Hi VarACiers!
VarAC was created to fill a gap that was wide open for too long in the ham radio world. Between the machine-to-machine QSOs and the Human-based SSB/CW QSOs, there were very few digital modes that provided both reliability and fun. Those that did provide those values were hardware based and came with an outrageous price tag.
Hearing the VarAC calling frequency (and slots) busy all day long is true evidence that VarAC fills that gap. We want to thank you for your support and for filling the frequency with those VarAC sounds which are music to our ears.
We promise to continue and innovate and surprise you with features that will blow your mind and show you that things can be done differently.
Today we are announcing a major leap. The VarAC mailbox is now a fully BBS-like machine. This will allow you to conduct “asynchronous chats”. VarAC now support full store & forward mechanism.
You can compose VMails offline, and they will be forwarded once connected to the destination station.
You can leave a message at a mediator station, and it will be forwarded to its destination once connected.
You now have OUTBOX, SENT and PARKING folders where you can keep track of all that, including mailbox indicators on your main screen.
This VarAC release is not only about new mailbox features. There are more. Here is a full list of new features and enhancements. You can also find a list of fixed bugs toward the end of this post. Important note: if you upgrade from an older version then: 1. Download the VarAC Zip file. 2. Unpack to a temporary directory. 3. Copy ONLY the VarAC.exe file to your existing VarAC installation directory.
73, Irad 4Z1AC and the VarAC team.
New Features
VMail Store & forward: leave a message in your/other mailbox and once the target station connects, they will receive the VMail.
Offline VMail compose.
New Inbox/Outbox/Sent/Parking mailbox folders
Clickable Mailbox counters on the main screen
Callsign history search – now supports manual search.
Adding tools menu with quick access to tools such as mailbox, callsign history lookup etc.
Free form QSY (#) now support SLOT frequencies
Integration with UcxLog logger.
Enhancements & Changes
Adding extra space after each element in the ADIF record to comply with ADIF standard
File transfer statistics (time and average speed)
Self reporting to PSK Reporter. Upon frequency change, the PSK reporter map will show where you QRV (enabled under settings)
DXKeeper logger - auto filter of previous QSOs with a station once login a QSO (requires DXkeeper 16.7.6)
Calling CQ now must include a Slot ID.
LINK: Download VarAC V5.3.1
Take a look at some of the new features & elements:
Bug fixes
Replacing emoji-based buttons icons with ASCII for windows 7 users.
Removing the drop-down menus in the callsign history screen.
PING disabled the slot selector and only way to recover was to restart VarAC
CAT change frequency for 2M and above frequencies (9 digits and above) changed not to the accurate frequency.
Free form QSY (using the # button) did not work if Ø (zero with slash) was enabled.