ubuntu jammy
1.4.1-351-ge9217b2 · debian trixie, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute

👑 TLF(1) — the manual, but make it make sense 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the TLF(1) manual page, living in the Ham radio section of your friendly neighbourhood man page collection. Buckle up, this thing is long, so we're doing it in parts. This is part one. Let's go 🦋

✨ NAME ✨

Tlf — amateur radio contest keyer/logging program for Radiosport. That's the whole vibe. It keys, it logs, it contests. 💅

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

tlf [-?ilnrvV] [-d level] [-f config_file]
    [-s user:password@host/dir/logfilename] [--debug=level]
    [--config=config_file] [--import] [--list] [--no-cluster] [--no-rig]
    [--sync=user:password@host/dir/logfilename] [--verbose] [--version]
    [--help] [--usage]

no cap, that's literally it. every flag, every bracket, untouched. 🎀

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

So Tlf is a console (ncurses) mode general purpose CW keyer, logging and contest program for amateur radio operators. Yes bestie, console mode. No fancy GUI, just vibes and a terminal. 💜

It supports the CQWW, WPX, ARRL-DX, ARRL-FD, STEWPERRY, PACC, FOC Marathon and EU SPRINT contests, plus a whole lot more basic contests, general QSO and DXpedition mode. it's giving versatility, honestly. 👑

It interfaces with a Morse Code generator, a number of radios via the Hamlib library, and with a DX Cluster via telnet or packet radio. And the glow-up? Tlf can project DX cluster data into the excellent Xplanet program, written by Hari Nair. iconic behaviour fr fr ✨

Contest operation mimics the popular TR-Log program for DOS, and the output file is TR-Log compatible. The log can be exported in ADIF or Cabrillo 3.0 format. two formats, both slay. 🫶

The program was written for console mode on purpose — which allows it to run on smaller machines, or remotely via SSH or a modem link. tiny footprint, main character energy. 🌈

CW keying via cwdaemon is fully supported, featuring direct mode for the keyboard and output to parallel and serial ports, plus speed and weight control from the keyboard, and band info output on the parallel port. Likewise, CW keying via Hamlib is supported for rigs that feature the capability. Tlf can set the CW speed, and at the same time read back the speed if changed using the knob on the rig. reading your rig's mind? obsessed. 🧚

For users of the K1EL series of “Win Keyers”, the winkeydaemon is available from GitHub. Setup is the same as for cwdaemon(1). iykyk 💅

For radio control Tlf works with Hamlib (version >= 1.2.8), you can find it at www.hamlib.org. go get it bestie.

And the finale: Tlf provides full TCP/IP networking between Tlf nodes, syncing/distributing log, packet data, frequency data, local talk, serial numbers, time sync etc. the whole squad stays in sync, no cap. 💖

💅 OPTIONS 💅

Options given to Tlf on the command line. one bullet each, all of them, no skipping. 🎀

-?, --help — Print a summary of options to the screen and exit. your little cheat sheet, bestie.
-d debug_level, --debug=debug_level — Activate logging of debug output. Output will be added to debug.txt file in actual directory. Allowed values with rising verbosity are 1 (Error) , 2 (Warn), 3 (Info) or 4 (Debug). so like, 1 is the quiet girl, 4 is the oversharer. 💀
-f config_file, --config=config_file — Start with a non-default configuration file:

tlf -f PA0R

Defaults to logcfg.dat in the current working directory.

-s user:password@host/dir/logfilename, --sync=user:password@host/dir/logfilename — Synchronize log with other node

tlf -s user:password@host/dir/logfilename

-n, --no-cluster — Start without packet/cluster. bye bye cluster, not today 🙈
-r, --no-rig — Start without radio control.
-l, --list — List all built-in contests.
-i, --import — Import an existing Cabrillo file and generate Tlf log files.

When Tlf starts, it looks for YOURCALL.cbr file in the current directory, reads the configuration and rule files, and based on the current setup generates the log(s). If the contest is WAE and you have QTCs in Cabrillo, then Tlf generates the QTC logfiles. Tlf will not write over the existing log(s).

The generated import will be IMPORT_CONTEST.log, where the CONTEST is the name of contest in the config. If QTC exists, then the files IMPORT_QTC_sent.log and IMPORT_QTC_recv.log will be created. organized queen 💅

-v, --verbose — Verbose startup.
-d, --debug — Debug rigctld(1).
-V, --version — Print the version information to the screen and exit.
--usage — Print a short usage message to the screen and exit.

yes bestie, -d shows up twice in the original list with two different meanings — that's not me being messy, that's the manpage. keep your eyes open. 👀

🎀 USAGE 🎀

Tlf has been written for console mode. If you want to run Tlf from a terminal in X or Wayland, you will probably get the best results if you set TERM=linux and use a Linux console terminal. Both KDE and GNOME terminals have a facility to start a Linux console in an X terminal, as does Xfce-terminal. options on options. 🌸

By default, xterm(1) or urxvt(1) may give unreadable colours. If so, you will have to set different colours in logcfg.dat or prepare $HOME/.Xresources to the preferred colour scheme (a sample Xresources file that contains usage instructions is included in the doc directory). One advantage of xterm or urxvt are that they do not consume the F11 key which other terminal emulators reserve for full screen mode, nor Ctrl+PgUp/Ctrl+PgDn which may be used for tab switching in other emulators. lowkey a good deal. ✨

Recent efforts have resulted in improved keyboard handling. If you find keys that do not work, the developers would like to receive your report of which keys and which terminal have the problem. Please send the report to the mailing list shown in the BUGS section below. pls report, they fr want to know 🫶

There are excellent results with the latest KDE, GNOME, and Xfce terminal emulators (vi colours are preferred by some). As Tlf uses ncurses to format its display you must use a proper font. (Good choices are the Linux font, Inconsolata, Hack, or any monospace font that dots or slashes the zero character). If you have problems, try the linux text console first and work from there. font matters bestie, do not skip this. 💅

Normally you start or restart Tlf in fast mode with “tlf”. During debugging of a logcfg.dat file you can start in verbose mode, to have a look at the startup messages. The config file can also be specified on command line:

tlf -f config_file

If you have the packet cluster enabled you will first see the packet screen (if you are using telnet and you have provided your callsign in logcfg.dat you will be automatically logged in switched to the main logging screen). Log in with your callsign, if needed, and switch to the main logging screen with the ‘:’ command. You can come back to the packet screen later with the :PACket command from the call input field of the main logging screen. 🦋

You can exit and close Tlf with the :EXIt or :QUIt commands or with Alt+X. three ways to say goodbye, all valid. 👑

At restart Tlf recalculates the score, which may take some time depending on the number of QSOs in the logfile and the speed of your system. Tlf takes the points as they are in the log, and calculates the multiplier from either callsign or exchange field (depending on the contest). it's doing math on your behalf, be patient with her. 💖

💬 COMMANDS 💬

Okay bestie, these are the little magic spells you type into the callsign field of the main logging screen. Each one starts with that leading : and then, at the bare minimum, the UPPER CASE characters of the command name, plus whatever parameters it needs, all separated by Space. Yes, only the uppercase bits are mandatory — the lowercase letters are just ✨decoration✨, but we keep them for the aesthetic.

:ADIf — writes your log out to an Amateur Data Interchange Format (ADIF) file called logfile.adif. archival slay 💖
:CHAr — here you input the number of characters for CW auto-start, or m for manual start. Possible values are: 0 (off), 2...5, or m (manual).

After you type that many characters in the input field — or after pressing the Enter key in manual mode — Tlf starts sending the callsign without any further keystrokes. You can still type in the rest of the call, but you gotta be quick about it. The moment the sending catches up to your last typed character, Tlf automatically sends the exchange and the cursor jumps over to the exchange field. ✨

Escape stops the sending. Periodt.

Heads up: this works only in CW contests in RUN mode. iykyk.

:CHEck
:NOCheck — turn the dupe check window On|Off.
:CQDelay — change the Auto_CQ delay (in 1/2 seconds, using the PageUp/PageDown keys).
:CLOff — no cluster information at all (this is your non-assisted contest operation vibe).
:CLUster
:MAP — show the cluster window or the bandmap.
:CONtest — toggle contest mode On|Off.
:CTY
:ZONe
:MULt — show needed country multipliers, zones, multipliers per continent (depends on the contest, bestie).
:CWmode
:SSBmode
:DIGimode — switch the TRX to CW|SSB|DIGi mode.
:EDIt — edit the log with your favourite editor. Be careful! like genuinely, be careful 😭
:EXIt
:QUIt — exit Tlf (synonym to Alt+X, but with no confirmation prompt — it just yEETS you out).
:FILter — filter cluster info (announce, dx-spots, all).
:FREq — show frequency or band/score information from your other tlf nodes.
:FLDigi — toggle Fldigi communication On|Off.
:MINiterm — toggle the display of captured text in digital modes.
:HELp — show online help (displays help.txt from the working directory, or from /usr/share/tlf if no local one exists).
:INFo — show network status.
:MESsage — edit CW (Morse Code) messages.
:MODe — toggle TRX mode (CW|SSB|DIG).
:PACket — switch to the packet terminal. Switch back to the main logging screen with :.
:REConnect — re-opens the connection to the DX cluster in case it got disconnected. the way it just reconnects 🫶
:REScore — recalculates the values in the score window (super handy e.g. after deleting or editing QSOs).
:RITclear — toggle the RIT reset after QSO On|Off.
:SET
:CFG — edit various parameters in the logcfg.dat file and then reload it.
:SCOre — toggle the score window On|Off.
:SCVolume — adjust the soundcard volume for the sidetone (Up|Down).

Range: 0–99. 💅

:SIMulator — toggle simulator mode On|Off. In simulator mode you can work a complete CQWW CW contest in TR-Log mode. Set CONTEST=cqww.
:SOUnd — opens the sound recorder menu.

The sound recorder is a utility for recording the voice keyer messages and enables recording a complete contest in chunks of 1 hour to the hard drive.

Using the sound recorder requires the installation of the sox(1) package, which provides the rec utilities used by the script.

For recording voice messages, the keys F1–F12, s, or c will record the voice keyer message for that key.

The sound recorder uses the /usr/bin/soundlog script, which should already be installed to a location in the $PATH. The recording is written to the ./soundlogs directory by default.

The soundlog script now defaults to the rec utility provided with the Sox package. The command syntax is not compatible with the previous default rec utility. 💀

The previous default rec utility is assumed to be from the Open Sound System (OSS) package (the sound system used on Linux prior to ALSA). Its default soundcard device is /dev/dsp. To enable the OSS version, uncomment the needed line in the soundlog script and comment the Sox rec line.

The recorded file extension is .au, the Sun μ–law format.

The recorder produces less than 60 MegaBytes per hour in single channel mode. Recording a complete 48 hour CQWW event requires less than 3 GigaBytes of disk space. If local disk space must be preserved, the sound file can be moved to another host using FTP, rsync, scp, or any other network transfer protocol.

Sound recorder menu:

Start/Stop contest recording to ddhhmm.au.
List contest recordings and play back selected recording ddhhmm.

To create a new file every hour, add a crontab(1) job to run the following command every hour (syntax for SoX rec shown):

/usr/bin/pkill -x rec

Running the crontab job at other intervals will create sound recordings of the interval period in length.

Once started, the recorder will run until the lock file $HOME/.VRlock is removed and the script gets stopped (performed by menu item 1).

If you leave TLF with the recorder running, TLF will ask for confirmation. Depending on your answer, TLF can stop it or keep it running. In the latter case, just restart TLF and use :sound again to stop it.

Cabling and setting up the radio to record both received and transmitted audio is left as an exercise for the reader, simply due to the variety of radios and station configurations. (ngl, that's a you problem bestie 😭)

To ease the adaption to the local environment, record and play back commands for voice keyer messages and contest audio can be configured by the following keywords: VK_RECORD_COMMAND, VK_PLAY_COMMAND, SOUNDLOG_RECORD_COMMAND and SOUNDLOG_PLAY_COMMAND. The directory where soundlogs gets stored can be configured with SOUNDLOG_DIRECTORY. See the “Sound Commands” section below.

:SYNc — synchronize the logfile of this node with the logfile pointed to by the parameter SYNCFILE=user:password@host/dir/logfile. Tlf will wget(1) the logfile from the relevant node, make a dated backup of your local logfile, and merge the 2 files. The score will be recalculated. 🔥
:TONe [dd]d — set PC sidetone frequency in Hertz.

Range: 300–900, 0 = Off.

:TRXcontrol — toggle rig control On|Off.

Default is Off unless RADIO_CONTROL is given in logcfg.dat (only makes sense with rig control capability).

:VIEw — view the log with less(1).
:WRIte — write a Cabrillo file according to the specified format (see the CABRILLO statement in the RULES section).

The file is created in the current directory as YOURCALL.cbr (with slashes that are part of YOURCALL converted to underscores, such as WX9XYZ/8.cbr to WX9XYZ_8.cbr).

⌨️ KEYS ⌨️

okay so, work has been ongoing to unify the key map between the Linux text console and the various X terminals. It may be slightly different on certain X terminals depending on which keys they consume for their own use. Turn off any key recognition by the terminal for its own purposes (menu access, help display, etc.) if possible. Pay special attention to the F1-F12 and Alt+<char> keys. Moreover, on some systems you must set the TERM=linux or TERM=rxvt environment variable, although variables such as xterm, xterm-color, or xterm-256color should work. This also works under VNC. ✨

Certain key combinations will probably not be usable, as the Linux console consumes Alt+F1 through Alt+Fx (often F7, but could be greater) for switching its virtual consoles. Likewise, the various desktop environments consume key combinations for their own use. Ctrl+F1 through Ctrl+Fx are used to switch desktop workspaces. Alt+Fx combinations are used for various desktop features and are unavailable for Tlf use. 💀

Some desktop terminal emulators are capable of being configured to allow the application running in them to get all of the keys the desktop environment does not consume. In testing, good choices seem to be Gnome Terminal, Rox Terminal, or the classic Xterm (although its default color presentation differs slightly from the Linux console and other terminal emulators) or URxvt (with a very distinct default color palette). Xfce Terminal is known to consume F11 and Ctrl+PageUp and Ctrl+PageDown. The Tlf developers have implemented Alt+PageUp and Alt+PageDown as a work-around for the Ctrl counterparts. Reports of success with other terminals are welcome. 🫶

📞 Call Input and Exchange Fields 📞

The Call Input and Exchange Fields are the two main entry fields of Tlf where the majority of the keyboard entry takes place. The call input field is active when Tlf completes its initialization and presents the main screen. 👑

Most key sequences are the same in both fields. Differences are noted as necessary.

A-Z, 0-9, / Call input: ASCII letters, numerals, and the / character that make up an internationally recognized amateur radio callsign plus temporary location identifiers. Spaces are not allowed.

Exchange: information provided by the other station, possibly separated by spaces, such as ARRL Field Day and ARRL Sweepstakes.

Space — switch from call input to exchange field.

Separates exchange field elements when multiple exchange elements must be entered, such as ARRL Field Day and ARRL Sweepstakes.

Tab — switch between call input and exchange fields (jump back to call input from exchange field).
Enter — smart key depending on contest mode.

Tlf follows the TR operating style, which has two modes, CQ and S&P (Search and Pounce).

CQ mode is used for “running”, that is staying on one frequency and having other stations answer your call.

S&P mode is for tuning up or down the band and answering the calls of other stations.

In CQ Mode:

With the call input field empty, Enter sends the F12 message (Auto CQ).
With characters in the call input field, Enter answers the calling station by sending the F3 message (RST) and moves the cursor to the exchange field.
If the exchange field is empty, Enter repeats the F3 message (RST).

After the exchange information received from the other station is entered, Enter sends the CQ_TU_MSG message if defined, or “TU” (CW mode) and your call otherwise. Afterwards it logs the QSO, and returns the cursor to the call input field to answer the next call. 🎀

In S&P Mode:

When the call input field is empty, Enter sends the S&P_CALL_MSG if defined, or your call otherwise. ✨
When the exchange field is empty, Enter sends the S&P_CALL_MSG if defined, or your call otherwise. 💖
When the call input field has been filled, Enter sends the S&P_CALL_MSG if defined, or your call otherwise. Afterwards it moves the cursor to the exchange field. 🦋
Once the exchange has been received, Enter sends the S&P_TU_MSG if defined, otherwise it sends your call followed by the F3 message (RST). Afterwards it logs the QSO and returns the cursor to the call input field to answer the next call. 🔥
Backspace — Erase the character to the left of the cursor and moves the cursor one position to the left. No cap, it's giving classic backspace energy. 💅
Escape — Stop CW transmission, clears characters, returns to call input field, keyboard off (universal undo). 🫶

Note: Some changes are being considered to modify the behavior of Escape slightly. The intent will be to have Escape only stop sending on first press and not clear any entered information. It is planned that Escape will stop the playback of the voice keyer as well.

As an example, characters have been entered in both the call input and exchange fields, the cursor is in the exchange field, and the transmission of a CW message is in progress.

The first press of Escape will stop the CW transmission and clear the exchange field and position the cursor to the leftmost position of the exchange field.

The second press of Escape will move the cursor to the right of the last character in the call input field.

The third press of Escape will clear the call input field.

You can disable the above described UNDO functionality by setting ESC_STOPS_TX_ONLY (see below).

← (Left-Arrow) — Call input field is empty: change to next band lower in frequency or wrap to highest band if already on the lowest band. 🌸

Characters in the call input field: enter edit mode while moving the cursor to the left onto the rightmost character. In edit mode successive presses will move the cursor left until the first character is reached.

→ (Right-Arrow) — Change to next band higher in frequency or wrap to the lowest band if already on the highest band when call input field is empty. 🌈
F1 — In CQ mode, send message F1 (CQ). ✨

In S&P mode send message F6 (MY).

Shift-F1 — Restore previous CQ frequency from MEM and send message F1 (CQ). 💜
F2-F11 — Send CW, digital or voice messages 2 through 11. If the callsign field is empty the messages will be sent with the preceding qso data. 📻
F12 — Start Auto_CQ (only activated from the call input field). Sends F12 message repeatedly pausing for Auto_CQ delay time between messages. Auto_CQ is cancelled with first character entry into the call input field. 🔁
+ (Plus) — Toggle between the CQ and S&P modes. 🔄
PgUp — Increase CW (Morse Code) speed (from call and exchange fields). ⏫

If the cursor is in the call input field and it is not empty and CHANGE_RST is set: increase sent RST.

If the cursor is in the exchange field and it is not empty and CHANGE_RST is set: increase received RST.

PgDown — Decrease CW (Morse Code) speed (from call input and exchange fields). ⏬

If the cursor is in the call input field and it is not empty and CHANGE_RST is set: decrease sent RST.

If the cursor is in the exchange field and it is not empty and CHANGE_RST is set: decrease received RST.

Ctrl-PgUp, Alt-PgUp — Increase Auto_CQ delay pause length (+1/2 sec). ⏫

Set Auto_CQ delay to message length + pause length.

Ctrl-PgDown, Alt-PgDown — Decrease Auto_CQ delay pause length (-1/2 sec). ⏬

As some terminals, Xfce Terminal is one such, consume Ctrl-PageUp/Ctrl-PageDown, the Alt-PageUp/Alt-PageDown combinations allow for setting the Auto_CQ delay pause length.

Note: If neither key combination works try :CQD instead.

? (Query) — In CW or DIGIMODE sends the partial call followed by “ ?”. In voice mode sends recorded message 5 (F5). ❓
; (Semicolon) — Insert note in log. Leave the input field blank to skip adding the note. 📝
, (comma), Ctrl-K — Activate keyboard mode. All message and keying control keys work the same way as in log input mode. To close the keyer window without stopping the ongoing transmission press either Ctrl-K, Alt-K, ` (Grave Accent), ↓ (Down-Arrow) or Enter (in CW mode only). Escape closes the window and also stops keying. ⌨️
" (Double quotation) — Send talk message to other Tlf nodes. 💬
- (Minus) — Delete last QSO (Use :REScore to correct scoring afterward). 🗑️
↑ (Up-Arrow) — In empty call input field: Edit last QSO: Insert, overwrite, and delete; + log view. ⬆️

Increment serial number in exchange input field.

↓ (Down-Arrow) — Decrement serial number in exchange input field. ⬇️
= (Equals) — Confirm last call. ✅
_ (Underscore) — Confirm last exchange. ✅
{ (Open brace) — In digital mode, keyboard mode switch TX on. 📡
} (Close brace) — In digital mode, keyboard mode switch TX off (RX). 📴
\ (Backslash) — Log QSO without CW output. 🤫

In RTTY (DIGIMODE), keyboard mode switch controller to command mode (back to operating mode with ‘K’Enter).

# (Hash) — Transceiver VFO frequency → MEM, MEM → transceiver VFO frequency. 🔁
$ (Dollar) — Pop MEM frequency: MEM → transceiver VFO frequency and clear MEM. 💥
% (Percent) — Swap transceiver VFO frequency and MEM. 🔄
^ (Circumflex, mnemonic: arrow) — Rotate antenna towards the country of the current call, if a rotator is configured. 📡
& (Ampersand) — Rotate antenna long-path towards the country of the current call, if a rotator is configured. (This is 180° opposite of the short-path direction.) 🔄
! (Exclamation) — Get a new shell. Come back with “exit”. 🐚
Alt-,, . (Period) — Change bandmap filter configuration. You can filter to show spots from all or own band only, from all/own mode only and if you want to see dupes or not (see the help (Alt-H) display), only new multiplier or all call (only CQWW). 🎛️
Ctrl-A — Add a spot to bandmap and broadcast it on the local network. 📢
Ctrl-B — Send a spot to the DX Cluster (a connection to a DX cluster must exist). TLF prepares a minimal spot line and allows you to edit it. Finish editing and send the spot with ENTER or abort sending by pressing the ESCAPE key. 🛰️
Ctrl-E — End modem capture for RTTY mode in QTC window (started with Ctrl-S). 🛑

See /usr/share/doc/tlf/Manual.md for more information.

Ctrl-F — Set frequency. Use Up/Down-Arrow for 100Hz steps and Pg-Up/Pg-Down for 500Hz steps. Return to logging with Escape. 🎚️
Ctrl-G — Grab next DX spot from bandmap. The indicator on the right of the bandmap shows the current grabbing direction. It can be toggled with Ctrl-V. 🎯
Ctrl-L — Reset the screen. 🖥️
Ctrl-P — Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) display. 📶
Ctrl-Q — Open the QTC window for receiving QTCs if QTC=RECV or QTC=BOTH or sending QTCs if QTC=SEND is set in logcfg.dat. Same as Ctrl-S if QTC=SEND. 📥

See /usr/share/doc/tlf/Manual.md for more information.

Ctrl-R — Toggle /dev/lp0 pin 14 (Mic/Soundcard switch | trx1/trx2 switch). 🔌
Ctrl-S — Open the QTC window for sending QTCs if QTC=SEND or QTC=BOTH in logcfg.dat. Saves QTCs while in QTC window. 📤

In RTTY mode starts capture from the modem after the window has been opened with Ctrl-Q. End capture with Ctrl-E.

See /usr/share/doc/tlf/Manual.md for more information.

Ctrl-T — Show talk messages. In the QTC window shows RTTY lines. 💬
Ctrl-U — Wipe out whole input line (call input and exchange), clear all information about current contact. If entered by accident a second Ctrl-U restores the line. 🧽
Ctrl-V — Toggle grabbing direction in which Ctrl-G looks for a spot. 🔃
Ctrl-W — Wipe actual field the cursor is in (call input OR exchange). If entered by accident a second Ctrl-W restores the field. 🧹
Ctrl-Z — Suspend Tlf returning to shell prompt. To return to Tlf use the ‘fg’ command (Bourne Shell) or the equivalent command for your shell. ⏸️
Alt-0...Alt-9 — Send alternate CW (Morse code) messages. If the callsign field is empty the messages will be sent with the preceding qso data. 🔢
Alt-A — Cycle cluster window: NOCLUSTER → CLUSTER → BANDMAP → ... 🔁
Alt-B — Band up in TR-Log mode. ⬆️
Alt-C — Toggle display of checkwindow. 👁️
Alt-E — Enter QSO edit mode. ✏️
Alt-G — Grab first spot from bandmap which has the characters in the call input field in its call. Allows the operator to selectively grab a specific call from the bandmap. 🎣
Alt-H — Show help file /usr/share/tlf/help.txt. 📖
Alt-I — Show talk messages. 💬
Alt-J — Show the frequencies of other local station(s). 📻
Alt-K — Keyboard mode, same as Ctrl-K. ⌨️
Alt-M — Show multipliers. ✖️
Alt-N — Add Note to log. 📝
Alt-P — Toggle PTT (via cwdaemon). 🎙️
Alt-X — Exit Tlf (synonym to :EXIt and :QUIt, but asks for confirmation). 🚪
Alt-R — Toggle score window. 🏆
Alt-S — Toggle score window. 🏆
Alt-T — Tune your transceiver (via cwdaemon). Activates PTT and Key output, by default for 6 seconds. Stop tuning by pressing any key. You can override the default value using the TUNE_SECONDS configuration statement. In addition to cwdaemon, tune also works with winkeydaemon (tested with v1.0.10). 📡
Alt-V — Band down. ⬇️
Alt-W — Set CW weight. ⚖️
Alt-Z — Show zones worked. 🗺️

🎀 CT Compatible Mode 🎀

Okay so Tlf has limited support for the logging sequence keys from CT, that once-upon-a-time popular logging program 🧓✨. Here's the tea: the default mode is Enter Sends Message (ESM), but CT Compatible mode is a whole different vibe — it uses the Insert and + keys in the logging sequence, and Enter logs a complete QSO. And unlike ESM mode, CT mode does not have separate CQ or S&P modes. No cap.

You turn CT Compatible mode on with the CTCOMPATIBLE keyword in logcfg.dat (peep the PREFERENCES section below 👇).

These keys behave differently in CT Compatible mode:

Enter — Logs the complete QSO without sending any message macro. If the callsign field is empty, pressing Enter will activate the Auto-CQ function. If the exchange field is empty, pressing Enter in either the callsign or exchange field will result in no action 💀.
Insert — Sends the RST (F3) macro. Since the RST macro includes the other station's callsign by default, the HIS macro is not sent first. This differs from classic CT, but it's a compromise to use the default Tlf macros 🫶.
+ (Plus) — Sends the TU macro and logs the QSO. The + key checks if the exchange field is empty, and if it is, nothing is sent or logged. In rare cases where nothing needs to be entered in the exchange field — like when working DX from USA in ARRL 160 — simply enter a space to let the + key send the TU message and log the QSO ✨.
Alt+V — Change CW speed.

💖 PREFERENCES 💖

Tlf can be fully configured by editing the logcfg.dat file. Normally you keep one logcfg.dat file, setting up your callsign, the log file name, the ports and addresses for packet, the radio, the network etc., plus a separate rules file per contest. Two files, two jobs, slay 💅.

The logcfg.dat file can be edited from within Tlf by the :CFG or :SET commands (or with any other plain text editor before starting Tlf). It contains keyword-argument pairs, one per line. Lines starting with # and empty lines are interpreted as comments and are ignored. Iconic, honestly.

You can set your favourite editor in the logcfg.dat file.

The rules file is associated with the statement RULES=contest_rules_file_name in logcfg.dat.

Note: Both logcfg.dat and the rules file support the same configuration parameters — except RULES, which is allowed only in logcfg.dat.

Tlf will first look in the current working directory for a logcfg.dat file, and if it can't find one it'll look in /usr/share/tlf for a default one. Make sure you edit the logcfg.dat file for at least your callsign and your preferred system configuration, bestie, or you'll be out here looking real confused 🙈.

Parameters requiring a boolean value (like true/false) can have an optional case-insensitive argument. Alternatively, both yes and on are treated as true. Similarly, instead of false, no or off can be used. Without the argument the default assigned value is yes. So chill, it's flexible 🌸.

📝 logcfg.dat STATEMENTS 📝

Configuration parameters are set in logcfg.dat, which is located in the working directory (where Tlf is started).

🛠️ Tlf Setup Commands 🛠️

RULES=contest_rules_filename — Name of the rules file to load.

It helps to name the rules file according to the contest you want to describe. The rules file is located under the rules directory of the working directory.

SYNCFILE=user:password@host/dir/syncfile — File on remote host you want to synchronize with (uses wget(1) syntax).
CTCOMPATIBLE[=<ON|OFF>] — Do not use the TR-Log QSO sequence — instead use +, Insert and Enter to log the QSO.

The default mode of operation is the TR-Log sequence, which uses + to switch between CQ and S&P modes, where Enter is the sole key used to call the other station, send the exchange, and log the QSO 👑.

TLFCOLORn=FG/BG — Set the colours. Defaults:

TLFCOLOR1=23 (Header and footer)
TLFCOLOR2=67 (Pop up windows)
TLFCOLOR3=70 (Log window)
TLFCOLOR4=57 (Markers/dupe colour)
TLFCOLOR5=43 (Input fields)
TLFCOLOR6=63 (Window frames)

The numbers are given in octal, FG/BG or BG/FG (some experimentation likely required 🧪 — go off, honestly).

You should only specify these if you wish to modify the standard colours of Tlf. In some terminals you can set a special profile for Tlf with your own colours. Another way is to define the colours via the $HOME/.Xresources file for XTerm and rxvt.

Note: A sample /usr/share/doc/tlf/Xresources file has been provided that sets the colour scheme for XTerm and rxvt to the same colour pallet as the Linux console. Most other terminals have their own way of setting the colour pallet.

RXVT[=<ON|OFF>] — Use rxvt's colours 🎨.
EDITOR=nano | vi[m] | <your_favorite_editor> — Editor used to modify the QSO log or logcfg.dat. The command specified receives the file name as an argument.

When using a GUI editor that runs in the background (such as gvim) make sure to exit the editor before logging new stations. Use the :RES command to rescore the log. It's best to force such an editor to stay in the foreground (such as with gvim -f) 🫡.

CALL=PA0R — The station callsign used in messages; also used to determine the station's country, zone and continent.
OPERATING_MODE=CQ|S&P — Set operating mode for start up. Use CQ for "run" and S&P for "search and pounce". The default mode is CQ.
TIME_OFFSET=0 — Used to shift the Tlf time with respect to the computer clock. Normally 0.

Range: 0–23.

TIME_MASTER[=<ON|OFF>] — This node transmits the time over the network (only one master allowed! ⚠️).
NODE_X=Node_address[:Port_number] — Adds an IP address (and optionally a port number) to which we broadcast stuff. X is the node designator, possible values are A–H.
THISNODE=A — Node designator (default “A”). If Tlf hears its own node ID on the network it will exit and ask you to pick another one! 😭

Range: A–H.

LAN_PORT=Portnumber — Specifies on which port number (default “6788”) Tlf is listening for broadcasts from other instances.
LANDEBUG — Activates the debug function for recording Tlf network traffic.

Dumps all Tlf net traffic received on this node into a file named debuglog in the working directory. This log can be used as a backup log for the whole network, as it's easy to retrieve QSO data, cluster messages, gab messages etc. after the contest. Some users have this enabled all the time 😳.

SSBMODE — Start Tlf in SSB mode (default is CW).
RTTYMODE — Start Tlf in digital mode (default is CW) assuming RTTY modulation (see DIGITAL_MODE). The radio mode (DIGI_RIG_MODE) is not affected.
GMFSK=$HOME/gMFSK.log — Tell :MINiterm where to get the data. It can also fetch captured text directly from Fldigi. The GMFSK option is only required for modems producing text file output.
DIGIMODEM=$HOME/gmfsk_autofile — Tell Tlf where to send the macros.
MARKERS=file_name — Generate marker file for Xplanet. 🌍

Xplanet (a GUI program for the X Window System) will show the last 8 DX cluster spots on an azimuthal map. See the relevant Xplanet documentation.

Use azimuthal projection and center the map on your QTH (station location).

BAND_NN=bottom,cw_end,ssb_start,top — Define band edges. NN is the band designator (wavelength), allowed values are: 160, 80, 60, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12, 10.

All 4 comma separated parameters are mandatory and shall be specified in integer Hz units with an optional k suffix.

Example specification for Region 1 40 m band:

BAND_40 = 7000k, 7040k, 7050k, 7200k

Internal default band definitions are based on a superset of all Regions. For example, 40 m ends by default at 7300 kHz. In addition to configuring the legal limits, BAND_NN can also be used to fine tune actual band configurations for a specific contest 💅.

🔑 Morse Code Keyer Commands 🔑

NETKEYER — Activates the CW keyer.

Only the IP networked keyer cwdaemon or any other program that emulates cwdaemon such as winkeydaemon is supported. You may also need the keyer for PTT control or band info output.

NETKEYERPORT=port_number — Default port is 6789.
NETKEYERHOST=host_address — Default host is 127.0.0.1 (localhost).
HAMLIB_KEYER — Activate CW keying via Hamlib.

Note: The + and - macros to control speed from within messages are not yet supported.

MFJ1278_KEYER=serial_port — Activates support for the MFJ-1278B multi-mode controller.

The MFJ-1278 supports CW as well as RTTY contesting. The serial port rate is fixed at 9600 bps.

CWSPEED=speed_in_WPM — Set the initial CW (Morse Code) speed.

Can be changed with PgUp (increase), or PgDn (decrease) while sending CW messages or logging.

Range: 4–69.

WEIGHT=weight_ratio — Set the CW (Morse Code) dot to dash ratio.

Only for the NETKEYER.

Range: -45–50.

TXDELAY=PTT_delay_in_mS — Delay activation of the Push To Talk pin.

Range: 0–50.

KEYER_BACKSPACE[=<ON|OFF>] — Support backspace key in keyer window ⌫.

🔊 Sound Commands 🔊

SOUNDCARD[=<ON|OFF>] — Use soundcard for CW sidetone output.
SIDETONE_VOLUME=soundcard_volume — Set soundcard sidetone volume (default is 70).

A value of 0 turns off sidetone output (even for the console speaker 🔊).

Range: 0–99.

CQDELAY=Auto_cq — Set automatic CQ pause delay in 1/2 seconds increments between message transmissions.

Range: 3–60.

CWTONE=sidetone — Set the PC speaker or soundcard frequency.

A value of 0 switches the sidetone off.

Range: 0–999.

(Due to a bug in cwdaemon it also turns off the Alt+T tune function. Use SIDETONE_VOLUME=0 instead 🐛).

VK_PLAY_COMMAND=command — The command to play a voice keyer message file.

It defaults to “play_vk $1”, where “$1” will be replaced by the file name to play.

VK_RECORD_COMMAND=command — Command to record voice keyer messages.

“rec -r 8000 $1 -q” is used by default. Again “$1” stands for the file to write during recording.

SOUNDLOG_PLAY_COMMAND=command — the playback command for your soundlog recordings. The default is play -q $1 2> /dev/null 🎧 and honestly she's fine, she works, but if you've got a fave player then go off.
SOUNDLOG_RECORD_COMMAND=command — the command that records your contest audio stream. It runs out of the SOUNDLOG_DIRECTORY. The script soundlog — which ships as part of TLF, bestie, it's literally right there — is what gets used by default. Peep :Sound for the deets.
SOUNDLOG_DIRECTORY=directory — the directory where all your recorded contest sound files get stored. Default is ./soundlogs 📼.

Band Switching Commands 🎛️

BANDOUTPUT — beams band info out to pins 2, 7, 8, and 9 on the parallel port. The output goes 1 (160m), 2 (80m) ... 9 (10m). This format is compatible with the standard interface for antenna switches, band filters, etc. So like, your hardware will actually understand you 💅.
BANDOUTPUT=124181818 — here's a custom mapping, look at her go: pin 2 fires up for 160, 30, 17 and 12; pin 7 for 80; pin 8 for 40; and pin 9 for 20, 15 and 10. This comes in handy when you have 3 dipoles and a 3-band beam (...).
NO_BANDSWITCH_ARROWKEYS[=<ON|OFF>] — stops the band from switching when you're not even using rig control. Iconic for when you're just vibing. Band up = Alt+B, band down = Alt+V (TR-Log mode).

DX Cluster Commands 📡

TELNETHOST=cluster_address — hop onto a DX Cluster node with Telnet, using a DNS name or an IP address, like claudia.esrac.ele.tue.nl or 131.155.192.179.
TELNETPORT=telnet_port_of_cluster — DX Clusters love a non-standard port for Telnet, e.g. 8000. They're so extra.
CLUSTERLOGIN=yourcall — auto-login for the telnet client. No cap, it just logs you in.
CLUSTER_LOG[=<ON|OFF>] — write the clusterlog to disk 💾.
TNCPORT=serial_port — you can use /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyUSB1, etc. — literally anything that looks like a tty.
TNCSPEED=serial_rate — Tlf supports 1200, 2400, 4800 and 9600 bps. Slay.
FIFO_INTERFACE — the FIFO (First In First Out) interface is your girl when you wanna receive cluster info from the network, or from another source. She uses a special FIFO file in the working directory called clfile. Anything you dump into this FIFO gets displayed by the packet interface 🫶.

Radio Control Commands 📻

RADIO_CONTROL[=<ON|OFF>] — switches the radio interface on. The rig interface uses the Hamlib library, which supports a whole bunch of different rigs. So many.
RIGMODEL=rig_number — go look at the Hamlib documentation for the rig_number.

Hint: rigctl -l and its manual page, rigctl(1) 👑

RIGSPEED=serial_rate — the speed of the serial port for rig control.
RIGPORT=serial_port — you can use /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyUSB1, etc., anything that looks like a tty.

For rigctld(8) set RIGPORT=localhost and RIGMODEL=2. In this case RIGSPEED is ignored 🙈.

RIGCONF=rig_configuration_parameters — sends rig configuration parameters to Hamlib.

e.g. RIGCONF=civaddr=0x40,retry=3,rig_pathname=/dev/ttyS0

RIT_CLEAR[=<ON|OFF>] — clears the RIT after logging the qso ✨.

This only works if the rig and the Hamlib routine support it (tested on the OMNI 6+).

RIGPTT — declares that the Hamlib CAT PTT capability should be checked at startup, and if it's available, used to activate the radio's PTT for sending voice messages instead of the cwdaemon PTT.
RIG_MODE_SYNC[=<ON|OFF>] — synchronizes TLF and the radio's mode 💫. The sync happens in both directions, but it mainly affects CW and SSB modes (see also DIGI_RIG_MODE).

If it's disabled, then TLF and radio mode can be set independently. (default: on)

CWBANDWIDTH=width — sets the CW bandwidth of your rig when you change bands.

If it's unset or 0, the default bandwidth (as determined by Hamlib) is used. Heads up: a valid bandwidth for the radio model must be used 🌸.

DIGI_RIG_MODE=mode — if set alongside the RADIO_CONTROL option, this specifies the mode to change the radio to when :DIG mode is selected.

mode may be USB, LSB, RTTY, or any radio mode supported by Hamlib. If this parameter isn't set, USB is used if the Fldigi parameter is set — else LSB is used.

DIGITAL_MODE=mode — the digital mode (modulation type) to be used as MODE in ADIF export.

If this parameter isn't set, then the non-ADIF compliant generic DIGI is used. And then you, the user, shall edit the ADIF file to match the actually used mode or modes. Sorry bestie, that part's on you 😭.

Rotator Control Commands 🌀

ROTATOR_CONTROL[=<ON|OFF>] — switches the Hamlib rotator interface on.
ROTMODEL=rot_number — go look at the Hamlib documentation for the rot_number.

Hint: rotctl -l and its manual page, rotctl(1) 👑

ROTSPEED=serial_rate — the speed of the serial port for rotator control.
ROTPORT=serial_port — you can use /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyUSB1, etc., anything that looks like a tty.

For rotctld(8) set ROTPORT=localhost and ROTMODEL=2. In this case ROTSPEED is ignored 🙈.

ROTCONF=rot_configuration_parameters — sends rot configuration parameters to Hamlib.

e.g. ROTCONF=civaddr=0x40,retry=3,rot_pathname=/dev/ttyS0

User Interface Commands 🖥️

CLUSTER — show the DX Cluster window at startup.
BANDMAP — shows the cluster bandmap on startup.

Use . (period) to change bandmap filtering.

BANDMAP=xyz[,number] — shows the cluster bandmap on startup and sets the start values for filtering 🎀.

The <xyz> string gets parsed for:

B — show DX spots only on operating band
M — show DX spots only on operating mode
D — do not show dupes
S — skip dupes during grab_next (Ctrl+G)
O — show only new multipliers
X — show also out-of-band spots when in all-band mode

And <number> is the lifetime for new spots in seconds (number >= 30).

SCOREWINDOW[=<ON|OFF>] — show the score window (same as Alt+R).
CHECKWINDOW[=<ON|OFF>] — show the country/call check window.
PARTIALS[=<ON|OFF>] — show a list of possible contest calls 💅.

See CALLMASTER in the RULES section below for the partials file specification.

USEPARTIALS[=<ON|OFF>] — use the auto-complete utility (it takes some practice...). Tlf will complete the call as soon as it's unique in the database.

This can lead to strange effects, but in practice there are far more hits than misses. Sometimes you must edit the call because it has locked onto a unique call. Try it, and switch it off when you don't like it. No pressure bestie, it's giving "trust the process" 😭.

LOGFREQUENCY[=<ON|OFF>] — put frequency (kHz) into the QSO number to enable logging of frequency (only in QSO or DXPED modes).
IGNOREDUPE[=<ON|OFF>] — enables logging multiple QSOs in a contest with the same station. And yeah, it's considered a good idea these days, since contest bots that parse the submitted Cabrillo file will determine such dupes (duplicate contacts). The bots find out. They always find out 💀.
SUNSPOTS=SSN — set the sunspots number value, which is used to do a rough calculation of the MUF (Maximum Usable Frequency) 🔥.

If the cluster interface is used, the SSN will be updated by WWV or WCY messages.

SFI=Solar_flux_value — set SFI, used to calculate SSN.

The SSN value is used to do a rough calculation of the MUF. If the packet interface is used, the SSN will be updated by WWV or WCY messages.

CHANGE_RST — if set in logcfg.dat, PgUp and PgDown will change sent/received RST instead of CW speed — but only if you're in the call/exchange field and the call field isn't empty.

Default is that these keys only change CW speed.

CHANGE_RST=33, 43, 47, 499, ... — provide a comma separated list of RS(T) values which are used for the sent RST.

Received RST will always be 33–39, 43–49, or 53–59.

Providing a value for T is optional but will be ignored. In CW and DIGI modes T will always be 9.

NOB4[=<ON|OFF>] — do not send the automatic "QSO B4" message.

Default is to send such messages.

NOAUTOCQ[=<ON|OFF>] — no automatic CQ when you press Enter or F12.

Default is that these keys will start an automatic CQ (see their descriptions in the KEYS section above).

ESC_STOPS_TX_ONLY[=<ON|OFF>] — pressing the ESC key does only stop sending CW or voice macros. No further action is taken.
SEND_DE[=<ON|OFF>] — sends a "DE" word before your callsign, as in "DE W1AW" 💖.

There's a special case: if SEND_DE is present in logcfg.dat, and Tlf is in :DIGI mode, then the other station's callsign will be sent before "DE", such as "DL1A DE W1AW".

RESEND_CALL=FULL | PARTIAL — sends the full or partial callsign again at the end of the QSO in RUN mode, if the call of the other station was corrected. In the case of FULL, the whole callsign will be sent again. If the value is PARTIAL, then TLF figures out which part of the callsign has to be sent. Eg.: if the received call was AB1CD, but later it's corrected to AB1CB, then CB is sent. She's smart like that, we love a self-sufficient queen 👑.
SHOW_TIME[=<ON|OFF>] — show last worked time instead of QSO number in the worked window.

🌈 RULES 🌈

The contest rules can be put into separate files 🎀. Tlf will first look for a directory called rules/ in the working directory, and a file named for the contest — for example, cqww. If Tlf can't find such a file, it'll look into the directory /usr/share/tlf/rules. A rules file contains contest specific parameters like multipliers, scoring rules, CW and voice keyer messages, etc.

Note: The rules file overrides settings from the logcfg.dat file!

WARNING! It is your own responsibility to try these rules well BEFORE the contest 😭. The authors of Tlf cannot possibly check all rules for all contests :) and during the contest there is normally no time to fix it. Of course, Murphy's Law always applies! These commands can generally appear in any order.

✨ RULES Configuration ✨

General configuration options for the RULES file 💫.

CONTEST=xxxxx — name of the contest (same as the file name contest_rules_filename given to the RULES parameter referenced above in logcfg.dat). Some contests, like CQWW and WPX, are pre-programmed 🦋. Look for the relevant rules file in /usr/share/tlf/rules.
LOGFILE=log_file_name — Mandatory!

By convention contest_rules_filename.log, but it can be anything meaningful 💅.

CABRILLO=format — tells Tlf the name of the Cabrillo QSO and QTC line format you want. For basically every situation, UNIVERSAL is the move. Want the whole Cabrillo lore dump? Scroll to CABRILLO CONFIGURATION below, bestie. 🎀
CONTEST_MODE[=<ON|OFF>] — flips Tlf into contest mode.

Do NOT use this parameter for normal QSO logging! Like, actual warning, okay? 🙈

SHORT_SERIAL — uses the short form for serial numbers (9=N, 0=T).
LONG_SERIAL — uses the long form for serial numbers. This is the default, periodt.
LEADING_ZEROS_SERIAL[=<ON|OFF>] — controls whether leading zeros get sent in the serial number. By default serials go out with up to 2 leading zeros. ✨
NO_RST[=<ON|OFF>] — no RST in contest at all, for events like CW Open, ARRL Sweepstakes, ARRL Field Day, and all those QSO parties and whatnot.

Heads up: when you're writing a Cabrillo log format template for this, you must provide a conforming format definition that has no RST values in it. No shortcuts, iykyk.

MIXED[=<ON|OFF>] — stations can be worked in any mode (CW, SSB and DIG) on a given band without it counting as a DUPE. Multitasking queen energy. 👑
SSBMODE — starts Tlf up in SSB mode.

If radio control is active and RIG_MODE_SYNC is on, the radio gets placed in SSB mode too (that is, if it isn't already there). Normally Tlf boots in CW mode and will push the radio into CW mode if it needs to.

Note: when you switch modes, use the :CW, :SSB, or :DIG commands so both Tlf and the radio get set (but also peep RIG_MODE_SYNC).

CQWW_M2 — drops the node ID into the logline, right after the QSO number, to support Multi/2 operation where the station logging the QSO has to show up in the Cabrillo file. You can also use this for M/1 and M/M if you want post-contest analysis of the nodes. 🔥
FKEY-HEADER="short description of your defined F-keys" — the actual F-key assignments shown at the top of the main logging screen. Max length is 59. The default is: “1=CQ 2=DE 3=RST 4=73 5=HIS 6=MY 7=B4 8=AGN 9=?”
TUNE_SECONDS=tuning-seconds — how many seconds you let tune (Alt+T) stay active before transmit gets automatically terminated.

Range: 1–100.

Default is 6, keeping things compatible with previous TLF versions. After 100 seconds, tuning is automatically terminated so your PA (and maybe you too ;-) ) can cool down a little...

CALLMASTER=callmaster — use a different file name as the callmaster database (default is callmaster in the working directory).

It's often downloaded as MASTER.SCP from the Supercheck Partials Web site. Check the PARTIALS and USEPARTIALS commands in the User Interface Commands section above, plus the FILES section below, for getting Supercheck Partials updates. 🦋

BMAUTOGRAB[=<ON|OFF>] — if you set this together with the RADIO_CONTROL and BANDMAP options (mandatory for this parameter, fr fr), Tlf will grab the callsign from the bandmap when the TRX (radio) frequency equals the displayed bandmap frequency.
BMAUTOADD[=<ON|OFF>] — if you set this together with the RADIO_CONTROL and BANDMAP options (also mandatory for this parameter), Tlf will add the callsign from the callsign field once at least 3 characters have been entered.

Use “S”kip dupes in BANDMAP settings to control whether it also grabs dupes.

SPRINTMODE[=<ON|OFF>] — when set, Tlf automatically switches its mode between LOG and S&P after every single QSO. Chaotic? Maybe. Iconic? Absolutely. 💅
FLDIGI — if you work RTTY (or any other digital modes), you can talk to Fldigi over XMLRPC. This parameter activates the interface and sets the start-up mode to DIGIMODE.

By default Tlf connects to:

http://localhost:7362/RPC2

If you run Fldigi's XMLRPC server on a different port, use FLDIGI=http://localhost:port_#/RPC2.

FLDIGI_RTTY_SWEET_SPOT=hz — sets the preferred RTTY audio center frequency used for auto-QSY in FSK RTTY mode.

Default is 2210, which sits right in the middle of the standard mark (2125 Hz) and space (2295 Hz) tones. Want to disable auto-QSY? Set it to 0. 🎯

MINITEST[=NNN] — use this when the contest is a minitest-like contest.

In these contests the full contest interval is split into shorter sections (like 6 * 10 minute sections in an hour). Any station can be worked once in each of the time sections without counting as a dupe. Default section length is 600 seconds (10 minutes), but you can pass another value (in seconds) after the = sign.

There must be an integral number of time sections per hour! Math is not optional, bestie.

AUTOSEND=<0|OFF|2..5|M|MANUAL> — set the number of characters for CW auto-start, or M for manual start. Default value is OFF. For details see the :CHAr command.

🌸 CW, Digimode and Voice Keyer Macros 🌸

The following parameters configure the CW, Digimode and voice mode keyer message macros.

💬 Macro characters in the message strings

% = my call
@ = his call
# = serial number
[ = RST
+ = increase cw speed
- = decrease cw speed
* = AR
= = BT
< = SK
( = KN
! = SN
& = AS
> = BK
! = his serial (e.g. confirm exchange of station in DIGImode)
| = carriage return (only in digi mode messages)

Be aware that unspecified digimode messages get the value of their CW counterpart prepended with '|'.

F1="cw message 1" — CQ message, (e.g. CQ de PA0R TEST).
F2="cw message 2" — S&P call message, (e.g. @ de %).
F3="cw message 3" — Exchange message, (e.g. @ ++5NN--#).
F4="cw message 4" — TU message, (e.g. TU 73 %).
F5="cw message 5" — Call of the other station (e.g. @).
F6="cw message 6" — Your call (e.g. %).
F7="cw message 7" — QSO B4 message (e.g. @ sri qso b4 gl).
F8="cw message 8" — Again message (e.g. AGN).
F9="cw message 9" — Query message (e.g. ?).
F10="cw message 10" — QRZ message (e.g. QRZ?).
F11="cw message 11" — Please reply message (e.g. PSE K).
F12="cw message 12" — Auto-CQ message (e.g. +++TEST %---).
CQ_TU_MSG="cw message 13" — Auto Exchange message in CQ mode (TR-Log mode), (e.g. TU %).
S&P_TU_MSG="cw message 14" — Auto Exchange message in S&P mode (TR-Log mode), (e.g. TU 5NN #).
S&P_CALL_MSG="cw message 25" — Custom call message in S&P mode.

Lets you replace the auto-generated S&P call message. ✨

Alt_0=<...> ... Alt_9=<...> — up to 10 additional messages.
VKM1=voice message file name 1 ... VKM12=voice message file name 12 — use the F1 ... F12 keys to send recorded messages for phone. 🎙️
VKCQM=voice_message_file_name — Auto Exchange voice message in CQ mode (TR-Log mode).
VKSPM=voice_message_file_name — Auto Exchange voice message in S&P mode (TR-Log mode).
DKF1=digi keyer message 1 ... DKF12=digi keyer message 12 — use the F1 ... F12 keys to send recorded messages for digital.
DKCQM=message — Auto Exchange TU digi message in CQ mode (TR-Log mode).
DKSPM=message — Auto Exchange TU digi message in S&P mode (TR-Log mode).
DKSPC=message — Auto Exchange call digi message in S&P mode (TR-Log mode).

👑 Scoring 👑

The following parameters configure Tlf's scoring calculations.

ONE_POINT — one point per QSO (regardless of mode).
TWO_POINTS — two points per QSO (regardless of mode).
THREE_POINTS — three points per QSO (regardless of mode).
CWPOINTS=d — points per CW QSO.
SSBPOINTS=d — points per SSB QSO.

Note: SSBPOINTS and CWPOINTS need to be set for both to work!

MY_COUNTRY_POINTS=d — points for working your own DXCC entity (often zero (0)).
MY_CONTINENT_POINTS=d — points for working countries in your own continent.
DX_POINTS=d — points for working a station in other continents.
2EU3DX_POINTS — deprecated. 😭

Use MY_CONTINENT_POINTS and DX_POINTS instead.

COUNTRY_LIST_POINTS=d — points for countries in country list.
USE_COUNTRYLIST_ONLY[=<ON|OFF>] — score zero points for countries that aren't in the list.
COUNTRYLIST="comma separated list of prefixes" — e.g. SM,LA,OZ,OH.
COUNTRYLIST=file_name — file with a list of prefixes. It can contain multiple records (lines). The one starting with the current contest name is the one that gets selected. E.g. Scandinavia:SM,LA,OZ,OH.

Not to be confused with the so-called "country" files maintained by AD1C. Different thing entirely, bestie. 🙈

PORTABLE_MULT_2[=<ON|OFF>] — multiply points x2 for portable stations (e.g. R1 field day).
LOWBAND_DOUBLE[=<ON|OFF>] — double all points for lowband (40, 80, and 160m) QSOs (can be combined with any other value).

(Will be deprecated in future! Use BANDWEIGHT_POINTS instead.) Get ahead of it, girlie.

POWERMULT=power_multiplier — use this value to multiply the final points.

If the contest rule lets you use the power multiplier (like Stewperry, ARRL-FD, various QSO parties), set it here.

Note: the value type of POWERMULT is a float, as in POWERMULT=1.5, but the final score gets rounded by the C library floor(3) function, which gives the largest integer value that is not greater than the multiplied score. Math said what it said. 💀

WYSIWYG_MULTIBAND[=<ON|OFF>] — exchange is the multiplier, per band, whatever you enter.

Tlf builds its own list of multipliers as QSOs are logged.

WYSIWYG_ONCE[=<ON|OFF>] — exchange is multiplier, whatever you enter.

Counts once per contest, not per band.

WAZMULT[=<ON|OFF>] — multiplier is the CQ zone (per band).
ITUMULT[=<ON|OFF>] — multiplier is the ITU zone (per band).
PFX_MULT[=<ON|OFF>] — multiplier is prefix (PA0, DA2, VE7, etc.).

Counts once per contest, not per band.

PFX_MULT_MULTIBAND[=<ON|OFF>] — same as WPX, but the WPX only used CQ-WW-WPX, and there a single prefix multiplier only once, not all band.

With this option, the PFX counts as a multiplier on all bands. This is usable in the All Asia DX contest (AA-DX).

COUNTRY_MULT[=<ON|OFF>] — multiplier is the DXCC entity (per band).

Relies on a so-called "country" file by AD1C. An outdated version is supplied in /usr/share/tlf/cty.dat. See the FILES section below.

MULT_LIST=file_name — name of multipliers file (often sections, provinces, states, counties).

Okay so your multipliers file? It can have comment lines that start with # in the very first column, bestie. And each multiplier gets its own single line, no sharing. 💅

Starting from Tlf-1.4, aliases may be defined for the multipliers. Define the aliases like this:

multiplier:alias1,alias2,alias3

If you log a QSO with one of the aliases, it will be counted as the multiplier. You can have more than one line for the same multiplier. This is useful for state QSO parties as an instate participant where instate operators exchange county abbreviations rather than the state but the state can only count once (Kansas QSO Party is once such example). 🎀

SECTION_MULT[=<ON|OFF>] — Multiplier is section from multipliers file. Counts per band. ✨
SECTION_MULT_ONCE[=<ON|OFF>] — Multiplier is section from multipliers file. Counts once per contest, not per band. 💖
CONTINENTLIST="comma separated list of continents" — Valid values are: SA, NA, EU, AF, AS and OC. 🌍
CONTINENT_LIST_POINTS=d — Points for stations from continents in CONTINENTLIST. 💯
USE_CONTINENTLIST_ONLY — Score zero points for station from continents not in the list. 🚫
BANDWEIGHT_POINTS — Define a point weighting factor for different bands. For example, setting:

BANDWEIGHT_POINTS=160:3,80:2,40:1,20:1,15:1,10:2

for use in the All Asia DX (AADX) contest will multiply all QSO points by 3 on 160m, by 2 on 80m and 10m and on all other bands only by 1. Bands not in the list are weighted by 1. 🔥

BANDWEIGHT_MULTIS — Allow a weighting factor for multipliers on different bands. For example, setting:

BANDWEIGHT_MULTIS=80:4,40:3,20:2,15:2,10:2

for use in the Worked All Europe DX Contest (WAEDC) will multiply the number of multipliers on 80 by 4, on 40 by 3 and on 20/15/10 by 2. The multiplication is executed after any other multiplier calculation. Bands not in list will be weighted by 1. 💅

PFX_NUM_MULTIS — In WAEDC (and maybe with other contests too) the multipliers are the different countries, but there are some exceptions where the prefix of certain countries is a different multiplier. In WAEDC these countries are: W, VE, VK, ZL, ZS, JA, PY, RA8/RA9 and RAØ. With this option, you can define the country prefixes:

PFX_NUM_MULTIS=W,VE,VK,ZL,ZS,JA,PY,UA9.

Tlf will read this list, perform a lookup in a countrylist for a country code, and that code will be used. If you include the UA9 prefix and then make a QSO with a station from Asiatic Russia, the PFX number will evaluated with a new multiplier, but European Russia will not. 🤯

EXCLUDE_MULTILIST — Some contests have a special multipliers list, which is easier to write by excluding a predefined set. For example, the main set could be COUNTRY_MULT, and you need to exclude from that list just a few countries, (e.g. the SAC contest excludes the Scandinavian countries as they are not multipliers). In that case you can use this configuration:

COUNTRY_MULT
COUNTRYLIST=JW,JX,LA,OF1,OF0,OJ1,OJ0,OX,OW,OZ,SM,TF
EXCLUDE_MULTILIST=COUNTRYLIST

Another useful example is the WAEDC RTTY contest where all stations can work each other, however, for EU stations only the non-EU stations are the multipliers, and the opposite for non-EU stations where only the EU stations are the multipliers. In that case the EU stations can use this configuration:

CONTINENTLIST=EU
COUNTRY_MULT
EXCLUDE_MULTILIST=CONTINENTLIST

and all countries are multipliers, except for the EU stations. Also, in this contest the non-EU stations can use this configuration:

CONTINENTLIST=SA,NA,AF,AS,OC
COUNTRY_MULT
EXCLUDE_MULTILIST=CONTINENTLIST

and all EU countries are multipliers and not those from the SA, NA, AF, OC and AS continents, so only the EU stations remain as multipliers. 💖

UNIQUE_CALL_MULTI=ALL|BAND — Multiplier is the callsign. The argument tells Tlf how to score the callsigns as multipliers: ALL means the callsign is a multiplier once per the contest, independent of band. BAND means the callsign counts as a multiplier per band. 📞
GENERIC_MULT=NONE|ALL|BAND — Use generic multiplier determined by the contest plugin. The argument specifies the multiplier counting rule (see above). Default value is NONE (disabled). 🤖
PLUGIN_CONFIG — Specifies the argument to the contest plugin's init function. See the PYTHON PLUGIN section below. 🐍

Exchange

The following parameters configure Tlf's handling of the exchange. 💌

SERIAL+SECTION[=<ON|OFF>] — Exchange is serial number and section, multiplier is section from multiplier file. Counts per band. 🔢
SERIAL_OR_SECTION[=<ON|OFF>] — Exchange is serial number or section. This option is similar to SERIAL+SECTION, except the exchange could be a serial OR the section. This option was introduced for HA-DX, where HA stations give the shortest form of their county, other stations give serial. 🏷️
SERIAL+GRID4[=<ON|OFF>] — Exchange is serial number and grid (e.g. 001 JO21QI), multiplier is 4-character grid (JO21). Counts per band. 🗺️
DX_&_SECTIONS — Multiplier is DXCC country or section from multiplier file. 🌎
RECALL_MULTS — Exchange can be recycled, will be filled into exchange field when it is known (see also INITIAL_EXCHANGE and RECALL_NUMERIC_EXCHANGES). ♻️
RECALL_NUMERIC_EXCHANGES[=<ON|OFF>] — Controls whether all-numeric exchanges (like serial or zone number) shall be recalled when using RECALL_MULTS. Default is ON, meaning that numeric exchanges are also recalled. If set to OFF then numeric exchanges are not recalled. This setting can be useful in contests where a group of stations send fixed non-numeric exchanges (county or DOK, for example) and the rest sent serial number. 🔢
INITIAL_EXCHANGE=exchanges.txt — The file must contain a comma-separated list of exchanges. If the exchange is the name of the operator, the file should contain lines like:

PA0R,rein
PG4I,joop
OK1RR,martin

If RECALL_MULTS is set, Tlf will look in this list for the exchange and fill it in for you. There are various contests which have a standard exchange, such as the FOC Marathon. The module also recognises embedded calls (e.g. CT3/PA0R/QRP). 📇

CONTINENT_EXCHANGE[=<ON|OFF>] — Exchange is a continent (NA, SA, EU, AS, AF, OC). 🌐
SERIAL_EXCHANGE — Exchange is a serial number (formats received exchange and configures Cabrillo exchange). Set this only if both sent and received exchanges are plain serial numbers. 🔢
MYQRA — For the “Stewperry” contest, this option is used to set the QRA (Maidenhead) locator, (e.g. JN97, or the full form: JN97OM). In Stewperry, the points are calculated based on the distance between the stations as calculated between this setting and the locator entered into the exchange field. 📍

QTC

The following parameters configure Tlf for the Worked All Europe DX Contest (WAEDC) exchange of QTCs. 📦

QTC=direction — Send or receive QTCs in a contest (usually on WAEDC). direction is one of: RECV, SEND, BOTH. Note: Currently just the RECV direction is implemented. For more information, please see the /usr/share/doc/tlf/Manual.md file. 📬
QTC_CAP_CALLS=list_of_qtc_capable_callsigns.txt — Indicate that the station is QTC capable and highlight it in the bandmap or worked window. Put the callsigns of such stations in a file in the working directory, one callsign per line, and give its name as an argument to this parameter. 📝
QTC_AUTO_FILLTIME[=<ON|OFF>] — If you use the QTC feature and you are an EU station in CW or SSB modes, then you can only RECEIVE the QTCs. Most sending stations send their QTCs as a short form. For example, after the first line the first two characters of time field are not sent. If you set this option, then when you fill the first QTC line, Tlf will fill the other time fields, but only the first two characters. If you change the hour (e.g. if there is a time of 2059 and the next one is 2100), then all next time fields will be changed. ⏰
QTC_RECV_LAZY[=<ON|OFF>] — If you use the QTC feature, and you are an EU station in CW or SSB modes, then you can use this feature. By default, Tlf validates all received QTC lines (i.e. the time field must be four characters long; callsign and serial fields must not be empty). If you set this parameter, Tlf will not perform validation. 😴

🌈 CABRILLO CONFIGURATION 🌈

Okay bestie, this section is all about configuring how Cabrillo processing works. Let's get into it. 💖

So the fields of the generated Cabrillo file can be either:

set to a fixed value,
input interactively,
or disabled.

Note: A template file defines the values used in the headers of the Cabrillo file. A format file defines the fields of the QSO lines in the Cabrillo file.

🎀 Using a Cabrillo template 🎀

A Cabrillo template is used to provide station specific values that will be placed into the generated Cabrillo file. Tlf will not prompt for values listed in this file when the :WRI command is issued.

Note: The template keywords are the same as the parameters below with the CABRILLO- prefix omitted. Cabrillo keyword definitions can be found at the World Wide Operators Foundation Cabrillo specification page.

CABRILLO-TEMPLATE=file.cbr — the specified file is parsed and the values from relevant lines are taken the same way as if they were added via a config file.

The header, footer, comment and QSO lines are ignored.

One can, for example, re-use a file from a previous contest or use a sample file provided for the contest. Another possibility is to summarize the station-specific values in a station.cbr file (see as an example /usr/share/doc/tlf/station-sample.cbr). As multiple CABRILLO-TEMPLATE parameters can be specified, it allows for separating the contest and station specific parts.

This is an optional configuration as the same effect can be reached by plain configs (via the logcfg.dat and rules files).

Note: The CABRILLO- prefix is required in the config files. ✨

💅 Internal configuration 💅

Following parameters control the generation of QSO lines.

CABRILLO-EXCHANGE=format — specifies the sent exchange format.

The hash mark (#) stands for QSO serial number. For a contest using a fixed exchange enter the value here (limited to 39 characters).

CABRILLO=format
CABRILLO-QSO-FORMAT=format — set the format of QSO and QTC lines including the separator character for the received exchange.

The format descriptions are contained in cabrillo.fmt either in the current directory or in /usr/share/tlf. The specified format file is used both to generate Cabrillo output and also for Cabrillo import. For technical details see /usr/share/doc/tlf/Manual.md.

A cabrillo.fmt format file is used to generate a Cabrillo file when a predefined format in /usr/share/tlf/cabrillo.fmt does not exist. For many events the UNIVERSAL format is adequate, otherwise you'll need to roll your own based on the log submission rules of the contest organizers.

⭐ Configuring header information ⭐

Cabrillo header fields can be set using the keywords listed below. The value assigned to the keyword controls the processing of the field:

value not in parentheses, e.g. 9ACW taken verbatim,
value in parentheses, e.g. (YES,NO) will be asked interactively, with the provided text as hint
a single dash - value disables the field (neither asked nor output) keeping its value,
no value (i.e. a keyword without equal sign) just enables the field without changing its value.

Note: The order of the headers in the Cabrillo file is fixed and independent of the order they are present in a config or template file. 👑

🌸 Header Keywords 🌸

Note: These keywords and the internal ones can also be used in a Cabrillo template just by removing the CABRILLO- prefix and using : as value separator.

CABRILLO-CONTEST
CABRILLO-CATEGORY-ASSISTED
CABRILLO-CATEGORY-BAND
CABRILLO-CATEGORY-MODE
CABRILLO-CATEGORY-OPERATOR
CABRILLO-CATEGORY-POWER
CABRILLO-CATEGORY-STATION
CABRILLO-CATEGORY-TIME
CABRILLO-CATEGORY-TRANSMITTER
CABRILLO-CATEGORY-OVERLAY
CABRILLO-CERTIFICATE
CABRILLO-CLAIMED-SCORE — (Score value is replaced with the calculated score. It can be disabled but not set.)
CABRILLO-CLUB
CABRILLO-LOCATION — (Locator automatically filled, if enabled and MYQRA is set.)
CABRILLO-GRID-LOCATOR
CABRILLO-NAME
CABRILLO-EMAIL
CABRILLO-ADDRESS — (3 generic address lines available)
CABRILLO-ADDRESS(2)
CABRILLO-ADDRESS(3)
CABRILLO-ADDRESS-CITY
CABRILLO-ADDRESS-STATE-PROVINCE
CABRILLO-ADDRESS-POSTALCODE
CABRILLO-ADDRESS-COUNTRY
CABRILLO-OPERATORS
CABRILLO-OFFTIME
CABRILLO-SOAPBOX — (3 soapbox lines available)
CABRILLO-SOAPBOX(2)
CABRILLO-SOAPBOX(3)

🐍 PYTHON PLUGIN 🐍

Tlf uses Python plugins to customize or extend functions beyond the built-in features. Two notable use cases are adding a specific scoring logic and determining multipliers.

The Python plugin file is loaded the same way as the RULES file but the file must have py extension. ✨

🦋 tlf Python module 🦋

Tlf core functionality and constants can be accessed via the pre-imported tlf module.

Constants

CWMODE: int
SSBMODE: int
DIGIMODE: int
MY_CALL: str
MY_LAT: float
MY_LONG: float

Functions

def get_qrb_for_locator(locator: str) -> Qrb:

Returns the distance (in km) and bearing (in degrees) to the specified locator from the current location.

def get_dxcc(call: str) -> Dxcc:

Returns the DXCC information for the given call using the cty.dat file.

💜 Data structures 💜

Qso

call: str         callsign
exchange: str     received exchange
band: int         band in meters
mode: int         one of tlf.CWMODE, tlf.SSBMODE or tlf.DIGIMODE
utc: int          time in integer seconds since epoch

Qrb

distance: float   distance in km
bearing: float    bearing in degrees

Dxcc

country_name: str
main_prefix: str
main_cq_zone: int
main_itu_zone: int
main_latitude: float
main_longitude: float
main_continent: str
main_timezone: float
starred: bool
prefix: str
cq_zone: int
itu_zone: int
latitude: float
longitude: float
continent: str
timezone: float
exact: bool

🫶 Functions 🫶

All plugin functions are optional.

def init(cfg: str) -> str:

Called once on Tlf start up. It shall initialize the internal state of the plugin.

The parameter cfg contains the value provided to PLUGIN_CONFIG. It can be used to control the internal logic of the plugin. If no PLUGIN_CONFIG is specified then an empty string is passed.

The return value is a string specifying the minimal required Tlf version (e.g. '1.5'). In case of no version dependency None shall be returned.

def setup() -> None:

Called whenever the QSO list is initialized (e.g. on inital loading of the log file or before rescoring it). It shall reset any internal structures related to QSOs.

def score(qso: Qso) -> int:

Called before actually logging a QSO. It shall return a non-negative score value.

def check_exchange(qso: Qso) -> Dict[str, str]:

Called when exchange is received or updated. From the returned dictionary these (optional) entries are evaluated:

mult1_value: str
normalized_exchange: str

mult1_value is used as a multiplier without further conversion. The handling of this multiplier is controlled by the GENERIC_MULT parameter.

normalized_exchange replaces the received exchange in the finally logged QSO.

📁 FILES 📁

/usr/share/tlf/logcfg.dat is a recent example of a generic configuration file. Tlf will copy it into the current working directory if it does not find one there. It is recommended to copy it into the working directory and edit it to match the contest.

It contains, amongst other settings, the name if the rules file, your call, info about ports for CW keying, packet or rig control, etc. related to your station. You should test your settings well before the contest! 😭

/usr/share/tlf/rules/contestname contains the rules of the various contests. You can easily write one for your favourite contest making use of the various multiplier and points capabilities. Test it before the contest and send a message to the Tlf development list if anything is wrong (or right!).

It contains name of the log file, contest rules, points, multipliers, and other parameters related to the contest,

/usr/share/tlf/cty.dat contains a flat ASCII database of info about countries.

This is the same file as used by CT or TR-Log. Updated versions from Jim, AD1C, are available from: Country Files.

Tlf looks for this file first in the current working directory, so an update is possible without root rights to replace the package installed version (likely well out of date).

/usr/share/tlf/callmaster contains a flat ASCII database of known contest callsigns.

Updates are available from Super Check Partial. Save the master.scp file as callmaster in the working directory (or use CALLMASTER=master.scp to use the default file name). It will take precedence over the system installed callmaster file which is likely well out of date.

Section files contain a flat ASCII database of multipliers like states, sections, provinces, districts, names, ages, etc. They are used by including MULT_LIST=section_file_name in the rules file.

Some of these files are supplied by Tlf while others will need to be written by you. Please offer your files to the developers for inclusion in the distribution or placed on the Wiki (see below). 🌈

📖 DOCUMENTATION 📖

The documentation page at GitHub contains some more information.

An FAQ and other useful tips are installed /usr/share/doc/tlf.

The project Wiki will host various contest specific information and files.

💀 BUGS 💀

Please send bug reports to the Tlf development list. (We're nice, we promise 🙈)

👑 AUTHORS 👑

Tlf was originally written by Rein Couperus aka Rein Couperus and is maintained from 2009 onward by Thomas Beierlein.

A lot of valuable contributions have been received from PG4I (Joop PA4TU), PA3FWM, LZ3NY, VA3DB, OM4AA, OK1RR, DH5FS, G4KNO and various other contributors. (See the AUTHORS file for more). Thanks to all for improving Tlf!

Beta testers and feedback are always welcome! 🫶

And that's the whole page bestie, we made it — written for Tlf 1.5\~git, 2025-01-23, and yeah that's the version and date on the tin 💅 slay, go log some QSOs ✨📻

📦 where this page comes from

ubuntu stonking: tlf 1.4.1-396-ge6385f8-2 · GPL-2.0-or-later
💖 girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash on 2026-11-02: a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms