[CQ-Contest] TR4W Report

[steve.root at culligan4water.com]

Due to work and family commitments I wasn't able to put in much of an effort into the ARRL 160 contest this year. But like Dick I was intrigued by a Windows version of TR. The version of TR4W I have doesnt support 2 radio operatio yet but it would work well for a single band contest like the 160. I managed to get a few hours in this evening and test drive this program while I was at it.
It's close, in fact very close in operation to TR. However I did notice that on an intermittent basis is would send poor sounding CW. Not gargbage, but the timing was goofy. I've never had TR-DOS act like this. I'm using a 1.3 Ghz pentium with 1.3 G of Ram running Windows XP SP2.
Other than the CW keying issue I had nothing to complain about.
73 Steve K0SR 



>-----Original Message-----
>From: Richard J. Norton [mailto:richardjnorton at gmail.com]
>Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 07:01 AM
>To: 'CQ-Contest'
>Subject: [CQ-Contest] TR4W Report
>
>This is not a report about operating from Gabon, but a report about a
>Windows-based version of the TR-Log contest logging program.
>
>While in California, VU2PTT alerted me to the existence of the TR4W
>program, produced by Dmitriy Gulyaev, UA4WLI. Being an old dog, and
>not wanting to learn new tricks, I desired a contest logging program
>that would permit me to use the efficient features of TR-Log to which
>I have become accustomed, and also work with today's computers.
>Essentially, TR-Log differs from other logging programs in that it
>functions differently in the CQ mode and the S&P mode. Keystroke
>functions are minimized for each mode, and hitting the easy-to-find
>"enter" or "space" or "escape" key will result in the desired
>response.
>
>The bottom line is that TR4W works and fulfills both requirements. I
>was active in the CQWW CW Contest from Honduras as HQ2A, where I gave
>TR4W a 44 hour checkout.
>
>The program ran on a 1.8 MHz, Windows XP, Great-Quality brand low-cost
>laptop purchased from Fry's Electronics, a large chain computer store.
>The computer has one parallel printer port, no serial ports, and two
>USB ports.
>
>TR4W generates CW without any external boxes, and runs the
>one-transistor keying interfaces such as the W1WEF units. You can
>detect that the Windows XP-generated keying is not perfectly uniform
>if you are critically listening, but when I spoke with people after
>the contest, no one reported noticing anything during my operation.
>Given my power-line noise environment, I never transmitted faster than
>38 WPM, as I didn't want people answering me at higher speeds. Mostly,
>I used 32 WPM.
>
>The computer keyed an Icom IC-765 through its parallel port, with a
>single transistor interface. While testing the TR4W program in
>California, I borrowed a USB to serial adapter, and subsequently also
>had TR4W reading and controlling the frequency of an FT-1000D. In
>Honduras, I borrowed HC2J's IC-765 transceiver at the last moment, and
>had no cables to permit frequency interface during the CQWW.
>
>The TR4W look on the display is very similar, but not exactly the
>same, to that of TR-Log since TR4W permits optionally including or
>excluding support-information windows such as missing-multipliers or
>bandmaps.
>
>Operationally, the programs essentially perform identically. A few
>minor things didn't work in the 2.32 version that I used, such as the
>quick-QSL key. But using a keying-paddle also directly connected to
>the IC-765, I was comfortably able to accomplish the same thing. In
>fact, in cases where I had copied two callsigns at once, I was able to
>work the two stations in a row quite smoothly with the keyboard and
>paddle combination.
>
>No packet associated features were tested or should ever be expected
>to be tested by me.
>
>Once in a while, the program would cease to work. Then I would find
>that somehow the mouse icon had slipped out of the TR4W window. Moving
>the cursor back and clicking would get things working again. Note that
>I look at the keyboard to type.
>
>I used an earlier version, TR4W 2.32 beta, that saved the log files as
>plain text files such as done by TR-Log. Having seen many cases of
>corrupted binary log files over the year, I am partial to
>easy-to-correct text files. Text files also permit use of my TR-Log
>analysis tools. I notice that the newest version of TR4W seems to save
>log files in a binary format, but has capability for exporting of the
>text files.
>
>TR4W operation was perfectly satisfactory. Last year, I carried a 486
>DOS-based desktop overseas in checked luggage to permit use of the
>DOS-based TR-Log program. This year, only my laptop, which comes along
>anyway, took the overseas trip.
>
>TR4W, in its current beta version, is freeware. It is available at
>http://tr4w.qrz.ru/
>
>Thanks to UA4WLI for producing it.
>
>73,
>
>Dick Norton, N6AA
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