The command descriptions given below have the required part of the command in upper case, e.g. the SHow command may be entered as SH. You may enter them in lower case.

Routes to KE7X from...:

Local The cluster is on the local area network frequency of 145.01. Connect to KE7X directly.

First Log On: When you first log onto the system, it is going to ask for your name and QTH. Do this in the exact sequence the cluster asks or else it gets very confused. It also asks you to set your latitude/longitude using the SET/LOCATION command:
SET/LOC latdeg latmin N longdeg longmin W
For Bozeman SET/LOC 45 39 N 111 0 W

DXing Info: The reason we have the cluster is to share DX information.
SHow/DX Show the last 5 DX spots.
SHow/DX/nn Shows the last nn. I use SH/DX/3 for the last 3.
SH/DX 20 Last 5 spots on 20m. SH/DX 14 also works for 20m.
SH/DX D2 Show the last 5 spots for D2.
These command variants may be used together. SH/DX/2 20 OH0 shows the last 2 spots on 20 meters for OH0.
DX freq station-call information This enters DX spot information.
Example: DX 14205.3 D2ACA QSL via DL6AAS
SH/Head prefix Shows the beam headings to the country specified by the prefix. To get headings from your QTH, you have to have first entered your location with SET/LOC ...
SH/Muf prefix Gives the maximum useable frequency for the prefix.
SH/Sun prefix Calculates the sunrise/sunset data for the country.
SH/NE prefix Displays the countries needed database. This command shows who needs the prefix for a new country. SH/NE 3Y/P displays the stations who need Peter I.
SH/QSL call Show QSL information (if it exists) for the station.
UPDATE/QSL Allows you to enter QSL information for DX stations. Follow the prompts.
SH/PFX prefix Will show you the country for the prefix given.

WWV Information:

SH/WWV Show the last 5 WWV entries. SH/WWV/2 shows last 2.
WWV SF=xxx,A=yy,K=zz, forecast
This command enters WWV information. The commas and the equals signs are required. The forecast is usually the forecasted flux and field activity but sometimes it is good to put in other info.

Talking to other Users: Much of the fun of DXing is working DX with others. The cluster allows us to talk to each other in two modes - TALK and CONFERENCE.

SH/Users Shows the users connected to the local node. If a "+" is after their call, it means that user is in CONFERENCE mode.
SH/Config Shows the users at all nodes in the system with a + indicating which users are in the conference mode.
T N7FLT msg Sends a one line message to N7FLT.
T N7FLT<CR> Just typing T N7FLT followed by a carriage return puts you into TALK mode. All further typing will go to N7FLT until you type a CTRL-Z. When you are in TALK mode you will receive all DX spots other users put in. You may enter DX spots by putting a * in front of the command i.e., *DX 14205 D2ACA.
CONFERence Puts you into the CONFERence mode. All further input will go to all users who have put themselves into CONFERence mode. You will stay there until you type CTRL-Z. DX spots and other commands may be entered by using the * in front of the command like in TALK.
A message Sends a one line message to all users on the local node.
A/FULL message Sends a one line message to all users on all nodes.

When the number of users on the cluster gets large, please be careful about using the A messages.

Mail Operations: You may send and receive mail using the cluster. There is some capability to transfer mail to outside BBS's. Typically mail is just sent to other users in the cluster, including those on other nodes.

DIrectory The DI command shows what mail exists on the local node. You see the last 5 or all new messages since the last time you used the command.
DI/A List all the messages in the directory.
DI/Own List one's own messages.
Send call Send a mail message to call. You will be prompted to enter a subject and the text of the message.
SP call Send a private message to call. Nobody else can read this message.
Read msg# Reads the message number shown in the directory list.
DElete msg# Deletes the message from the directory. Please do this after you have read the message.
REPLY msg# Reply to a message number. Automatically sets the topic and the addressee.
Please DELete your messages after you have read them. Its a good idea to DI/O after sending a message to see if the system has taken it ok.
Other Features:

TYPE bulletin Bulletins are general information files, usually DX bulletins. TYPE OPDX157 will display the OPDX157 bulletin.
SH/BULL Shows what bulletins are in the bulletin directory.
SET/NOBEEP SET/NOBEEP and its companion, SET/BEEP, turn off and on the beeps that the cluster sends for announcements. To have the beep turned off for talk messages, both stations must have SET/NOBEEP. A SET/NOBEEP stays active only for the current session. When you log in again, you must SET/NOBEEP again.
SET/NODX This turns off the DX spots. SET/DX turns them on again.

User Commands: You may UPLOAD/USERCMD a file to define commands that will be executed every time you log onto the cluster. This saves you from having to do these each time. Popular commands are SH/C, SH/DX, SET/NOBEEP. TYPE $USERCMD.HLP for more information.

Help Files: You may TYPE the following files for more help on the system. Example: TYPE $CLUSTER.HLP prints this document.

$CLUSTER.HLP Prints out the latest version of this document.
$SHPFX.HLP Shows how to use the SH/PFX database.
$QSL.HLP Gives information on the QSL database and how to update it.
$USERCMD.HLP More information on user commands.
$HFSPOT.HLP How to interrogate the HF spot database.
$UPLOAD.HLP How to upload and download files.
$NEEDS.HLP How to enter information into the needs database.
$HELP.HLP Current listing of all the help files.

Sending HELP (without the TYPE) will print out a list of all the cluster commands.

System Information: As of December 2004 the cluster consists of the following hardware:

The KE7X cluster is running on a 486/25 MHz PC, KPC-II TNC, TR-7800 to an isopole.