20 March 2005

PVRC Contest Seminar

Contest Logging Software

Mark Bailey

KD4D

20 March 2005

My Biases...

• I’m an HF Contester– My experience is with CW and SSB– I don’t have any RTTY or VHF Contest

experience

• I use TR-Log for my single-operator contests– I also use CT and Writelog for multi-ops– I like TR, so I am biased

20 March 2005

Some of the available programs…

CT by K1EA

N3FJP

NA by K8CC

Win-EQF

20 March 2005

Why use logging software?

• Have more fun!– See how we are doing during the contest

• Rate meters show how fast we are making contacts

• Programs calculate our score during the contest

– Make contacts with less work• Automatically generated CW• Voice keyers for CQ’s, callsigns, exchanges, etc.

– Prepare logs for submission in a few minutes

20 March 2005

Why use logging software?

• Increase our scores– Automation gives us a bit of free time for

strategy or a second radio– Computer logging tells us whether we need a

multiplier or QSO on other bands– Submitting a log is easy…so we enter more

contests and PVRC gets more points!

20 March 2005

What does the software do?

• “Super Check Partial”• Last 10/Last 100 Rates• Multipliers/QSO’s needed by band• Transceiver Interface• Packet Interface• SSB Voice Keyer• CW Keying• SO2R Switching• Multi-operator networking

20 March 2005

Integration with the station

• Transceiver Control– Modern transceivers use “Serial Ports” to interface

with computers– Windows computers can use USB to serial converters

to provide more serial ports– DOS desktop computers can use PCI interfaces from

www.byterunner.com with DOS drivers– DOS computers use serial ports for TNC’s or packet

interfaces– Some programs can use serial ports for CW keying –

N1NM uses an external box called a “WinKey” which uses a serial port

20 March 2005

Integration with the station

• Parallel Ports– CW Keying – requires relay or transistor

interface– DVK (Digital Voice Keyer) control– PTT (Push-To-Talk) – requires relay or

transistor interface– CW paddle input– Band decoder outputs– Radio 1/Radio 2 select – requires external

SO2R switching

20 March 2005

Integration with the station

• Soundcards– Primarily useful for Windows these days– SSB and digital modes– Require isolation transformer to interface to Radio

inputs

• USB ports– Some SO2R and station controllers are going to USB

interfaces

• Note: some new computers no longer have “Legacy” serial and parallel ports

20 March 2005

What Packages do PVRC Members Use?

• I conducted an informal poll of PVRC members on the PVRC reflector– I asked about what logging program(s) people

use and what they liked or disliked about the programs

• I decided to do a quick overview of the top four– CT, N1MM, TR-Log, and Writelog– NA and N3FJP were tied for fifth place

20 March 2005

CT

20 March 2005

CT

• Best Features– “Point and Shoot” packet Window – K3DI– Good support for Multi-Multi – N3OC– CT is simple and always works – K4FJ– Free!

• Worst Features– DOS Program – everybody– Problems initializing LPT ports for some DVK’s –

KD4D– Very limited sound card support for SSB – KD4D

20 March 2005

N1MM

20 March 2005

N1MM

• Best Features– Great Band Maps – W3PP– Outstanding developer support and the most active e-

mail reflector – numerous– Ease of exporting contest logs – numerous– Soundcard support for SSB voice keyer– Free!

• Worst Features– CW can be choppy – W3PP (Note: solved with

external “WinKey” keyer– Can’t record SSB messages “on the fly”

20 March 2005

TR-Log

20 March 2005

TR-Log

• Best Features– Fast and intuitive SO2R Capabilities – K4QPL– Everything goes in one window and you can type in a callsign

correction without changing fields – K4QPL– Separate run and S&P Modes – W3CB– Exchange info can be “jumbled” and is entered in a single field -

N8II• WPA 36 Q 735 A 234 STX 76 B becomes 234 B K5RAT 76 STX

• Worst Features– DOS only – Everybody– Can only edit the last five QSO’s – K4QPL– No ethernet networking of computers – KD4D– Very limited sound card support for SSB – KD4D

20 March 2005

Writelog

20 March 2005

Writelog

• Best Features– Fully integrated logs in a multi transmitter environment

(synchronizing multiple computers) – N4GG– Very nice CW and voice keyer – W3YY– It does not crash – N3UM– Built-in CW and RTTY Decoders – W3DQ

• Worst Features– Some windows can’t be moved everywhere on the screen –

N3AM– Setup difficult until one goes through the learning curve – W3YY– Windows XP keying may be an issue – W4KAZ and others

20 March 2005

DOS or Windows?

• Windows is clearly easier to deal with• DOS vs. Windows

– New computers will run DOS, but configuration is painful

• Limited sound card support – laptops are especially problematic

• No support for USB to serial port converters• Limited ethernet networking support – DOS drivers are hard

to find• FreeDOS works well and is available free from

www.freedos.org

• All of my computers are set up to dual-boot Windows XP or DOS, but this is tricky to set up

20 March 2005

PVRC Statistics

0 5 10 15 20 25

Number of Users

Writelog

N1MM

TR

CT

NA

N3FJP

Win-EQF

VHF Logger

KMRover

Pac

kag

e

PVRC Contest Logging Survey

Series1

20 March 2005

“Free Advice”

• Remember, free advice is worth what you pay for it! – If you are just starting out, try N1MM. It’s free, has very active

support, and lots of features. You need a fast computer and may need to buy a “WinKey”

– If you are just starting out or have old, slow computers or a good bit of DOS experience, try CT. It’s free, and lots of people know how to use it

– If you love Linux, try TLF

• If you want the ultimate in SO2R CW programs, try TR-Log

• If you’re setting up a multi-op station, you probably don’t need my advice! :-) Consider CT or Writelog

20 March 2005

More “Free Advice”

• Allow some time before the contest to configure a program and learn how to use it– CW and SSB keying interfaces– Transceiver control– Packet interfaces

• http://www.eham.net/reviews - Ham Software - Logging has links and reviews of most of these packages

• Remember: Have fun and submit those scores for PVRC!

20 March 2005

For more information

• www.k1ea.com (CT)• www.writelog.com• www.n1mm.com• www.trlog.com• www.k1ea.com/cty (CTY Country Files)• www.k5zd.com/scp (Super Check Partial Files)• www.contesting.com – TRLog, CT, and Writelog

e-mail reflector archives• www.n1mm.com – Select “Yahoo Discussion

Group” (e-mail reflector archives)