[TowerTalk] Antenna modeling - AO 6.5 or Elnec? - info needed
Nemecek, Joseph F.
Joseph.F.Nemecek@twa.com
Thu, 16 Oct 1997 12:54:51 -0500
Dan,
This response is in the "misery loves company" catagory. I've also gone
through most of what you related re AO 6.0 including sending Brian
$10.00 for a disk with new keys. I understand he's removed this type of
copy protection from AO 6.5 but the cost of upgrade for the few changes
did not seem to me to be worth it. I agree Brian puts out an excellent
product but the manual isn't very user friendly and sometimes Brian
isn't either if you catch him on a bad day. I think his TA program also
is excellent. I guess when you weigh the good vs. the bad, I'll keep
buying his products and keep bugging him when I don't understand
something.
All the best,
Joe, K0JN
>----------
>From: Dan[SMTP:ad4hw@citrus.infi.net]
>Sent: Saturday, October 04, 1997 12:38 PM
>To: towertalk@contesting.com
>Subject: [TowerTalk] Antenna modeling - AO 6.5 or Elnec? - info needed
>
>Hi OM's,
>
>I need the benefit of your experience concerning antenna modeling software.
> I'm considering buying Roy's Elnec or Brian's AO 6.5. I've had a bad
>experience with Brian, but I would still buy from him if he has the best
>software for my needs (see sad story below if interested). I would like
>to hear from those who have used Elnec or AO 6.5.
>
>What I need it for:
>--------------------------
>I want it to model wire antennas, and wire array's, and to dabble
>occasionally with yagis and verticals. I want pop-up menu's and convenient
>operation from DOS or a DOS window in 95. I don't want a program with copy
>protection.
>
>
>A Sad Sad Story:
>------------------------
>A few years ago, I decided to get some modeling software. I wrote both
>Brian and Roy, asking for information about their products. I received
>information from both, and decided to buy MN 4.5 from Brian. I was pleased
>with MN, except for the copy protection system, which has caused me
>countless hours of grief.
>
>The copy protection strategy uses a "software key" system. You can copy
>the working files to any disk, but the program won't work unless the "key"
>is passed to the disk you want to use--you give the program an instruction,
>and it moves the "key" from one disk to another. Brian includes a few
>spare "keys", but I have still experienced several problems with this
>strategy.
>
>The information I received from Brian prior to buying the program SAID
>NOTHING about copy protection! The problems I've had are as follows.
>
>If you have a disk crash or virus (as I did), your "key" can get lost.
>When you loose your "keys", you can't use your program. If you have
>several computers (as I do) keeping track of where your "key" is (over a
>period of months) is a pain. I am using a partitioned drive now, and I
>tried to run the program on drive "D" with my other ham software. I was
>unable to do this, and lost two "keys" before giving up trying to make this
>work. In order to keep from loosing "keys" I often run the program from
>the original floppy disk, but this is very slow and inconvenient. Although
>I'm no where near the genius that Brian is, I've been using computers for
>40 years, and have had nine PC's. I know my way around the computer. It's
>not fair for a paying customer to be burdened with this kind of needless
>inconvenience.
>
>If you think that's bad:
>------------------------------------------------
>After I lost all of my "keys", I contacted Brian to see if he could remove
>the copy protection from my original disk. Since he doesn't sell this
>program any more, and since he did not disclose the existence of the copy
>protection when I asked for information prior to purchasing, I thought it
>was a reasonable request. He declined, and suggested that I buy his new
>program, AO. He left me hanging without a functioning program. I sent him
>another e-mail, asking if there was anything I could do--I like MN when it
>works. He offered to install more "keys" on my original disk for $10. I
>took him up on this.
>
>About a year ago, I purchased NEC-Wires from Brian. It doesn't have copy
>protection & it runs perfectly. Although it isn't convenient for a lot of
>trial-and-error experimentation, its a good program, and I'm glad to have
>it in my library. It runs from a batch file system instead of a menu
>system. Also, to change modeling parameters, you have to append switches
>to the batch run command.
>
>Customer service is not Brian's forte. However, I think so much of his
>programming skills, I would still buy his software. His programs are not
>just technically excellent, he has a knack for creating elegant, flexible
>programs that are a pleasure to use--except for the *%&!!* copy protection
>on MN 4.5.
>
>Thanks in advance for any info you can provide on Elnec or AO 6.5.
>73,
>Dan - W4TQ (previously AD4HW)
>
>
>Dan Long
>8035 Tokyo Pt.
>Dunnellon, FL 34433
>e-mail: ad4hw@citrus.infi.net
>phone: 352-563-0934
>
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>
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