Prefix Locator – by Eugene Morgan
Many times I’ve wanted to quickly look up a prefix and figure out where the
DXCC entity is located.  There are several places one could go to do this,
my favorite is QRZ DXAtlas (see: https://www.qrz.com/atlas)  or one could
consult the ARRL DXCC paper list.  But I wanted something even simpler, that
didn’t take up a lot of screen real estate and that did not require a
connection to the internet, so I came up with this simple little utility.

Installation: If you have followed the typical process you downloaded the zip
file to the download directory and unzipped it there.  There are three files in
the zip:  PrefixLocator.exe, prefix.txt and this read me file.  FYI:  The
program uses the ARRL 2020 DXCC list so the data should be fairly accurate.
As the list changes I will update the Prefix.txt file.  The data file is a
simple text file that can easily be updated using a text editor such as
NotePad.  DO NOT attempt to modify the file using a word processor.

To install the program simply copy the PrefixLocator.exe and prefix.txt to any
folder.  I recommend perhaps making a folder in your documents directory
and then copy the files there.  Once you have copied the files you can create
a shortcut on your desktop for the PrefixLocator.exe file.  You can do this by
dragging the EXE file to the desktop and when prompted select, "Create
Shortcut Here".

When executing the program for the first time if you experience a blue screen 
warning from Windows Microsoft Defender don't worry. Just click on the "More 
info" link then click on the "Run anyway" link. This only occurs the very
first time the program is launched.    

After you launch the program you can change the amount screen space it takes
up.  The program is designed to run in a 60X20 DOS window.  To change the
programs screen size after launching the program right click on small icon in
the top left corner of the window and select "Properties".  Then click on the
"Layout" tab and then set the width to 60 and the height to 20. Then click OK.
  
Once you launch the program just type in a prefix and it will return a list of
possible DXCC entities that are associated with that prefix.  In some cases
there may be only one DXCC entity and in other cases several.  If the prefix
list ends with three periods it means ther were too many prefixies to list for
that country.  I recommend when entering a prefix type in at least 3
characters.  If the program can’t find a given prefix it will drop the last
character and do another search.  It will keep doing that until there is only
one character left.

It’s a pretty simple program meant to be simple and fast with no internet
connectivity required so it can go mobile.  It runs in a small DOS window
(60X20) so it shouldn’t take up a lot of space on your desktop.  I hope you
find this simple little utility useful.  If you have any questions drop me an
email or give me a call on the 448.600 repeater.

73,

Gene (WB7RLX) 
