Hi Dale,
Welcome to WriteLog and the reflector! I think you'll find both to be a lot
of fun. Here are a few things to try in response to your questions.
Band Map - To change colors of the calls in the band map either click on
File in the upper left corner of the Band Map or right click in the Band Map
itself. Choose 'Select Colors...' and pick what works for you. I have my
dupes show in red. To enter a call (easily) in the Band Map go to the
writelog.ini file and find the [Entry] section. In this section add the
command 'MapCallOnSpace=1'. Save the ini file and restart WL. Now when you
enter a call in the Call field of the QSO entry window and hit Space to jump
to the next field, the call will be populated into the Band Map. I also use
a couple of other Band Map related commands. 'AutoFillFromBandmapHz=400'
will fill the Call field in the entry window from the Band Map frequency
when you tune to within 400 Hz. 'AutoClearOnTuneMinHz=200' clears the Call
field when you tune 200 Hz away from the Band Map frequency. Change the Hz
numbers to your preference. 'AutoSetToSplitFromBandMap=0' when set to a
non-zero value will cause WL to set the radio to the split frequency in the
Band Map as you tune it. Also, you can use the 'Edit sub-bands' utility in
the WriteLog program group to create or edit sub-bands to display in the
Band Map. Check out the WL help under INI File Options for more neat stuff.
QSO's Since Last Save - You can force WL to save after each contact, but
it's not necessary. In the [Configuration] section of the writelog.ini file
enter the command 'AutoSaveCount=X', where X is the number of QSO's between
saves. A value of -1 turns this feature off and then WL auto saves after
every 100 QSO's. As you've already discovered when you had to reboot WL it
recovered all the calls from the last save. It does this by keeping a
temporary log, a scratch log if you will, where all the calls between saves
to the main log are stored. When you force a save (Crtl+S) or the AutoSave
kicks in, this log is emptied into the main log. WL then starts another
scratch log of calls worked till the next Save. In this way WL always has
two logs going, the main contest log and the temporary scratch log that
holds the calls worked since the last Save. If Murphy comes calling WL
restores both these files so that the complete log is reassembled. I've
never lost a single call with WL!
It takes awhile to overcome the learning curve with WL, but there is a ton
of help available here on the reflector. Also check out Scot's excellent WL
site at http://k9jy.com/writelog/ for a great tutorial on setting up and
running the software. Good luck and have fun!
73,
Gary AL9A
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dale Martin" <kg5u@hal-pc.org>
To: <writelog@contesting.com>
Sent: February 17, 2008 4:46 PM
Subject: [WriteLog] First Contest with Writelog
>
> Greetings,
>
> I purchased WriteLog a couple of weeks ago. A week's hospital stay only
> let
> me read the manual. It wasn't until this past Friday that I got to load
> and
> setup Writelog for ARRL DX CW. Following are my impressions, comments,
> and
> wishes...to date...more to follow, I'm sure.
>
> Here's my setup:
> Two Ten-Tec Omni VI's. Paddles, CMOS Superkeyer, DXDoubler, homebrew SO2R
> controller for antennas and BPFs. PC: 750MHz P4, Win98SE, two serial
> comports and an LPT port.
>
> 1. There's a reference to Win98 users running a file called FPort16.exe.
> I
> never found that file.
>
> 2. Band Map. For me, operating in the QRP category, S&P is a significant
> part of my operating routine and the Band Map plays an important role as
> I'm
> S&P'ing through the bands
> a. According to the manual, calls I have worked are entered in Dark
> Blue in the band map. Maybe my monitor is not bright enough, but I see no
> 'Dark Blue' callsigns in the band map. Is there a way to change the
> callsign color so they show up better? There are color settings in the
> .ini
> under Band Map, but I haven't played with them yet. Do any affect the
> worked callsign color?
> b. I'm an old TRLog user and may be (am) spoiled by the fact that
> to enter a call in the bandmap is actually part of the dupe check
> function.
> I loved that feature. Now having to hit ALT-Y, A, to enter a call in the
> band map seemed to me to be a lot of work that the software could do a
> better way, like through the dupe check function. Is there, at least, a
> way
> to enter the Alt-Y,A command sequence into a message memory so band map
> entry is down to one keystroke?
>
> 3. I like the SO2R setup of Writelog. It worked very well and I had few
> problems getting used to how it works.
>
> 4. I had to do some searching to find out how to change speed increments.
> I finally found it and made the needed change: 3wpm steps from 45 down to
> 35, 1wpm steps from 34 down to 28 or so, 2wpm steps after that. It was
> much
> nicer after I made that change.
>
> 5. I miss not being able to have my paddle CW speed sync'ed with and
> through the computer (TRLog does it through LPT pins 12, 13, 14, 25). I'm
> guessing it is too late to ask for that in WriteLog with most all new
> computers coming out without LPT ports.
>
> 6. I don't understand the xx QSO's Since Last Save feature. Is there a
> way
> to save each QSO as they are logged? During an off time, my PC went to
> sleep (I fixed it later so that it won't go to screensaver or go to sleep
> during a contest). It locked up on trying to re-awaken. I rebooted the
> PC,
> and rebooted WriteLog. Fortunately, WriteLog warning message came up
> saying
> it was restoring possible lost log entries. Whew... that was scary. So,
> now I do a save manually periodically during the contest. But, (1) I feel
> it should be a function of the program to save each entry--what reason
> would
> anyone have to NOT save their log entries?--and, (2) why doesn't the
> warning
> message go away when I do a File/Save?
>
> 7. My copy of the pdf version of the manual I downloaded from the website
> has text cut off at the right margin. It may only be a couple of letters.
> Is it just a case that I'm looking at an early version of the manual or is
> that how it is?
>
> Overall, my first solo experience with WriteLog at my own station was a
> good
> one.
>
> 73,
> dale, kg5u
>
>
>
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