Wayne, and Writelog Users,
First, Wayne, thanks for a nice logging program, and Scot, K9JY, for a mo=
st helpful Writelog website.
Next, I don't write to the reflector much. I just read the postings, file=
the informative and helpful ones, and delete the rest. I can always go t=
o the archives if I need info.
My code copying and electronic maintenance goes back some 40 years, eight=
years of it just copying code 8 hours a day, in the military, so I'm not=
a newcomer to CW, not as fast as a lot of you, but I get by. I've also w=
orked at data processor/computer maintenance, done some minimal software =
stuff and some aircraft flight testing as an electronic tech, and there i=
s still more out there that I don't know than what I do know.
I use one radio, a Kenwood TS-870.
My computer is a Pentium 4, 1.4Mhz, 1G Ram, 40G Hard Drive, Matrox G-400 =
Video board, and a Sound Blaster PCI-16 soundboard, and I'm running Windo=
ws XP Pro, Service Pack 1, Writelog Version 10.36G.
I use a Rigblaster Plus to interface to the radio, and run my CW and rig =
via serial com ports.
For those worrying about fonts and font size, I use Anadale-Mono, size 10=
. Gives me nice slashed zeros in all the Writelog windows.
During the CWSS contest last weekend, I only ran just over 600 contacts. =
For 100W, not bad, not good. During the whole contest I never had a glitc=
h with anything. My use of Alt-K was used to a minimum. Usually I only us=
e it to see what CW speed is selected, though most of the time I just lis=
ten to the code and determine whether it's fast or slow enough to suit th=
e situation. Lets face it, if you haven't preprogrammed it, then instead =
of using the ALT-K window to do your sending, just reach over and use you=
r key, keyer paddle, or bug, or whatever. That's what they are for. Oh wh=
at would we do if only paper logs could be used....
My Alt-K window displays exactly what I'm sending, whether it be what's d=
isplayed as a result of hitting a function key, or filling in via clickin=
g on the boxes in the entry window. I can display a full two rows of text=
, 38 characters to a row, for a full 76 characters. With the Alt-K window=
active, I can see what I've "f" keyed in, or typed manually. No problem.=
=20
I preprogrammed the CW memories for the "f" keys, and they transmitted as=
required. No stuttering, no missing characters, just good CW. I also had=
the NR, P, Call, CK, and Sect boxes in the Entry window preprogrammed, a=
nd they performed as expected. No glitches there either.
Editing an already logged contact was flawless, for any segment of the co=
ntact, callsign, nr, sect, whatever. Never had Writelog halt, give me an =
error message, or any other anomaly. Editing a contact in progress went w=
ithout any problems, disregarding my own fat fingering. I had the entry w=
indow set up so that a "space bar" hit put me to the next part of the ent=
ry. My routine was, enter the call, space bar, (cursor goes from "Call" t=
o "NR"), enter the NR, space, enter Prec, space, enter CK, space, enter S=
ect, press ENTER to log the contact. Absolutely easy, simple, and no prog=
ram faults.
And Super Check Partial, with the latest SS Master file worked great. Tho=
ugh I did use Alt-W an awful lot to clear dupe calls out of the entry win=
dow.
Times on/off logged correctly to the minute. Multipliers worked fine, seq=
uential serial numbering worked fine.
Cabrillo file was generated without problem. At least ARRL accepted it ok=
, and surprisingly on the first try. =20
Sorry for the bandwidth, but with all the posts on the reflector stating =
problems with Alt-K and whatever with the CW aspect of Writelog, I can't =
help but wonder where the basic problems lie. Is it actually with Writelo=
g or do they lie somewhere else. =20
Lord knows, Writelog is a powerful program, and it has a huge learning cu=
rve. I'm still finding out things about it, and will probably keep doing =
so. Especially if I ever get into RTTY. (RTTY and Mod-15's really give me=
a headache) =20
I would encourage all of you out there to be patient with this program. I=
didn't get it to work perfectly the first time I tried it. It took patie=
nce, testing, and trial and error. Not to be done a day before a contest.=
=20
I've seen some excellent tips and recommendations on this reflector, espe=
cially dealing with different hardware configurations. Keep it up. =20
But, if you have a problem, state what it is precisely as possible, THEN,=
BE PATIENT, AND ABOVE ALL, BE NICE.
If you like Writelog, then learn even more about it, and use it. If you d=
on't like Writelog, and you think there is something better out there for=
your needs, then quit bitching and go get the other product. =20
That's it folks. All I know is that Writelog worked just fine for me. It =
also did on CQWW as well.
Thanks again for the bandwith, and Wayne for a nice program. =20
Thanks also to all of you for the contacts during SS-CW, WA0SXV, AA5AU an=
d all the rest.
I've tried to explain my setup as well as I can. If I can be of any help =
just drop me a line.
Thanks again es 73.
Richard "Rick" Leary, W7LKG
rsl6145@msn.com
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