[Elecraft] re:Alas, it is time for contest logging software

Wed Apr 17 04:48:01 2002

Ron N0RC wrote:
>I'm in the process of transcribing my ARCI QSO party log and
>calculating my score. I don't want to have to do this ever again,
>painfully slow. So it's time to get some good software and learn how
>to use it. Here are my requirements/wants:

Software for the major international contests is well supported.  However finding one
to handle the smaller contests we QRPers like to enter is much harder.  I use Super
Duper by EI5DI (www.ei5di.com) - this is for RSGB contests and the likes of CQWW
which it handles well.  It is of course a DOS program so will not be suitable for
Ron, but the philosophy is that it runs fine on older laptops, a policy fine a few
years ago but now that Windows compatible laptops are more available rather less so.
However there is nothing wrong with DOS.....

A couple of weeks ago I entered the Yeovil Fun Run QRP event on 80/40.  I tried to
get this to run on Super Duper but no way - it did not allow entry of two fields
(power and name) and of course did not score it correctly.  Since the adjudicator
himself would be scoring it manually that is how I did it as well - printed Word
sheets sent via the snail mail.

A few days later I did the RSGB ROPOCO (rotating postcodes contest) which SD handled
admirably.  The entry was submitted by email a couple of hours after the contest, the
ideal way.

I guess what is needed is a program where you can easily configure its format and
scoring for any contest under the sun, but that is maybe asking too much.  How I
remember the days after NFD of years ago writing out the logs by hand and adding up
the scores - I don't want to go back to that again!!

73s Dave G3YMC
[email protected]
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http://www.dsergeant.btinternet.co.uk