Aether Help
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# Updating Aether's callsign prefix database

Aether includes a built in callsign prefix database, which is used for automatically determining country, DXCC entity, ITU zone and CQ zone when a callsign is entered. You can update and edit this database. To edit Aether's prefix database, follow the steps below. It is also possible to download and install a pre-made, up to date copy of the prefix database. To learn how to do so, see this page.

To edit Aether's callsign prefix database:

1. Download an up to date prefix file from the Country Files website at: http://www.country-files.com/cty/cty.csv (direct download link).
2. Open the file using an application such as Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers, other spreadsheet software, or a text editor.
3. Make changes to the file using the file format description at the bottom of this page as a guide.
4. Save the file, making sure it's named "cty.csv".
5. Copy the file to the folder /Library/Application Support/Aether or /Users/yourusername/Library/Application Support/Aether (where 'yourusername' is the username of your user account on your Mac).
6. Restart Aether to reload the prefix database file.

CTY.CSV File Format Description
The cty.csv file used by Aether is a simple comma separated values (CSV) file. It can be edited using any text editor or spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers. The columns are as follows in order from left to right (columns not currently used by Aether are marked with an asterisk *):

1. Main callsign prefix
2. Country
3. DXCC entity number
4. Continent code*
5. CQ Zone
6. ITU Zone
7. Latitude*
8. Longitude*
9. Time offset from GMT in hours*
10. Space separated list of additional callsign prefixes terminated with a semicolon (;)

Specific "exception" callsigns can be put in the additional prefix list by prefixing the callsign with an '='.

## See also

Updating Aether's callsign prefix database
Looking up the QRZ.com listing for a contact
Automatically determine country
Automatically determine DXCC code
Automatically determine ITU Zone
Automatically determine CQ Zone
Callbook Lookup Topics
Aether Preferences Topics