Getting there

As opposed to probably a majority of you, I am SO far behind the times from a technological point of view.  I still do a majority of my logging with paper and pencil before I manually enter the information to my logging software.

When it comes to QRP Sprints or the Fox Hunts, most of my compatriots use N1MM or some such program.  Again, I still use paper and pencil. I feel that I am lucky to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. Operating a radio and trying to computer log simultaneously during a Sprint or a Hunt used to send shivers up and down my spine.

But I am getting better.  As long as I am not furiously trying to keep up with a pileup of QSOs in the midst of a frenzy during a Sprint or a Hunt, I have trained myself to log and operate at the same time (See? You CAN teach old dogs new tricks!). I recently purchased a small keyboard for my Nexus 7, so that I can log during casual portable ops without the need for pencil and paper. It cost me all of 8 smackers on eBay.

That's Ham Log that I keep on there, which in and of itself is a great piece of logging software for Android. The problem was that it's always been a pain in the butt to use the Nexus touchpad keyboard, which caused me to "one-finger" type, and slowed me down, holding me back.  So for the longest time, I was doing the same thing - logging on paper and entering the data later, at my leisure (which makes no sense). This "tactile feel" keyboard brings a lot of familiarity and works a whole lot better for me, and now I am actually able to use the Nexus 7 for logging in real time (sometimes).  I know that it's pathetic, but while I am able to use this setup for general QSOing, the melee of contests or Fox Hunts drives me back to the security of "old technology".

I guess the next step will be to install the KX3 Companion app.  Boy, that will be like Star Trek for me!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!