Overview
Creating and customising maps is a specialist task, best suited to GIS professionals with the right software and some years of experience and training. But now there is a simple alternative. The County-Hunting Mapper is a unique program for the Radio Amateur community, that lets the user produce a variety of colorful maps in a range of types and sizes. No prior mapping knowledge or skills are required. These maps can be filled in a variety of ways to let a ham operator construct exportable maps of reference, or as a record of his or her operating achievements.

Map Types
The following is a list of the different types of maps that can be produced:

1. Continental maps of US States.
2. Continental maps of ARRL and RAC Sections.
3. Continental maps of US Counties.
4. Continental maps of US States with all US Counties.
5. Continental maps of ARRL and RAC Sections with all US Counties.
6. Continental maps of US States with US Counties for one State.
7. Continental maps of ARRL and RAC Sections with US Counties for one Section.
8. Maps of a single isolated US State with Counties for that State.
9. Maps of Counties grouped in a 'Joint Region': combined State QSO Parties, ARRL Divisions, Call-Regions, and others.
10. Maps of Counties grouped in a 'Special Region': Alaska Boroughs, Hawaii QSO Party Regions.

Map Static Fills
The following is a list of the different types of static map-fills that can be produced. All colors are user-definable:

1. Outline Map, with no map-fill.
2. Single color map-fill.
3. Six color map-fill.
4. Unique color map-fill.

Map Active Fills
Once the maps have been produced, selected entities can be filled with a unique color in the following ways:

1. Auto-selection of a State, Section, or County from a list of States.
2. Checkbox selection of a State, Section, County or Grid Locator from a table.
3. Auto-selection of a State, Section, County or Grid Locator from a received UDP QSO.
4. Auto-selection of a State, Section, County or Grid Locator from all QSOs in a log.
5. Hand-selection of a State, Section, County or Grid Locator from a table-entry.

Search
The 'Search' facilty provides a range of methods to search for Counties within the internal database. You can search for County Names, County Codes, or County FIPS values, using the full text, or a part-segment of it, using a variety of Search options. Results are returned in the 'Tables' tab-page, where you can right-click a line for further actions, including map-plotting, or click the column headers to sort the rows.
You can also center the map to a specified latitude/longitude position. When a map is centered, any county under the center-point will be identified.

External Logger Feed
In 'External Logger Mode', an outline map of Counties, States, Sections, or Grid Locators is filled automatically by QSOs sent via UDP from an external logging program, such as the N1MM Logger. This is a very exciting and unique facility. Imagine a large screen monitor at a public event, showing a map of worked entities that any visitor can understand.
To demonstrate or test the working of the 'External Logger Mode', two tools are provided: a Contest Simulator and a UDP Monitor. Both are independant from the main program. The Contest Simulator can generate QSOs for a range of contests, such as State QSO Parties, Sweepstakes, and VHF Grid Locator contests. The QSOs are identical to those sent by the N1MM Logger. The UDP Monitor can be used to watch the output from your logger, to check the data that it is sending. It will also monitor the Contest Simulator.

Contest Mode
In 'Contest Mode', you can show an outline map of States, Sections, or Counties, in your choice of Scale and Colors, and then click a checkbox to fill a region with a different color from its unselected neighbors. This is a simple way to create your own personalized maps of States, Sections, or Counties that you have contacted. You can also create maps that differentiate between entities worked on, say, different bands, or modes, or confirmed QSOs, or anything else you like.

Logs
The program can import amateur radio logs in either the ADIF or Cabrillo format. The log format is recognised automatically, and the log is then parsed to identify the States, Sections, Counties, and Grid Locators for each QSO, as well as the other standard QSO values. Unique values for each QSO entity are calculated and displayed, separated by band. Logs can be sorted by any column-value. Logs can then have these values plotted on the map. Logs can also be merged or edited in different ways, with new values checked for validity. Logs can be exported in CSV or ADIF format.

Databases
The program uses a number of different databases, that are used to provide mapping and tabular data in a variety of types. Data is displayed in vector and tabular format. Tables can be sorted by any column-value, and can be exported in CSV format after sorting.

Plot Facilities
The program can import a file of GPX Tracks or Waypoints that are then plotted on the map. These can then be compared with any of the vector entities, or against the roads, railroads, water or urban features of the online map.

Export Facilities
The program has a variety of export facilities:

1. Export a Vector or Online Map in a number of different image formats: jpg, gif, bmp, png, or tif.
2. Export any of the Data Tables to a CSV file.
3. Export a single line from any of the Data Tables to the clipboard.
4. Export the Main or Auxiliary Logs to a CSV file.
5. Export the Main or Auxiliary Logs in ADIF format.