Hi all,
I've been watching the discussion a bit on PSK and number of contests to
support with some interest. I don't have heartfelt direction one way or the
other, just some observations.
In developing a program, especially given the amount of time you have to
devote to it (full time or not, there is always more work to do than the
amount of time, right?), you have to set some objectives out there for what
you want to accomplish. In my viewpoint, and only my viewpoint, I think
Wayne and Ron have set their sights on having WriteLog be the premier
contest software for Windows.
While CT may have more copies sold and had a head start on the whole thing,
it is DOS based. DOS is going to go away; albeit in the year 2525 for some
amateur radio operators because of the huge amount of DOS radio programs out
there.
So what is the first two things you have to do to be the premier Window's
based contesting program? You have to cover the major contests and you have
to support all the categories within that contest extremely well. That means
you cover the major ARRL contests (Sweepstakes, ARRL DX, VHF, 10 meters,
160, Field Day), CQ Contests (CQWW, WPX, 160), a few of the other major
international contests such as WAE and IARU, and some other domestic
contests such as the CA QSO party.
Then you have to support single op, M/S, and M/M very well. That means all
those nice features plus packet. And for the multi category you have to have
setup down cold because that gives you a great advantage for those guys. And
multi's - from a station set up and the need for reliability and speed
viewpoint - are great and huge influences on how well a program does in the
contest community because multi's are typically the anchors for members in a
contest club.
Beyond that, it's all a plus. Wayne and Ron have done a fabulous job with
RTTY contesting. And they have done a major plus in having two-radio
contesting, however you land on the correct 'category,' being a reality in
an automated environment. They added the whole sound card setup which is a
major advance in how computers are used in a contest environment. And the CW
reader is very nice - I just tried it out in the WPX contest this weekend
and it actually helped quite a bit in the S&P mode which was all unexpected
for this 35 wpm Morse dude - for a brand new tool to use in the contest
environment.
So what's next? To preserve your position as the leading Windows contest
program, you need to stay with the current modes and watch for new ones. I
think they just added PSK because they could, not because there are lots of
contests. But it is diffidently the mode of the future and you get a big
advantage in being first. At some point, changing the display to match some
of the more recent baseline PSK programs can be done, but it would be useful
to have more PSK contests first!
Adding more contests means you add more maintenance to the program which
takes more time away from insuring you are at the top of the game on your
major contests. I think that Wayne has come up with a good idea in that he
offers the modules to 'roll your own.' Unfortunately, I don't have the skill
set to roll my own and am dependent on someone else doing that work just
like the 99% of the rest of us are dependent.
Perhaps there are a few people who have WriteLog who are able and would then
be willing to take on certain contests as 'theirs' to create and maintain.
The work done already (and I don't have the persons name and call handy, but
have installed their modules) is really excellent work, but we need a few
more people like that to add to the list.
However, what does adding more contests mean? More reasons to buy the
program. Easier to work contests part time adding to the participation in
less popular contests (I'd like the WI QSO party added to the list
myself...). Better use - more often - of the program which makes it more and
more the 'standard' of contesting software, which is exactly the position
you want to be in from a competitive viewpoint with other programs.
But the best position for Wayne to be in is to concentrate and focus on the
baseline (read strategic) contesting software supporting the major contests
because that is where the program will win or lose. Those contests done well
in all the categories merely makes all the other contest modules possible.
If we could have a 'few good programmers' help out on the modules, that
would enable Wayne to concentrate on the main program and have owners of
contest modules create and maintain the contests.
Even though WL supports a very large number of programs, more - with the
quality of the main program not lost - is better. Perhaps this is a way it
could be done.
My bucks worth. Long email...
CU...Scot, K9JY
mailto:scot@k9jy.com
www.k9jy.com
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