[CQ-Contest] TR4W Report

[Richard J. Norton]

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