[Ham-Mac] Hallucinations from this side of the Pond!

[Jack Brindle]

On Jan 28, 2005, at 1:37 PM, Jonathan G0DVJ wrote:

> I was just dreaming wildly for a moment before I came back to the real
> world...
> What if we Mac-based Amateurs (Hams) who are into contesting had
> software like the Windoze guys do - except of course it would be more
> stable, reliable and usable ...
>
...

> ... what a brilliant product could be produced if one or more of these
> guys got together to write the best contest contest software for any
> platform today? ... Hell you never know - even Windoze PC contesters
> might switch to a dedicated Mac Mini in the shack for contesting :)
>
> Apologies if I am wasting anyone's bandwidth with this.   I (and I
> suggest some of the Mac developers reading this list) would be
> interested in knowing whether any of this resonates with others on the
> list or whether I am alone in these views!

First, I would like to take issue with you over the issue of the 
Windows contest software not being stable/reliable/usable. I have been 
using N1MM logger for several years with few problems. I _did_ have a 
BIG problem with it in last November's ARRL Sweepstakes that was due to 
a bug in the particular version I was running. Still, it has great 
features, stability and works great. Tom, N1MM and the guys have done 
an outstanding job of putting this software together. Unfortunately it 
has one huge problem - it doesn't run on my platform of choice.

I spoke with Tom about porting his code over to the Mac. He offered his 
source if I wanted to try. It is written in Visual BASIC, and uses the 
Microsoft Access database. After consideration, we _might_ be able to 
port the code over to one of the BASIC systems on the Mac, but the 
database would be a big problem.

In a different direction, I know of a couple of background projects to 
write contest software for the Mac. Of these, none have made it to the 
announcement stage yet. I was pleasantly surprised at the software that 
was released last year (sorry, I don't remember the author). Still, I 
didn't believe it to be at the level needed for a serious contest 
effort (I am quite willing to be proved wrong).

I am also willing to say that one of those efforts has been my own. I 
have been working on a contest program, modeled after N1MM, for a 
couple of years. It is written for Carbon using C++. As AA4LR can 
attest, it is not ready for announcement. In fact, I am not comfortable 
with using it in a real contest yet. It has several really nice 
features, one being excellent control of my Elecraft K2 transceiver 
(but no other radio interface at present). At this point it indeed does 
have decent log entry, band display, and spotting features. The logging 
features need more work, as do many more features. It does not use a 
database to store information, instead writing its own binary-format 
log file. It does make use of CTY and other similar files standardized 
by the CT-log software and widely used by others..

As I noted above, I have been working on this for two years, and it 
isn't ready. The folks who write contest software on the PC have been 
at it for much longer. It isn't an easy task to get a full-featured 
system, so it really isn't surprising that there is a lack of this type 
of software on the Mac. With the advent of the Mac mini, I suspect the 
user base will begin to grow such that there will be much more 
interest. But, the time factor is something we still have to go 
through. Have patience, we _will_ get there. And, be willing to test 
and offer constructive suggestions when one or two programs arrive. 
 From past experience it will be a slow, evolutionary user-dependent 
effort that brings the software to a level we really want.

-Jack Brindle, W6FB (ex - WA4FIB)
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