Hi Joe,
Thanks for taking the time to tell me about your experiences with AO 6.0 &
Brian. I was surprised at the number of responses I received that were
very similar to yours. I recently purchased a modeling program from
Nittany Scientific (L.B. Cebik told me about it). It's Windows
based--very nice. It's not as "slick" as Brian's stuff--but you get it
without Brian! I've just used it a few days, and I like it. Check them
out at www.nittany-scientific.com
Thanks & 73,
Dan
Dan Long (W4TQ)
8035 Tokyo Pt.
Dunnellon, FL 34433
e-mail: ad4hw@citrus.infi.net
phone: 352-563-0934
----------
| From: Nemecek, Joseph F. <Joseph.F.Nemecek@twa.com>
| Dan,
| This response is in the "misery loves company" catagory. I've also gone
| through most of what you related re AO 6.0 including sending Brian
| $10.00 for a disk with new keys. I understand he's removed this type of
| copy protection from AO 6.5 but the cost of upgrade for the few changes
| did not seem to me to be worth it. I agree Brian puts out an excellent
| product but the manual isn't very user friendly and sometimes Brian
| isn't either if you catch him on a bad day. I think his TA program also
| is excellent. I guess when you weigh the good vs. the bad, I'll keep
| buying his products and keep bugging him when I don't understand
| something.
| All the best,
| Joe, K0JN
|
| >From: Dan[SMTP:ad4hw@citrus.infi.net]
| >Hi OM's,
| >
| >I need the benefit of your experience concerning antenna modeling
software.
| > I'm considering buying Roy's Elnec or Brian's AO 6.5. I've had a bad
| >experience with Brian, but I would still buy from him if he has the best
| >software for my needs (see sad story below if interested). I would
like
| >to hear from those who have used Elnec or AO 6.5.
| >
| >What I need it for:
| >--------------------------
| >I want it to model wire antennas, and wire array's, and to dabble
| >occasionally with yagis and verticals. I want pop-up menu's and
convenient
| >operation from DOS or a DOS window in 95. I don't want a program with
copy
| >protection.
| >
| >
| >A Sad Sad Story:
| >------------------------
| >A few years ago, I decided to get some modeling software. I wrote both
| >Brian and Roy, asking for information about their products. I received
| >information from both, and decided to buy MN 4.5 from Brian. I was
pleased
| >with MN, except for the copy protection system, which has caused me
| >countless hours of grief.
| >
| >The copy protection strategy uses a "software key" system. You can copy
| >the working files to any disk, but the program won't work unless the
"key"
| >is passed to the disk you want to use--you give the program an
instruction,
| >and it moves the "key" from one disk to another. Brian includes a few
| >spare "keys", but I have still experienced several problems with this
| >strategy.
| >
| >The information I received from Brian prior to buying the program SAID
| >NOTHING about copy protection! The problems I've had are as follows.
| >
| >If you have a disk crash or virus (as I did), your "key" can get lost.
| >When you loose your "keys", you can't use your program. If you have
| >several computers (as I do) keeping track of where your "key" is (over a
| >period of months) is a pain. I am using a partitioned drive now, and I
| >tried to run the program on drive "D" with my other ham software. I was
| >unable to do this, and lost two "keys" before giving up trying to make
this
| >work. In order to keep from loosing "keys" I often run the program from
| >the original floppy disk, but this is very slow and inconvenient.
Although
| >I'm no where near the genius that Brian is, I've been using computers
for
| >40 years, and have had nine PC's. I know my way around the computer.
It's
| >not fair for a paying customer to be burdened with this kind of needless
| >inconvenience.
| >
| >If you think that's bad:
| >------------------------------------------------
| >After I lost all of my "keys", I contacted Brian to see if he could
remove
| >the copy protection from my original disk. Since he doesn't sell this
| >program any more, and since he did not disclose the existence of the
copy
| >protection when I asked for information prior to purchasing, I thought
it
| >was a reasonable request. He declined, and suggested that I buy his new
| >program, AO. He left me hanging without a functioning program. I sent
him
| >another e-mail, asking if there was anything I could do--I like MN when
it
| >works. He offered to install more "keys" on my original disk for $10.
I
| >took him up on this.
| >
| >About a year ago, I purchased NEC-Wires from Brian. It doesn't have
copy
| >protection & it runs perfectly. Although it isn't convenient for a lot
of
| >trial-and-error experimentation, its a good program, and I'm glad to
have
| >it in my library. It runs from a batch file system instead of a menu
| >system. Also, to change modeling parameters, you have to append
switches
| >to the batch run command.
| >
| >Customer service is not Brian's forte. However, I think so much of his
| >programming skills, I would still buy his software. His programs are
not
| >just technically excellent, he has a knack for creating elegant,
flexible
| >programs that are a pleasure to use--except for the *%&!!* copy
protection
| >on MN 4.5.
| >
| >Thanks in advance for any info you can provide on Elnec or AO 6.5.
| >73,
| >Dan - W4TQ (previously AD4HW)
| >
| | >--
| >FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
| >Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
| >Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
| >Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
| >Search: http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search
| >
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