Hi everybody
OK, the title sounds like a provocation - in a way it is...
It all started from a discussion I had 2 days ago with Phil, F6IFY one of the
first Writelog EU-user...
First, let me be clear:
- I have nothing against Writelog - I have used it several times - most of te
time in a networked MO setup (IE 4U1ITU, TK5T, F5IQA/P, ...) and each time it
worked fine (at that time for sure it had a serious advantage over networked
CT...)
- I have nothing against mixW - also used it (I am a registered user...), it
still has a few unbeatable features, like the "advanced waterfall" and still is
the best "multimode" data software
- I have nothing against RCK-RTTY... did not even try it... (sorry Walter but
5QSO's is a bit short to decide wether you like it or not... )
- I have no financial interest (obviously!), friends , relations whatsoever in
the N1MM team... I am just a "normal" user who just happened to make some
20,000 QSO for the last 10months ( home call + FG5BG + FG/F6IRF + 4U1ITU) -
though it is not an absolute warranty, it does not make me either the less
qualified OM to talk about contesting software...
By the way I think I have an advantage, I have used more than one software to
make those 20kQ (ie CT in ARRL from FG, WL in Russian DX-CW and EA-TTY fm
4U1ITU, mixW in several TTY contests - before definitely moving to N1MM
since I changed my PC).
So what?
I 'm a bit surprised by the poor score (15%) that N1MM got versus Writelog
(40%)in the recent "Contest scene" user vote... I am also a bit amazed by the
fact that many software related issues that have been addressed here along the
months, are just "not a problem" with N1MM-logger...
Things have changed...
The fact that Writelog was the first successful Windows contest software does
not mean it will remain the best for ever... And as a matter of facts, I don't
think it is anymore...
Yes I do think that N1MM-logger has now taken some advance over its competitors
(at least the ones I know) and that it deserves some recognition for the
achievement:
Let me take a few examples (most of them taken from issues addressed here...)
- AFSK users: Do you know that N1MM automatically displays the right mark
frequency ... no need for a "cheat-sheet": in/out spots and log entries are
according to the mark frequency wether you are using LSB or USB (mark freq is
automatically calculated from TRX freq +/- MMTTY mark audio freq - even if you
are using AFC+NET, your spot will be correct...)
- FSK users: You will never forget to remove the AFC and reset to 2125 when
going to S&P: N1MM automatically resets MMTTY to your FSK freq pair (and
toggles the AFC according to the context - IE AFC on when CQ'ing / AFC off
when a station has been decoded - AFC-off+ reset to default mark when going
S&P )
- You need a keyboard template to remember the right F-key: No need with N1MM...
the F-keys captions are on the screen... you can click on them straight ahead or
pass the mouse over to see the full message before sending it... Anyway with the
RUN/S&P contextual F-keys you don't need to remember more than 3... You need
more macros?: on top of the 2x8 F-keys you have as many as you want in the
digital interface windows (all labeled)...
- You need an efficient band-map: instant in/out zoom with num-kpad +/- (no need
to edit the .ini). Auto bandmap "mark" / entry windows clear with VFO change .
Auto bandmap>entry windows insert with space bar (wether you are using a
cluster or not the bandmap is probably the best improvement in the last 10years
contest logging software...)
- You need more than a name in your "lookup file" (IE state, locator... age(*)
you can use 1 lookup file (on top of the user master.dta) that will
automatically insert name, state, locator or age depending on the required
contest report... (and no ini file size limitation... what is 200K when most
computers have 512MB or more RAM available those days ) - you can just build
your own using your old logs or your LOTW data (ie for locator /state)
- callsign not highlighted? You don' t need to have it in the master.dta to get
N1MM to highlight a callsign - decoding the same "looking like a callsign"
string twice is sufficient...
As mentioned the a/m examples are just a few samples (some of them from problems
mentioned here) - Probably they are things that WL does better... (i.e. did not
test SO2R, nor networking with N1MM... I am a SO1R guy...)
If is that good, why it is not more popular ?
I think it is, between other things, because it suffers from the well-known
syndrom "if it is free, it must be shit"... or the other well known "my car is
better because it's mine" (and it is German and expensive ;-)
More seriously the fact that Don (AA5AU) got so good results using WL with its
SO2R setup (and popularized it through his pages) probably also had some strong
influence on the TTY community.
On top of that it took some time for N1MM-logger to become what it is today, and
it is likely that many have been disappointed with early releases (especially
when trying N1MM with a slow processors and/or insufficient RAM).
Probably the fact that it is programmed in "visual basic" did not help to make
it appear as a "serious product". Also the multiple windows appearance, did
not help people coming from CT or WF1B to feel comfortable straight ahead...
Last but not least:
I must say that I am not always happy with the software... For example the fact
that some "fixed bugs" reappear from time to time along releases is a bit
annoying... but at least the guys are working on it all the time, and when you
address an issue, you immediately get an answer... (that's really impressive,
when you have tried to deal with some useless "hot line" for something that you
have paid for!)
Let be honnest, Writelog is also far form being perfect and also has some
annoying features: IE having to save the log every 20 QSO's, having to edit the
.ini to do config changes, for example... (kind of relics of the PC dinosaurus
age...)... and still it is not because you pay that you get a "bug-free" product
(especialy because many contest modules are provided "free of charge" by "third
parties").
Conclusion: I may not convice anybody but felt that N1MM-logger deserved some
kind of tribute...
Outside any price considerations, and despite the existing user concensus, I
have made my opinion: I sincerly think that (from what I have tried so far)
N1MM+MMTTY is the best RTTY contesting package available today...
Best regards - Patrick
(*) Lookup file
This is the needed order: Callsign, Name, Grid1, Grid2, Section, State, CK,
Birthdate
The delimiter between the fields may be a comma, a semicolon, a space or an
equal sign. The delimiters may be mixed in the file but not within one line!
A missing CK must be entered as -1, since any check from 00 through 99 is valid
(ARRL Sweepstakes). Birthdate is expected to be used for the AA contest to
compute the other stations age. This will obviously be a little tricky to deal
with. Be sure to put birthdates in a universal format, e.g. 1980-12-31
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