As Rick said, there’s no single program that is “best “ for everything and everyone. But there are some excellent choices out there, and many are free or very low cost, so experimentation is probably the best teacher. Like you said, some have tons of features that you may not have even dreamed of. You may find that some of those features are indispensable once you have tried them, and others are useless to you.
If you enjoy writing and maintaining code, more power to you! Playing with some of the free software might still be worthwhile just for the inspiration. On the other hand, if you're tired of rolling your own, you can probably find something that meets your needs and then some. I've found that different situations (e.g. DXing vs Contesting) call for different tools, so I use more than one, but that's a personal choice. Here's some logging software features that are important to me...they may not be important to you... #1) must allow me to record all of the information I care to log, and not force me to record stuff that I don't #2) must automatically capture any information from #1 that is provided by the radio or other peripherals (e.g. time, data, frequency, mode, callbook lookups, etc.) without me having to manually enter it 3#) must support import/export of data in standard formats 4#) must support reporting of things I'm interested in knowing from my log (canned reports and/or database queries) 5#) must be in active development and support (e.g., to support new contests, changes to DX entity lists, bug fixes) Some very nice to have items (bordering on essential for me): #6) integration with Logbook of the World #7) integration with DX spotting networks #8) integration with digital modes (e.g. software for RTTY, PSK, MSK, etc.) Other useful features: #9) integration to control antenna rotators #10) customizable colors, fonts, etc. #11) free or low cost I choose the software that works best for me, and then get the platform that supports it (Windows in my case). Others may value a specific platform (Mac/Win/Linux) more highly and look for software that can run on it. To each his own. I’ve settled on DXLab DXKeeper for general use and DXing, and a separate contest-focused logger for contesting (usually N1MM, but I occasionally use others specifically written for certain contests). I export ADIF files from the others after each contest and import them to DXKeeper as my “master log”. I've also found the N3FJP loggers to be a good value for the money. I've dabbled with others as well on Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS - they all have their advantages. Good luck in your quest ! On Mon, Jun 28, 2021 at 5:08 PM kevinr <kev...@coho.net> wrote: > Hi Jerry, > > Good luck with extending your own user interface. I am sure there > are contest logs listed somewhere on the web. Not only would you get a > list of CW ops who contest, you could also grab their details to fill in > more fields. Then scan that list with the partial call you copied. > Even brute force search algorithms would be fine. > > As far as slicing and dicing data Perl, awk, and sed can do wonders > with extracting, and formatting individual fields. Plus they are > already available on your OS. A two line script with any of them can do > what you want. > > The killer app for contesters seems to be N1MM. I think you will > have more fun writing your own since you know exactly what you need and > what you like. Building your own app should not be shamed. > > GL & 73, > > Kevin. KD5ONS > > > On 6/28/21 2:54 PM, jerry wrote: > > So what's the hot ticket nowadays on logging software? > > > > I rolled my own, but it's > > quite primitive. It runs on my Linux server and I access it via a web > > browser. It gives me a pair of clocks at the top - local and UTC. At > > the bottom, there's a big text window for copying code. In between - > > the list of contacts, plus a form for entering a new one. The current > > UTC timestamp is automatically put in. The latest contact has a > > button for ending it - and putting in the "end" UTC timestamp. > > > > It was easy to do that, because I already wrote substantial software > > in support of my business, and the infrastructure was all there - > > webserver, SSL, libraries for linking multiple pages, templates etc etc. > > > > I'm sure that other people have written logging software with > > features I can barely imagine. > > > > Right now, I'm thinking of having it automatically nominate text in > > the CW copy window for new contacts...."anything that looks like a > > callsign". > > > > Also need something to slice & dice the logbook data for contest > > reports. > > > > - Jerry KF6VB > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On 2021-06-28 14:16, Michael Walker wrote: > >> I agree with Jim on this one. :) > >> > >> Mike va3mw > >> > >> > >> On Mon, Jun 28, 2021 at 4:55 AM Jim Brown <j...@audiosystemsgroup.com> > >> wrote: > >> > >>> Yes, he SHOULD throw it away and learn modern logging software. Among > >>> other things, that modern software can easily link computers from > >>> multiple stations in a club setup. That's important, because each > >>> station can see the other's log. We work QRP battery with a single K3, > >>> and are often weak at the other end of the QSO. When logging computers > >>> are linked, each station sees the QSOs we've already had on 20 (easier > >>> copy) when we work them on 40, 80, and 15, so it's rare for them to > >>> need > >>> a fill if they are networked. > >>> > >>> It was disappointing to see that so many hams fail to continue their > >>> ongoing education by learning new stuff, like modern logging software. > >>> I'll be 80 in the fall, a ham since age 15, BSEE in 1964, and I still > >>> try to learn new stuff every day. BTW - I do LOTS of FT8 and MSK144 on > >>> 6M and FT8 on 160M, our QRP CW operation was all CW. W6JTI and I made a > >>> combined 680 QSOs. I've been using K1JT's digital modes for more than > >>> ten years. So have a bunch of OTs I know. And when I was taking a break > >>> from CW, I worked FT8 on 6M (along with K6EU, our primary VHF op) to > >>> pass out our rare grid (CM86). That VHF station ran high power and was > >>> not part of our QRP FD operation from a contesting point of view. Tom > >>> and I were simply lighting up our rare grid. > >>> > >>> 73, Jim K9YC > >>> > >>> On 6/28/2021 1:34 AM, David Wilcox via Elecraft wrote: > >>> > One of the hams running our CW tent used his old favorite logging > >>> program and brought along an old DOS computer to run it……. I can’t > >>> remember > >>> the name of the program but it worked well and he racked up a good > >>> score. > >>> Everyone was shocked to see the old big DOS computer sitting on the > >>> table. > >>> I guess one should never throw anything away that works and you are > >>> comfortable with it. > >>> > >>> ______________________________________________________________ > >>> Elecraft mailing list > >>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > >>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > >>> Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > >>> > >>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > >>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > >>> Message delivered to va...@portcredit.net > >> ______________________________________________________________ > >> Elecraft mailing list > >> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > >> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > >> Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > >> > >> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > >> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > >> Message delivered to je...@tr2.com > > ______________________________________________________________ > > Elecraft mailing list > > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > > Message delivered to kev...@coho.net > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to dave.w...@gmail.com ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
