[WriteLog] Writelog: My experience

[Barry Kirkwood]

There is no question that Writelog is an excellent programme.

I bought writelog after observing G3PJT use it at my place and beat out the only ZL super station in the Commonwealth Contest some years back. Johnathon W1CU also used it in CQWW cw last year in my shack with no problems.
I bought Writelog fair and square over three years back($70),  paid another $30 for an upgrade, and have also bought the Yaesu interface for my rig in case my homebrew job was the problem.

I have now tried to run Writelog in many contests and have never got the programme to run properly. In my last effort (Oceania CW 2004) I finally had the basics running for the only sort of operation I am interested in (single op CW) with the bare minimum of functions and was delighted in its functionality. Then I found that it refused to enter four digit QSO numbers. Tried to do a fix, gave up and saved the log while I took a break, opened it and found that the F keys were not functioning and to this day no matter what I try the F keys cannot be revived for this log. Presumably I failed to do an earlier save settings operation and it now remembers a null and will not change.

I might mention that John ZL1BHQ has also had Writelog for over a year, also only wants it only for single op hf cw contesting and has yet to get the system running properly.

At this moment I have to look at the option of dumping Writelog for CT as I just cannot go on trying to work Writelog which has turned out to offer more frustration than it is worth. I did way better hand logging.

I make no secret of the fact that I am no computer whiz, but I can use all the other standard stuff on my computer with no undue difficulty and want to address the question: Why is it that I cannot run Writelog?

Let me qualify myself : I am 68 years of age, was not socialised into computers and for the latter part of my professional life I was able to use coolies to solve computing glitches. You could say that I have an analog mind, love knobs dials and switches and dislike menus (except in restaurants). The other side of the equation is that I have a PhD in in Experimental Psychology and a reasonable range of applied technical skills (RNZAF Wings, competent in celestial navigation, Certificated Yachtmaster (Offshore), able to build houses, boats, cars, and so on,  with success). I am also a founder member of the NZ Ergonomics Society, sometime member of the NZ Institution of Professional Engineers and have over 100 publications in refereed journals.

So this is the guts of my evaluation: Writelog is an excellent piece of work as a programme, but the job is less than half done in that what documentation there is is scattered over a number of sites and has been put together by talented amateurs. But the fact remains that what I have paid for does not hack it. Instruction manuals, help programmes etc are a critical part of even relatively primitive devices and Writelog is pathetic in this respect. About 0.5 out of 10 in my opinion. 

While many users may enjoy the puzzle solving, from my point of view, the very modest range of functions that 
I need to understand are buried under the noise of a huge mass of operations (wave files, digital modes etc) that I have no interest in or need for. There are no diagnostic systems, so problems must be solved by trial or error or tapping the Writelog reflector.

Goodness knows I have tried, and have spent by my estimation over 20 hours trying to get the thing to run for every hour I have had it on the air. Only once have I had it as anything more than an automated log. Maybe the problem is me, but the question remains, how come I can run all the other software around here but not Writelog?

73

Barry ZL1DD


 

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Barry Kirkwood PhD ZL1DD
Signal Hill Homestay
66 Cory Road
Palm Beach
Waiheke Island 1240
NEW ZEALAND
ph/fax 64-9-372-5161
www.waiheke.co.nz/signal.htm