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116 changes: 116 additions & 0 deletions CONTACT_ENHANCEMENTS.md
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# Contact Page Enhancements

This document describes the enhancements made to the new-contact page (`src/app/new-contact/page.tsx`) to improve the user experience for amateur radio operators.

## Enhancements Implemented

### 1. Real-time Form Validation

Added comprehensive validation with visual feedback for critical fields:

- **Callsign Validation**: Validates amateur radio callsign format using regex pattern `^[A-Z0-9]{1,3}[0-9][A-Z0-9]{0,3}[A-Z]$`
- **Grid Locator Validation**: Validates Maidenhead grid locator format (4 or 6 character format)
- **Frequency Validation**:
- Checks frequency range (0.1 to 300000 MHz)
- Validates that frequency is within amateur radio bands
- Provides clear error messages for out-of-band frequencies

**Visual Feedback**: Invalid fields show red borders and error messages with alert icons.

### 2. Mode-Specific RST Auto-Adjustment

Automatically sets appropriate RST values based on the selected mode:

- **CW Mode**: Sets RST to "599" (standard CW report)
- **Voice Modes** (SSB, FM, AM): Sets RST to "59" (standard voice report)
- **Digital Modes** (FT8, FT4, PSK31, etc.): Sets RST to "-10" (signal-to-noise ratio)

This follows amateur radio best practices and reduces manual input errors.

### 3. Enhanced Form Organization

Improved visual organization with logical field grouping:

- **Contact Information**: Callsign, frequency, mode, band
- **Date & Time**: DateTime field with live logging functionality
- **Signal Reports**: RST sent/received with mode-specific hints
- **Station Information**: Name, QTH, grid locator

Each section has clear headers with visual separators for better readability.

### 4. Keyboard Shortcuts

Added keyboard shortcuts for efficient logging:

- **Ctrl+Enter**: Save contact (quick submit)
- **Ctrl+L**: Focus callsign field (quick start new contact)
- **Ctrl+Q**: Trigger QRZ lookup (quick callsign lookup)

These shortcuts are displayed in a help section at the bottom of the form.

### 5. Enhanced Error Handling

Improved error handling and user feedback:

- Real-time validation prevents submission of invalid data
- Clear error messages with specific guidance
- Visual indicators for validation state
- Prevention of form submission with validation errors

### 6. Accessibility Improvements

- Better ARIA labeling for screen readers
- Clear visual hierarchy with proper heading structure
- Keyboard navigation support
- High contrast error indicators
- Responsive design for mobile amateur radio logging

## Technical Implementation

### Validation Functions

```typescript
const validateCallsign = (callsign: string): string | null
const validateGridLocator = (grid: string): string | null
const validateFrequency = (frequency: string): string | null
```

### Real-time Validation

Validation occurs on field change using the `validateField` function, updating the `validationErrors` state for immediate feedback.

### Mode-Specific Logic

The `handleSelectChange` function includes logic to automatically adjust RST values when the mode changes, following amateur radio conventions.

### Keyboard Shortcuts

Implemented using a global `keydown` event listener that handles key combinations and focuses appropriate form elements.

## Testing

### Automated Tests

- All existing contact management tests pass
- New enhancement-specific tests validate responsive design and code compilation
- Build process validates TypeScript compilation and linting

### Manual Testing

The enhanced contact page maintains full backward compatibility while adding new features. All existing functionality continues to work as expected.

## Benefits for Amateur Radio Operators

1. **Reduced Logging Errors**: Real-time validation prevents common amateur radio data entry mistakes
2. **Faster Logging**: Keyboard shortcuts and auto-fill features speed up contact entry
3. **Better Organization**: Logical field grouping matches typical amateur radio logging workflow
4. **Mobile-Friendly**: Enhanced responsive design supports field day and portable operations
5. **Standards Compliance**: Validation ensures data follows amateur radio conventions

## Future Enhancement Opportunities

- Contest logging fields (exchange, contest name)
- Duplicate contact detection and warnings
- Integration with propagation prediction data
- Quick logging templates for different operating modes
- Integration with real-time DX cluster data
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