with logbook software. I guess everyone has quirks and idiosyncrasies. Mine is that I like to explore and play around with logging software, as I have indicated on previous posts of this blog. Currently, I am playing around with Ham Radio Deluxe. It is a very nice program and it is free!
Currently I have three logging programs on my computer(s). Win-EQF, which I had used since 1992, but stopped using last November. It is a very nice, user friendly program that is very intuitive and easy to use. However, it is not a true Windows program. It still has that UNIX look that is just plain "old" looking. Granted, it did everything I wanted it to do; but it just got old.
Second is AC Log by N3FJP. I have been using this since last year. It is also a very nice and extremely popular program. It is easy to use and has a nice Windows Excel feel to it. It has just about all the basic features that you could want - logging, DX Cluster, export to LOTW, etc. There are a few bells and whistles that I could think of adding; but alas, I am not a software engineer. My familiarity with code is of the Morse kind.
Third is HRD. I have installed it on all three computers - main family computer, netbook and shack laptop. It seems to work well on all three, even the shack laptop that is cranky and uses Windows 2000. HRD seems to have all the bells and whistles you could ever want. Logbook, DX Cluster, Web browser, grayline map, etc, etc, etc - all available in the main screen. I have not played around with it long enough to be comfortably familiar with it; but it does appear to be a superbly written piece of software for the right price. To take advantage of all the features, you really need to have Internet access in your shack. That is something that I did not have until last November, when we hooked up to Verizon FiOS. Now the wireless router allows me to hook up to the Internet from my basement shack with ease.
For the time being, I will probably keep my log going on both AC Log and HRD until I figure out which I will keep for the long run. I will probably take a big leap and delete Win-EQF from the computers.
On a side note, I see the SSN has been up lately and that solar flux has been creeping up again to the mid 70s. Conditions are improving slowly. It looks like I may be able to get some radio time in over the upcoming Independence Day weekend. I hope we don't run into any geo-magnetic disturbances!
72 de Larry W2LJ
Larry,
ReplyDeleteWith respect - Win-EQF never had its roots in any UNIX environment. It's indeed a rare breed - a Win32 console application. It's definitely a Windows program - but without the Windows GUI. Old-fashioned as hamradio itself, yet efficient.
73