The Google Spreadsheet can only be edited by the owners. Everyone else needs to download the Excel or LibreOffice version for offline use.
If you don't have LibreOffice or Excel on your computer, you'll want to install LibreOffice first, which is a free and open source office suite.
Currently, the file is not public, contact Patrick, VA7FI if you'd like access.
Once you have the link, you can download it as a Microsoft Excel file or OpenDocument File. Download the latter format if you use LibreOffice.
The date in the title of the file represents the last time the spreadsheet was updated. You'll want to download a fresh copy from time to time to take advantage of new entries that are added periodically.
The spreadsheet has a few tabs that can be selected at the bottom of the page:
Local Data | contains the actual information about a few hundred hams in the Vancouver Island area. |
---|---|
LogSheet (Local + ISED) | is the “search / log” page used during the net. |
LogSheet (Local) | is a lighter version of the previous tab (for slower machines) that doesn't use ISED database. |
LogSheet (ISED) | is a version that only searches the ISED database. This could be useful for cross Canada nets. |
Instructions | links to this page. |
What's New | lists the recent updates to the spreadsheet (excluding edits to the “Local Data” sheet). |
ISED Data | is a hidden tab that contains over 80,000 entries from the ISED website. The last update uses data from Dec 20, 2020. |
The most important thing to know is that you can type in and delete cells in green, but you should not edit or delete cells in orange.
The Local Data
tab contains information about each ham operator and a few formulas to flag important dates. This sheet is NOT the sheet you'll be using during the net, it's a sort of “database”:
Column(s) | Edit | Details |
---|---|---|
Column A | ✘ | Is hidden and contains formulas that the other tab needs. |
Columns B ‒ M | ✔ | Contains information about ham operators. |
Columns E, G, I, K | ✔ | Are dates that should be entered as so 'JAN 1 . The apostrophe (') is important. |
Columns N ‒ P | ✘ | Contains formulas and should NOT be edited. |
To add a new entry, see the Adding Names section below.
To see who is having a birthday or anniversary, filter column N or O (but not both at the same time):
Today?
in Column N or This Week?
in Column O.
(empty)
. (Blanks)
.
OK
This will show only the lines of people that have a birthday or anniversary on the day or week. Note the names and callsign of these people to acknowledge them during the preamble.
Once you've got that information, you can re-check the (empty)
lines to unhide them.
The three LogSheet (x)
tabs are different ways of searching / logging checkins. The main differences between them are:
Logsheet (Local + ISED)
:
Local Data
and the ISED Data
.
Local Data
tab is unique.
Logsheet (Local)
:
Local Data
so it's faster for slower computers or mobile devices.
Logsheet (ISED)
:
ISED Data
.
Using Logsheet (Local + ISED)
as an example, during the net, all you need to do is type the suffix in Column A (not case sensitive).
aa
was entered twice successfully. The second entry was flagged as a duplicate and was not counted in the total checkins at the top in cell E1.
jh
was entered in the suffix, the callsign asked for a Prefix?
because two callsigns have the same suffix. Once the prefix is entered, the spreadsheet is able to fill in the rest of the information from the Local Data
.
aaa
is entered, it's not found in the Local Data
so it asks for the Prefix
to look it up in the ISED Data
.
wek
is entered, it's not found in either databases so it returns Not Found
.
Here are a few more details:
ISED
tab will have “(ISED)” written in the cells (ex. VE7AAA)
When the net is done, simply delete what you typed in column A and B (NOT what appeared in the other columns).
A useful trick in LibreOffice is to freeze the first two rows so that as you go down the list, the header is always visible. To do this: Select Cell A3 → View
→ Freeze Rows and Columns
:
** Note that I made up Richard's (VA7AA) birthday for the sake of illustration.
The spreadsheet was made to be used offline on computers, but some people might still want to use it on their tablets. Here as some instructions on how to do that for Android devices.
The first steps are to open the spreadsheet and make a copy of it to your “Sheets” app. You will need a Google Account to do this:
USE THE APP
(you need “Sheets” installed).
Make a copy
.
LogSheet (Local)
, which doesn't query the ISED
tab and is quicker for mobile devices.
To submit an update to the main online spreadsheet, use the Net Roll Call New Entry Submission Form, which has a link in the spreadsheet:
To add a new name to the Local Data
sheet:
Do not Insert a line somewhere in the middle of the sheet to keep names sorted by callsigns. The problem with doing this is that Column A (which is hidden) and Column N contain important formulas and inserting a line leaves those cells blank for the new line.
Now to sort, click on the upside-down triangle sign on the right of Suffix
to see the filter menu for that column, and select Sort A → Z
:
All the entries are now sorted by callsign suffix:
To delete a name, do not Delete Row. Instead delete the green cells containing the information. Careful not to delete anything in the red cells in columns A and N which contain the formulas. Then resort the list to send the empty line back to the bottom.
amateur_delim.txt
ISED Data
tab.
File
> Import
> Upload
:
Replace Current Sheet
Custom
;