CQ-TV 251 and launch of BATC wiki

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g8gtz
Posts: 1733
Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:26 pm

CQ-TV 251 and launch of BATC wiki

Post by g8gtz » Tue Apr 05, 2016 8:02 am

Apologies but due to unforeseen circumstances the publication of CQ-TV 251 has been delayed. It should be available in a few days and we're sure it will be worth the wait :-)

In the mean time as part of the redevelopment of BATC web services we have launched the BATC wiki. https://wiki.batc.tv/Main_Page

What is a wiki?
– Think of it as our reference library where we can all put documents and information we think others may be interested in – so if someone asks you by email or on the BATC forum “have you got a circuit for xyz then, as long as there is no copyright issue, you put it in to the reference library or wiki.

The advantage is that the wiki, unlike your email or forum messages, is designed to hold information and make it accessible – and every time someone puts something new up there, the knowledge base just grows.

What’s on the Wiki – Well that is up to you! It is primarily designed to store pictures and documents (pdfs) of interest to the ATV community but we will also be using as the place to find software from CQ-TV projects and also back issues of CQ-TV.

Got a scan of a rare equipment manual that others may be interested in, want to start a reference library for all articles on RB-TV or found a load of interesting web links for ATVers – just start a new topic and put it on the wiki....

As well as information of interest to the whole ATV community, we will use the wiki to put BATC specific information such as instructions on how to rest your password, how to stream to batc.tv, how to renew your membership etc and how to use the shop.

So when you email us for information on “how to....”, we will send you the appropriate wiki link and if you find the information is not correct, you can change it so it works correctly for the next person!

We are also looking to use it to generate and publish an interactive index for articles in all back issues of CQ-TV. You’ll see we’ve made a start, but if you have a spare 10 minutes and an old paper or soft copy of an edition which is not already in there, you can just log in and start adding it.

Who can access it? Anyone can use the wiki, you don’t have to be a BATC member to read the articles and download the information but we are limiting the ability to edit the content and upload new information to BATC members.

This is your site - any information which you feel is of use to others can be put on the Wiki but please observe any copyright restrictions on your material you use.

Does it replace the forum / website? - No, the forum is the place to discuss things and the website is the first landing place for new comers and is used for official information such as the constitution. If the Wiki is the library, then the forum is the coffee shop and the website is the shop window!

The forum / wiki and web site will all work together - it is fine to load content on the Wiki and then post a link and discuss it on the forum – and maybe it will save hours of trawling posts to see which is the latest version of that circuit you’re trying to build!

So what now? - The BATC wiki is live at https://wiki.batc.tv/Main_Page - go and have a look around and you’ll see there’s already some information in there which you can read and download. Next, create yourself an account and start adding content but please take care!

Choosing a user name - The wiki is on the new BATC server system and in the future we will be looking to implement an LDAP authentication server to give you a common log in across all the BATC platforms. However, we did not want to delay releasing the wiki until that was ready and so to make the future change-over as painless as possible, you will need to have a common user name for every platform on the new server as we release them.

We suggest you create a user name using your call sign in UPPER CASE and your first name and call sign in the real name field. (If you are not licensed then use your first name as user and first and second name in the real name field)

Editing and adding content – Once you have logged in you can still view as normal but you will see the pages look slightly different in that there is an edit button against everything. Either click on edit to change something already there or if there is no content in a category when you click on the link, you will see the “create” screen and you can start to add content.

The BATC wiki is based on the Mediawiki application and many of you may have already used it on other sites – if not, there is full documentation at https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Contents

Don’t worry if you mess something up – it’s not permanently broken and you’ll be able to back in to the item and change it or as this is an ATV community resource someone else can come along and correct your mistakes!

It’s your wiki
- The way the wiki works and how successful it will be is entirely dependent on YOU! Everything on it is user generated so if you see something is missing, don't wait to be asked, take the initiative and add it! Hopefully between we can grow it in to an invaluable resource for the whole ATV community and we’ll wonder whatever we did without it!

M0LDZ
Posts: 73
Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2015 12:59 pm

Re: CQ-TV 251 and launch of BATC wiki

Post by M0LDZ » Tue Apr 12, 2016 8:34 pm

Thanks Noel

A great idea, and I've made a first few stumbling attempts at using the new Wiki already :)

I hope everyone embraces this; it should make finding information a lot easier.

73

Laurence M0LDZ

G8GKQ
Site Admin
Posts: 2798
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:21 pm

BATC wiki

Post by G8GKQ » Wed Aug 24, 2016 9:38 am

The BATC Wiki is once again open for new registrations and is awaiting your contributions https://wiki.batc.tv/BATC_Wiki

Unfortunately a security upgrade had broken the new registrations process and nobody had told us that they had a problem :-(

73

Dave
G8GKQ

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