ADIF 2.1.8

Each data field is preceded by a field name and length enclosed in angle brackets. The name and length are separated by a colon. The field name may be in upper, lower, or mixed case. Case is insignificant. For instance, CALL, Call, or call are equivalent. The length specification is ASCII text in display format, and may be of any non-negative value. The data follows the closing angle bracket. For example:

Records are made up of multiple fields and terminated with <EOR> or <eor> as an end-of-record marker. For example:

An optional data type indicator may follow the field length, separated by a colon: For example:

Data type indicators are defined for each ADIF data type. The data type indicator may be in upper, lower, or mixed case. Data type indicators are redundant for ADIF-defined fields such as qso_date above, but are useful in application-defined fields as a hint for applications attempting to import such fields.

Any number of characters of any value except < may be added after a fieldÂ's data or <eor> and before the start of the next field. This is typically carriage returns and/or linefeeds to make the file easier to read in a text viewer. For example:

In this example, a newline is inserted in the middle of each record, and two newlines are inserted at the end of each record. This makes long records easy to read in a text editor.

Optional header information may be included before the actual data in the file. To include optional header info, the first character of the file must be something other than <. Any amount of header info of any value except <eoh> may be included. The header info must be terminated with <eoh>. Any number of characters of any value except < may follow <eoh>. The first < after <eoh> is the start of the first field of the first data record in the file. Here is an example:

If the first character of a file is <, it is presumed to be the first field of the first data record.

The ADIF version may be included in the header info as follows: <adif_ver:4>1.00 is included as part of the header specification, an importing program can easily determine the ADIF version used to create the file. Note that this must not be at the beginning of the header info, because < as the first character indicates that there is no header.

It is important for the programmer importing ADIF data to note that any number of characters of any value may follow the actual data in a field. For example, carriage return/linefeed, or just a line feed. There is nothing in the specifications to prevent an exporter from placing a comment after the actual data. Therefore, after reading a fieldÂ's data based on the length specification, the programmer should read and discard characters until the start of a new field (<) or <eor> is encountered.

There is no specification for the order in which fields appear. They may appear in any order. Unused fields may be omitted entirely. Therefore, each record will not necessarily have the same fields. The specification does not prohibit a zero-length field, so those writing import programs should allow for this.

There is no specification for field length or maximum field length in the Physical Specifications. Unless there is a length specification in the Field Definition, exporters simply export all data in their field. Importers import as much data as their program can accept.

Note that while these examples have all been of simple ASCII fields, the specification permits data of any type or length. It could be easily used to transfer pictures or text documents, for instance.

Data Types

Data Type	Data Type Indicator	Description (all numbers are radix 10)
Boolean	B	if True, the single ASCII character Y if False, the single ASCII character N
Digit	N	an ASCII character whose code lies in the range of 48 through 57, inclusive
Number	N	a sequence of Digits optionally preceded by a minus sign (ASCII code 45) and optionally including a single decimal point (ASCII code 46)
Character	S	an ASCII character whose code lies in the range of 32 through 126, inclusive
Date	D	8 Digits representing a UTC date in YYYYMMDD format, where YYYY is a 4-Digit year specifier, where 1930 <= YYYY MM is a 2-Digit month specifier, where 1 <= MM <= 12 [use leading zeroes] DD is a 2-Digit day specifier, where 1 <= DD <= DaysInMonth(MM) [use leading zeroes]
Time	T	6 Digits representing a UTC time in HHMMSS format or 4 Digits representing a time in HHMM format, where HH is a 2-Digit hour specifier, where 0 <= HH <= 23 [use leading zeroes] MM is a 2-Digit minute specifier, where 0 <= MM <= 59 [use leading zeroes] SS is a 2-Digit second specifier, where 0 <= SS <= 59 [use leading zeroes]
String	S	a sequence of Characters
MultilineString	M	a sequence of Characters and line-breaks, where a line break is an ASCII CR (code 13) followed immediately by an ASCII LF (code 10)
Enumeration	(not applicable)	an explicit list of legal values set forth in set notation, e.g. {A, B, C, D}, or defined in a table
Location	L	a sequence of characters representing a latitude or longitude in XDDD MM.MMM format, where X is a directional Character from the set {E, W, N, S} DDD is a 3-Digit degrees specifier, where 0 <= DDD <= 180 [use leading zeroes] MM.MMM is a 6-Digit minutes specifier, where 0 <= MM.MMM <= 59.999 [use leading zeroes]

Fields

Name	Data Type	Enumeration	Header Only	Description
ADDRESS	MultilineString			the contacted station's mailing address
ADIF_VER	String		yes	identifies the version of the ADIF used in this file
AGE	Number			the contacted station's operator's age in years
A_INDEX	Number			the geomagnetic A index at the time of the QSO
ANT_AZ	Number			the logging station's antenna azimuth, in degrees
ANT_EL	Number			the logging station's antenna elevation, in degrees
ANT_PATH	Enumeration	Ant Path		the signal path
ARRL_SECT	Enumeration	ARRL Section		the contacted station's ARRL section
BAND	Enumeration	Band		QSO Band
BAND_RX	Enumeration	Band		in a split frequency QSO, the logging station's receiving band
CALL	String			the contacted station's Callsign
CHECK	String			contest check (e.g. for ARRL Sweepstakes)
CLASS	String			contest class (e.g. for ARRL Field Day)
CNTY	Enumeration	function of STATE		the contacted station's Secondary Administrative Subdivision of contacted station (e.g. US county, JA Gun), in the specified format
COMMENT	String			comment field for QSO
CONT	Enumeration	{NA, SA, EU, AF, OC, AS, AN}		the contacted station's Continent
CONTACTED_OP	String			the callsign of the individual operating the contacted station
CONTEST_ID	String	Contest ID		QSO Contest Identifier use enumeration values for interoperability
COUNTRY	Enumeration	Country		the contacted station's DXCC entity name
CQZ	Number			the contacted station's CQ Zone
DISTANCE	Number			the distance between the logging station and the contacted station in kilometers
DXCC	Number			the contacted station's Country Code
EMAIL	String			the contacted station's email address
EQ_CALL	String			the contacted station's owner's callsign
FORCE_INIT	Boolean			new EME "initial"
FREQ	Number			QSO frequency in Megahertz
FREQ_RX	Number			in a split frequency QSO, the logging station's receiving frequency in Megahertz
GRIDSQUARE	String			the contacted station's Maidenhead Grid Square
GUEST_OP	String			deprecated: use OPERATOR instead
IOTA	String			the contacted station's IOTA designator, in format CC-XXX, where CC is the continent designator {NA, SA, EU , AF, OC, AS, AN} XXX is the island designator, where 0 <= XXX ,<= 999 [use leading zeroes]
ITUZ	String			the contacted station's ITU zone
K_INDEX	Number			the geomagnetic K index at the time of the QSO
LAT	Location			the contacted station's latitude
LON	Location			the contacted station's longitude
MAX_BURSTS	Number			maximum length of meteor scatter bursts heard by the logging station, in seconds
MODE	Enumeration	Mode		QSO Mode
MS_SHOWER	String			For Meteor Scatter QSOs, the name of the meteor shower in progress
MY_CITY	String			the logging station's city
MY_CNTY	Enumeration	function of MY_STATE		the logging station's Secondary Administrative Subdivision (e.g. US county, JA Gun) , in the specified format
MY_COUNTRY	Enumeration	Country		the logging station's DXCC entity name
MY_CQ_ZONE	Number			the logging station's CQ Zone
MY_GRIDSQUARE	String			the logging station's Maidenhead Grid Square
MY_IOTA	String			the logging station's IOTA designator, in format CC-XXX, where CC is the continent designator {NA, SA, EU , AF, OC, AS, AN} XXX is the island designator, where 0 <= XXX ,<= 999 [use leading zeroes]
MY_ITU_ZONE	Number			the logging station's ITU zone
MY_LAT	Location			the logging station's latitude
MY_LON	Location			the logging station's longitude
MY_NAME	String			the logging operator's name
MY_POSTAL_CODE	String			the logging station's postal code
MY_RIG	String			description of the logging station's equipment
MY_SIG	String			special interest activity or event
MY_SIG_INFO	String			special interest activity or event information
MY_STATE	Enumeration	function of MY_COUNTRY		the code for the logging station's Primary Administrative Subdivision (e.g. US State, JA Island, VE Province)
MY_STREET	String			the logging station's street
NAME	String			the contacted station's operator's name
NOTES	MultilineString			QSO notes
NR_BURSTS	Number			the number of meteor scatter bursts heard by the logging station
NR_PINGS	Number			the number of meteor scatter pings heard by the logging station
OPERATOR	String			the logging operator's callsign if STATION_CALLSIGN is absent, OPERATOR shall be treated as both the logging station's callsign and the logging operator's callsign
OWNER_CALLSIGN	String			the callsign of the owner of the station used to log the contact (the callsign of the OPERATOR's host) if OWNER_CALLSIGN is absent, STATION_CALLSIGN shall be treated as both the logging station's callsign and the callsign of the owner of the station
PFX	String			the contacted station's WPX prefix
PRECEDENCE	String			contest precedence (e.g. for ARRL Sweepstakes)
PROGRAMID	String		yes	identifies the name of the logger, converter, or utility that created or processed this ADIF file
PROGRAMVERSION	String		yes	identifies the version of the logger, converter, or utility that created or processed this ADIF file
PROP_MODE	Enumeration	Propagation		QSO propagation mode
PUBLIC_KEY	String			public encryption key
QSLMSG	MultilineString			QSL card message
QSLRDATE	Date			QSL received date
QSLSDATE	Date			QSL sent date
QSL_RCVD	Enumeration	{Y, N, R, I}		QSL received status Y - yes N - no R - requested I - ignore or invalid
QSL_RCVD_VIA	Enumeration	{B, D, E}		means by which the QSL was received by the logging station B - bureau D - direct E - electronic
QSL_SENT	Enumeration	{Y, N, R, Q, I}		QSL sent status Y - yes N - no R - requested Q - queued I - ignore or invalid
QSL_SENT_VIA	Enumeration	{B, D, E}		means by which the QSL was sent by the logging station B - bureau D - direct E - electronic
QSL_VIA	String			the contacted station's QSL route
QSO_COMPLETE	Enumeration	{Y, N, NIL, ?}		indicates whether the QSO was complete from the perspective of the logging station Y - yes N - no NIL - not heard ? - uncertain
QSO_DATE	Date			QSO date
QSO_RANDOM	Boolean			indicates whether the QSO was random or scheduled
QTH	String			the contacted station's city
RIG	MultilineString			description of the contacted station's equipment
RST_RCVD	String			signal report from the contacted station
RST_SENT	String			signal report sent to the contacted station
RX_PWR	Number			the contacted station's transmitter power in watts
SAT_MODE	Enumeration			satellite mode
SAT_NAME	String			name of satellite
SFI	Number			the solar flux at the time of the QSO
SIG	String			the name of the contacted station's special activity or interest group
SIG_INFO	String			information associated with the contacted station's activity or interest group
SRX	Number			contest QSO received serial number
SRX_STRING	String			contest QSO received information use Cabrillo format to convey contest information for which ADIF fields are not specified in the event of a conflict between information in a dedicated contest field and this field, information in the dedicated contest field shall prevail
STATE	Enumeration	function of Country Code		the code for the contacted station's Primary Administrative Subdivision (e.g. US State, JA Island, VE Province)
STATION_CALLSIGN	String			the logging station's callsign (the callsign used over the air) if STATION_CALLSIGN is absent, OPERATOR shall be treated as both the logging station's callsign and the logging operator's callsign
STX	Number			contest QSO transmitted serial number
STX_STRING	String			contest QSO transmitted information use Cabrillo format to convey contest information for which ADIF fields are not specified in the event of a conflict between information in a dedicated contest field and this field, information in the dedicated contest field shall prevail
SWL	Boolean			indicates that the QSO information pertains to an SWL report
TEN_TEN	Number			Ten-Ten number
TIME_OFF	Time			HHMM or HHMMSS in UTC
TIME_ON	Time			HHMM or HHMMSS in UTC
TX_PWR	Number			the logging station's power in watts
VE_PROV	String			deprecated; use State instead
WEB	String			the contacted station's URL

Application-defined Fields

Applications may define their own fields. To avoid naming collisions, such fields must be named using the format

where {PROGRAMID} is replaced by the string used in the PROGRAMID field. An application whose PROGRAMID string is MONOLOG could thus define the field APP_MONOLOG_BIRTHDAY .

if it wished to capture the contacted operator's birthday. To facilitate importing, display, and editing by other applications, instances of application-defined fields should include the optional data type indicator, as in

Enumerations

All Enumerations

[WA5ZNU PROPOSAL] All enumerations are available as a single XML file, for access by logging programs. They are also available as individual files in XML and CSV format.

Abbreviation	Meaning
G	grayline
O	other
S	short path
L	long path

ADIF

Table of Contents

Physical Specifications

Data Types

Fields

Application-defined Fields

Enumerations

All Enumerations

Ant Path Enumeration

ARRL Section Enumeration

Band Enumeration

Contest ID

Mode Enumeration

Propagation Mode Enumeration

Primary Administrative Subdivisions

Secondary Administrative Subdivisions

Country Codes and Names