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Before you start Great! you have installed SafecomLink, now what? This short guide will help to make your first steps in the SafecomLink world and conduct your first successful link using SafecomLink while highlighting the "must-know" features. Basic SafecomLink configuration 1. Make sure you installed VARA-HF modem. It can be downloaded from HERE 2. Install SafecomLink in a dedicated directory. c:\SafecomLink can be a good place. 3. If you used the ZIP package and not installer - Launch SafecomLink by double clicking the SafecomLink.exe file. 4. You will be asked to enter your callsign in the "My callsign" text box. 5. On the top menu select: Settings --> RIG control & VARA Configuration 6. Set your desired PTT and Frequency control modes (CAT/OmniRig/Flrig/RTS/DTR) and use the TEST buttons to make sure they work. 7. To allow SafecomLink to automatically launch your VARA modem, tell SafecomLink where the VaraHF modem is located under the "VARAHF main file path" section. Point it out to the VARAHF.EXE file you installed on step #1 (or VARAFM.EXE if you use VaraFM) 8. Make sure you select the right VaraHF port in the "VARAHF main port" section. The default port of VaraHF modem is 8300 9. Click "SAVE & CLOSE" Beacons Beacon is a transmission that is fire every 15 minutes (by default) letting people know that you are online and ready for a connection. What should I use than? • Looking for someone to chat with NOW? Hit the Hand Raise. Got no answer? try again a couple of times. • Want to leave your transceiver open and accept incoming connections while you mind your own business - hit the BEACON button. Tip If you leave your RIG on the frequency with SafecomLink open, you will intercept other users' beacons. Double clicking their callsign will connect with them. Hand Raise (CQ) When performing hand-raise, you can select a SLOT frequency in which you will wait for incoming connections. Your Hand-raise call encodes this SLOT ID so other parties knows where to connect with you. If you set SafecomLink to control your transceiver frequency (through CAT or any other software), then SafecomLink will automatically change frequenct to the SLOT frequency after the hand-raise call ends. When you perform hand-raise, your call will be both seen and heard (alarm sound) on other SafecomLink users' desktops who are tuned to the same frequency as you are. How do I connect with someone? There are 3 simple ways to start a link: 1. Double click a callsign on the "Last heard Hand raises" section. 2. Double click a callsign on the "Last heard Beacons" section 3. Type the callsign you wish to connect to into the "Connect to" textbox and hit "CONNECT" What are all these texts & numbers I see when connected to someone? Upon connections you will see texts like "<R-10>" or "de YOURCALL" • SafecomLink exchanges SNR reports with the other side so you know how you are being heard and also for logging purposes. • SafecomLink periodically sends your callsign on air to comply with "self identification" regulations. SafecomLink gestures Guesters are TEXT CODES that when typed as part of your chat message, will trigger an event on the other side such as: • "DING!" - will make sound • "HIHI" - will make a smiley emoji 😀😀 • "TU!" - will say "THANK YOU 🙏" Hit the "GUESTERS" button to see more options.  Tip Connected to someone but they are not there? Write "DING!" to make some noise on their end to drag their attention Canned messages & SafecomLink Tags Canned messages are pre-defined texts like your information, templates etc. You can configure your canned messages under the settings menu. You can then attach one to your chat message by selecting it from the "Load a canned message" dropdown menu. SafecomLink Tags are used either manually or in canned messages to send information that will be decoded by the other side and automatically populate the contact log with your name, QTH & locator. Tip We strongly recommend that you set your information tags within a canned message. This will allow your partner to get all your information directly into their log entry. Ending a link Hit the "DISCONNECT" button. Need to eject quickly ? Hit the "ABORT" button. Logging the link SafecomLink logs links in an ADIF file in the SafecomLink installation directory under the name SafecomLink_qso_log.adi . You can set SafecomLink to automatically log your link upon disconnection, or manually log it by clicking the "LOG" button. Tip You can have your link uploaded automatically to QRZ.COM and other log systems. Read this manual to see an example. Broadcasts SafecomLink allows you to send anychroneous messages - also known by the name broadcast. You can send to one person or to all. Unlike a SafecomLink link, there is no delivery-guaranteed mechanism in broadcasts.   Tip You can use broadcasts for group chat when you and your partners have good signals The QSY code of behavior The calling frequencies are used for finding link mates and for short links only. If you want to continue chatting with your partner, then immediatly after connection, invite your partner to change frequency. You don't need to disconnect. Frequency change happens while you are connected How? This is done by clicking the QSYU/QSYD buttons that will take you +/- 750Hz This will initiate a QSY request that will instruct both sides to change frequency while chatting. If set your CAT frequency control under the SafecomLink settings menu, then SafecomLink will change freqeuency for you automatically. Again: No need to disconnect prior or during to the frequency change. Still have questions ? This quick start guide include the must have things you need to know. But SafecomLink has so many other features you can explore such as File transfer, Frequency scheduler, SafeMails, Alert center, Last heard peeking etc. We wish you luck in making your first steps with SafecomLink.

Download the latest CAT command version SafecomLink offers direct CAT command support for various RIGs. You can download the most updated CAT commands file here. ​ If you found a mistake in this file or want to contribute a set of CAT commands that is not listed here, please submit your request as a comment on this post. Download link - Latest file version: SafecomLink_Cat_command.zip  After downloading, unzip the file and place it in your SafecomLink installation directory Customizing SafecomLink Rig control CAT file SafecomLink Cat file was built from ground up as an open platform so YOU can tweak it or even create your own customized configuration. The SafecomLink_Cat_command.ini file contains a set of definitions for each RIG. Here is an example of an IC-7300 SafecomLink CAT configuration: [Icom IC-7300] CmdType=HEX PTTOn=FEFE94E01C0001FD PTTOff=FEFE94E01C0000FD ModeUSB=FEFE94E026000100FD ModeUSB_D=FEFE94E02600010102FD ModeFM=FEFE94E0260005FD ModeFM_D=FEFE94E02600050102FD SetFreq_Data_method=BCD SetFreqVfoA_Cmd=FEFE94E02500{}FD SetFreqVfoA_param_length=10 SetFreqVfoA_hz_res=1 ReadFreqVfoA_Cmd=FEFE94E02500FD ReadFreqVfoA_Result_Data_method=BCD ReadFreqVfoA_Result_hz_res=1 ReadFreqVfoA_Result_Length=24 ReadFreqVfoA_Result_Freq_Start_Pos=13 ReadFreqVfoA_Result_Freq_Length=10 AntennaTuner=FEFE94E01C0102FD VarACStartCmd= VarACExitCmd= Now lets dive in to each of the parameters: PTT and MODE commands: CmdType= Possible values: "HEX" or "TEXT" Some rigs requires a text based commands to be sent (like all Kenwoods and some Yaesus) while other requires Hex-based commands like most Icoms. This parameter tells SafecomLink how to encode the command before sending it to the Rig. PTTOn= Triggers TX (engage PTT) PTTOff= Triggers RX (dis-engage PTT). ModeUSB= Sets Rig to USB mode. ModeUSB_D= Sets Rig to USB-D mode. This mode/command is only available with modern rigs. SafecomLink settings screen provides you with the option to choose if you want to use the USB or USB-D mode. ModeFM= Sets Rig to FM mode. SafecomLink will put your RIG in FM mode only if you use VaraFM. AntennaTuner=Fires the antenna tuner after frequency changes. • Under the SafecomLink settings screen you can set it to tune on EVERY frequency change or only during BAND SKIPS. • Only a few Rigs provide with a CAT command that activate the "Tune" operation of the rig. Set frequency commands: The default CAT commands provided set the VFO-A. SetFreq_Data_method= Possible values: "HEX" or "TEXT" Some rigs has different formats for PTT/MODE commands and for "set-frequency" commands. But in most cases it will be the same as the "CmdType=" parameter. SetFreqVfoA_Cmd= sets the Rig VFO-A to a desired frequency. This command use a special characters as place holder "{}" (2 curly brackets) that SafecomLink uses to plug the actual frequency. For example: Icom IC-7300: SetFreqVfoA_Cmd=FEFE94E02500{}FDKenwood TS-850: SetFreqVfoA_Cmd=FA{}; SetFreqVfoA_param_length= Each rig has a different frequency range capability. Therefore it has a different frequency length format where it pads with Zeros the beginning of the frequency. When SafecomLink plugs in the desired frequency into the "SetFreqVfoA_Cmd=" command, it will use this value to know how many Zeros in needs to pad to bring the frequency into a "fixed size format" (ex. with length of 14105000 --> 0014105000) SetFreqVfoA_hz_res= Some Rigs get the frequency number that is plugged to the "{}" placeholder but process it differently. Most Rigs will take this frequency number as is. So in this case it means that the provided frequency number is in single Hertzs (ex - 14105000) so this parameter value in most cases is set to "1". But some Rigs require the frequency number to be provided differently. For example: Yaesu FT-100: SetFreqVfoA_hz_res=10 - which means that the number provided is in 10Hz skips so SafecomLink will need to divide the actual frequency by a factor of 10 before passing it to the RIG. 14105000 --> 1410500 Reading frequency commands: Under the SafecomLink settings you can enable SafecomLink to read your current VFO frequency every X seconds. • If you do not use this feature you don't have to set these parameters. • Please note that some old Rigs does not provide with commands to read the current VFO frequency • The default CAT commands provided reads the VFO-A. ReadFreqVfoA_Cmd= Read the Rigs current VFO-A frequency. ReadFreqVfoA_Result_Data_method= Possible values: TEXT, BCD, BCFBE, BIN Instruct SafecomLink how to interpret the output of the "ReadFreqVfoA_Cmd=" command. Some rigs returns the frequency as clear text while other return in Binary or Hexadecimal format. By rig type: • Kenwood rigs are always "TEXT" • Icoms are always "BCD" • Xiegus are always "BCD" • Yaesus are either "BCD" or "BCDE" depends on the model • Some TenTecs and some Yaesus are "BIN" For HEX values: • BCD is Little endian • BCDBE is big endian ReadFreqVfoA_Result_hz_res= Similar to the "SetFreqVfoA_hz_res=" but on the reading frequency side. It instructs SafecomLink on how to process the returning frequency number. SafecomLink will multiply the number that returns with the number in this parameter to get to the frequency in Hz. ReadFreqVfoA_Result_Length= The expected length of the entire output from the read frequency command (ReadFreqVfoA_Cmd=). This output in most cases includes many values that SafecomLink do not need so the next 2 parameters instruct SafecomLink where to find the actual frequency number. ReadFreqVfoA_Result_Freq_Start_Pos= The position in the output of the read frequency command (ReadFreqVfoA_Cmd=) in which the frequency number part begins. ReadFreqVfoA_Result_Freq_Length= Similar to the "SetFreqVfoA_param_length=" but on the frequency reading side. When parsing the output of the read frequency command (ReadFreqVfoA_Cmd=), what is the expected length of the frequency number within the output. Start/Exit SafecomLink commands VarACStartCmd= This command will be executed upon SafecomLink launch. You can use it to set specific configuration in your Rig prior to using SafecomLink such as settings your preferred Filters, Notch, Antenna, NB level etc. VarACExitCmd=This command is executed upon SafecomLink exit. Use it to place you Rig in a preferred stated when existing SafecomLink . Usually you would use it to revert any Rig states you enabled using the "VarACStartCmd=" command. CAT command concatenaion • You can concatenate commands using the comma "," sign. • This would work only on the following commands: PTTOn, PTTOff, ModeUSB, ModeUSB_D, ModeFM • There are no limits to the number of commands you can concatenate. Example #1: When switching to USB_D (happens in every frequency change), and you also want to place DATA port of your IC-7300 to USB (not ACC): ModeUSB_D=FEFE94E02600010102FD,FEFE94E01A05006703FD Example2: If your rig support 2 antennas, you can Use one for TX and one for RX by concatenating an antenna switch CAT command to the PTT On/Off commands. This is an example for IC-7400: PTTOn=FEFE66E0120000FD,FEFE66E01C0001FDPTTOff=FEFE66E0120100FD,FEFE66E01C0000FD If your rig is not listed on the SafecomLink default CAT file and you configured it on your own,  or you find errors in the default CAT file and you managed to fix it by yourself,  PLEASE be kind and share it with us so we can distribute this to all SafecomLink users.

Since SafecomLink V5, SafecomLink has a Sqlite database as its main data engine. This allows developers to integrate in a super flexible, SQL based way to the SafecomLink traffic for various types of integrations. Unlike APIs that are limited to a particular use case, accessing directly the SafecomLink database provides unlimited options for integrations. To allow “track changes” data reading, each table has 2 identifiers for every row that you can use: 1. A sequential ID – which can be used as a high watermark 2. A unique UUID based identifier. The SafecomLink Sqlite DB can be found in the SafecomLink directory under the name: SafecomLink.db By design, the SafecomLink Sqlite database is not protected by a password or encryption to customers decide on their own protection mechanism. alert Description: storing all broadcasts (incoming & outgoing) Columns: • id (INTEGER) - Auto increment ID • guid (TEXT) - unique row identifier • source_id (INTEGER) - where this alert originated from (see alert_source lookup table) • from_callsign (TEXT) • to_callsign (TEXT) • alert_tag (TEXT) - the alert tag (text) that triggered the alert. • source_text (TEXT) - the full source text that includes the tag that triggered the alert. • alert_time (DATETIME) - time in which the alert was received. • read_status (BOOLEAN) - True if it was read already. False if not-read. • folder_id (INTEGER) - Where this alert is stored (Incoming / Archived folder) • frequency (INTEGER) – in Hz • is_deleted (BOOLEAN) - true if the alert was deleted. Indexes: id, guid, (folder_id, alert_time), alert_tag, from_callsign, to_callsign alert_source Description: Lookup table for the "alert" table Columns: • source_id (INTEGER) • source (TEXT) - the source of the alert (1-Beacon/2-CQ/3-Broadcast/4-Datastream) Indexes: source_id alert_folder Description: Lookup table for the "alert" table Columns: • folder_id (INTEGER) • folder (TEXT) - the status of the alert (Incoming/Archived) Indexes: folder_id broadcast Description: storing all broadcasts (incoming & outgoing) Columns: • id (INTEGER) - Auto increment ID • guid (TEXT) - unique row identifier • broadcast_time (DATETIME) – in UTC • frequency (INTEGER) – in Hz • from_callsign (TEXT) • to_callsign (TEXT) • via_callsign (TEXT) – digipeater (one or more) • broadcast_message (TEXT) – The actual broadcast message • snr (INTEGER) – the SNR of received broadcasts. Indexes: id, guid, broadcast_time, from_callsign, to_callsign contact Description: All callsigns you made a QSO with or entered manually Columns: • id (NTEGER) - Auto increment ID • guid (TEXT) - unique row identifier • callsign (TEXT) • name (TEXT) • qth (TEXT) • comments (TEXT) - additional comments made by you for that contact • rig (TEXT) • time_added (DATETIME) - When this contact was first added to the contacts list • favorite (BOOLEAN) - if this contact is a favorite one • is_deleted (BOOLEAN) - deletion status of this contact Indexes: id, guid, starttime, callsign cqframe Description: Storing all received Beacons and CQ Columns: • id (INTEGER) - Auto increment ID • guid (TEXT) - unique row identifier • cqframe_time (DATETIME) – in UTC • cqframe_type_id (INTEGER) – Reference to the table "cqframe_type" • frequency (INTEGER) – in Hz • bandwidth (TEXT) - 500 or 2300 • from_callsign (TEXT) • snr (INTEGER) – the SNR of received cqframe. • slot (INTEGER) – slot id where the cqframe was received • data (TEXT) - used for additional data. In CQ for example it can be a special CQ (POTA/SOTA...) • locator (TEXT) - in special CQs a locator is also sent • is_emcomm (BOOLEAN) - weather the beacon came from an EmComm station. Indexes: id, guid, cqframe_time, from_callsign cqframe_type Description: Lookup table of the "cqframe" table. identifying a cqframe as either CQ (1) or Beacon (2) Columns: • cqframe_type_id (INTEGER) • cqframe_type (TEXT) Indexes: cqframe_type_id datastream_entry_type Description: Lookup table of the "datastream" table. identifying a type of an entry. • 1 - Incoming message • 2 - Outgoing message • 3 - System message Columns: • datastream_entry_type_id (INTEGER) • datastream_entry_type (TEXT) Indexes: datastream_entry_type_id datastream Description: Contains all the datastream entries including chat message and system messages. Columns: • id (INTEGER) - unique sequential row identifier • guid (TEXT) - unique row identifier (guid) • datastream_entry_type_id (INTEGER) - type of record as described in datastream_entry_type table • qso_guid (TEXT) - the QSO identifier (from the qso table) that this entry belong to • callsign (TEXT) - the callsign who wrote this entry • entry (TEXT) - the message it self (chat or info message) • file_path (TEXT) - if this message contains a file (file transfer) - the local path of this file • chat_id (INTEGER) - sequentia number of the message in this QSO • reply_on_chat_id (INTEGER) - a chat ID for which this message is a reply to • creation_time (DATETIME) - when this message was received • is_deleted (BOOLEAN) - deletion status of this record. Indexes: id, guid, (callsign, creation_time), creation_time instance Description: List of SafecomLink instances in a SafecomLink cluster. Columns: • id (INTEGER) - unique instance ID • guid (TEXT) - unique row identifier • name (TEXT) - instance name • comments (TEXT) - additional info • busy (BOOLEAN) - set to True if the instance is currently_busy • busy_last_time(DATETIME) - last time this instance was busy • last_keepalive_time (DATETIME) - last time the instance was seen alive in the cluster • creation_time (DATETIME) - when this row was created for the first time • is_deleted (BOOLEAN) - if the instance was deleted or not Indexes: id, guid, busy_last_time, last_keepalive_time parameter Description: Global SafecomLink parameters. currently hold only one parameter which is the sqlite structure version. Columns: • parameter_id (INTEGER) • parameter_name (TEXT) • parameter_value (TEXT) Indexes: parameter_id qso Description: All Valid QSOs are stored here. It's a mirror of ADIF data plus additional information. Columns: • id (INTEGER) - Auto increment ID • guid (TEXT) - unique row identifier • vara_modem_type (TEXT) - What modem was used during the QSO (VARA HF/FM/SAT) • mode (TEXT) - the ADIF mode that was reported (usually DYNAMIC) • submode (TEXT) - the ADIF submode that was reported (VARA HF/FM/SAT) • starttime (DATETIME) - QSO start time (date and time) • endtime (DATETIME) - QSO end time (date and time) • frequency (INTEGER) - in Hz • band (TEXT) - band based on the frequency (ex. 20m, 40m...) • bandwidth (TEXT) - 500 or 2300 • callsign (TEXT) - the callsign of the station you connected with • my_callsign (TEXT) - your callsign at the time of the QSO • digipeater (TEXT) - if a digipeater was used - it will be logged here • snr_received (INTEGER) - received RST • snr_sent (INTEGER) - sent RST • name (TEXT) - operator name • qth (TEXT) - operator QTH • my_power (INTEGER) - based on the value at your profile at the time of the QSO • my_rig (INTEGER) - based on the value at your profile at the time of the QSO • my_antenna (INTEGER) - based on the value at your profile at the time of the QSO • comments (TEXT) - additional comments • varac_version (TEXT) - the SafecomLink version at the time of the QSO • is_ping (BOOLEAN) - if this QSO was a ping (obsolete since V7 Pings are not listed as valid QSOs) • is_deleted (BOOLEAN) - deletion status of this record. • slot (TEXT) - slot number on which this QSO took place Indexes: id, guid, starttime, (callsign,starttime) vmail Description: Store all Vmails (incoming / outgoing / sent / parking) Columns: • id (INTEGER) - Auto increment ID • guid (TEXT) - unique row identifier • creation_time (DATETIME) – in UTC • sent_time (DATETIME) – in UTC • received_time (DATETIME) – in UTC • folder_id (INTEGER) - reference to the "vmail_folder" table. Says if it is an inbox/outbox/parked/sent vmail. • vmail_to (TEXT) - the callsign of the vmail destination • vmail_from (TEXT)- the callsign of the vmail source • vmail_via (TEXT) - the callsign of the vmail intermediate station • delivery_band (TEXT) - Band in which the Vmail was received • delivery_snr (TEXT) - SNR in which the Vmail was received • subject (TEXT) - Vmail subject • msg (TEXT) - Vmail body • read_status (BOOLEAN) - True if it was read already. False if not-read. • is_deleted (BOOLEAN) - if the vmail was deleted or not • frequency (INTEGER) – in Hz - on which frequency the VMail was received Indexes: id, guid, (vmail_to,folder_id), (folder_id,read_status,is_deleted) vmail_folder Description: Lookup table for the "vmail" table Columns: • folder_id (INTEGER) • folder (TEXT) - the folder name (Inbox/Sent/Outbox/Parking) Indexes: folder_id vmail_relay_notification Description: Storing all relay notifications - which are indications received from other stations regarding parked Vmails that awaits for your retrieval. Columns: • id (INTEGER) - Auto increment ID • guid (TEXT) - unique row identifier • relay_notification_time (DATETIME) – in UTC • frequency (INTEGER) – in Hz • from_callsign (TEXT) • is_deleted (INTEGER) – A boolean (1/0) field - saying if you already deleted the notification or not. Indexes: id, guid, from_callsign, is_deleted