Station desk guide
How to repair an ADIF file on a Mac
An ADIF file is structured data, even though it looks like plain text. A safe repair respects declared field lengths and record markers before changing any values.
Start with a copy and identify the source
Keep the original export from your logger unchanged. Record which logger and version produced it, because application-specific fields may be valid even when another tool does not recognize them.
Parse declared field lengths
In a field such as <CALL:5>K2ABC, the number describes how much data belongs to the value. Searching for the next angle bracket can corrupt values that include spaces or unusual characters.
Separate syntax errors from data errors
A truncated field is a file-structure problem. An impossible QSO_DATE or missing TIME_ON is a record-data problem. Report both, but do not guess replacement values.
Export a new ADIF and an issue report
Preserve unknown fields, write explicit ADIF and program versions in the header and keep a CSV or JSON report of records that still require operator review.