[Dx-qsl] Loging program ?

[Peter Dougherty (W2IRT)]

At 04:47 08-10-05, VK6UHF wrote:
>Greetings everyone,
>Please don't jump on me for this one but i would like to know, of the =
>dozens of programs available for qsl logging, is there a preference that =
>you would recommend.
>I am interested in tracking for several awards programs like WAS, WAZ, =
>WAC, IOTA and any others available.
>if it is simple not to complex but stable and easy to export logs to a =
>qsl manager.
>The last requirement is that it be able to work on a laptop. I have =
>heard that some programs dont want to.

Hi John,

There are many logging programs out there, some free some a little 
pricey. Some are 800-pound Gorillas and some are relative 
lightweights. A few are well written and have a good Windows 
look-and-feel, others.....?

Then there are also contest loggers versus QSO/QSL loggers.

My personal preferences are DX Base as my primary logger and N1MM for 
contests. Both are excellent and extremely powerful. N1MM is free, DX 
Base is $99 USD new and about $35 a year for the latest version.

I will preface these remarks by saying my QSO logging needs are 
pretty intense and I'm an extremely-savvy computer user (I'm a 
system/network admin professionally), thus I wanted more than simple 
QSO/QSL/DXCC logging.

DX Base will keep track of all your QSOs, awards, do your QSLs and 
make breakfast for you after a night of DXing. Well, OK, maybe not, 
but it will do everything else, including slicing and dicing your QSO 
data in ways you can't even imagine with it's powerful Crystal 
Reports module. It's also a bear to learn but well worth the time 
needed to do so. You will have a full handle on *all* your QSO data 
with this software, which will also print QSL labels (or actual QSLs 
themselves if you set it up to do so), address labels, return-address 
labels and reports of what's sent/not confirmed, not QSLd, etc. 
Needless to say, it tracks IOTA, WAZ, DXCC, etc. Every logger today 
exports to ADIF.

Others swear by the other 800-pound gorilla in the market, DX4WIN. 
I've tried it but having used DX Base for so long, I didn't want to 
put in the time to re-learn logging the DX4WIN way. It is supposedly 
an excellent program, however it doesn't really have the full Windows 
look-and-feel and that's important to me.

Another excellent product to consider is Logger32. Just as powerful 
(or close to it) as either of the two commercial loggers (above), and 
free. One thing to consdier, though, if you travel or manage other 
stations, DX Base is limited to 10 callsigns (its license is keyed by 
the author to your calls), and you must contact him for a new key for 
each call. For me that's no big deal, but if you are a QSL manager or 
a DXpeditioner, I'd suggest looking elsewhere.

Finally, for contesting, there are only two pieces of software I'd 
consider using -- N1MM Logger is unbelievably powerful and free. 
Writelog is also amazingly powerful but I think it's $75 or so.

Good luck!


- pjd

W2IRT