[ILQSO] Logging software

[Paul Zerkel]

Well after N9JF wrote:

>>...N9PCS also wrote a program that looks pretty good.<<

First thanks Jim (I guess). Now I feel obliged to comment. If anyone
would like to have it please email me and I will send you a zipped file.
But I should point out that this was really never developed for public
distribution. It was mainly just a project for me to learn a little more
about the depths of Microsoft Access.

First thing is it is a Microsoft Access database and REQUIRES M$ Access
to work. (I realize this means that very few hams are interested). It
was written using Access XP, but will run with Access 2003.

A big motivation for undertaking the project was I wanted something that
would validate county lines. For example when you contact a station that
is say on the Adams/Pike line, you first select "ADAM" from  a drop down
list, then you are presented in a 2nd drop down a list of counties that
ACTUALLY border Adams. So on and so forth for 3-county and 4-county
contacts.

It will dupe check correctly whether you enter a call as N9PCS, N9PCS/M,
or N9PCS/P. It will also dupe check correctly for mobile stations as you
move between counties (you can change your county/ counties anytime
during the contest - i.e. you do not need to start a new log).

It will display windows that highlight IL counties, and states that have
been worked. It will display a window keeping a running score.

It will export a summary sheet to a text file. 

It will export a log in Cabrillo format (I know that this isn't
necessarily Jim's favorite, and I may add another option that can output
a format easily importable into Excel, but that will not get done in
time for the 2006 contest).

There is a feature (just for fun) that will calculate and display the
8-QSO per county bonus, and list your 8-QSO counties. I would say that
it is highly unlikely that bonus ever returns. But it  was a personal
challenge to me to write the code that could correctly calculate it. 

Last year, I used this and manually entered band information for each
contact. This year I have added a feature that can optionally read the
band/frequency from "Ham Radio Deluxe" (free rig control software
http://hrd.ham-radio.ch/).

IT WILL NOT SEND CW! Now I know this will keep any serious contester
from wanting to use it. If there is truly interest I may add a way to do
this through another program (most likely MixW). Again that won't happen
until after 2006.

This database is strictly for logging the IL QSO Party, it is not
intended in anyway to be a general purpose logging program.

I used it last year (and intend to use it this year) to log the IL QSO
Party, mainly because I could find nothing else that would validate
county lines. Everything else would happily let me enter a contact with
a station that was say at the (impossible) border of Adams and Richland.
This won't.

If after all the limitations listed above anyone still wants to see
this, I will gladly make the thing available free of charge. A zipped
file with the database and a Word document with some documentation is
about 176 KB. Email me and I will gladly send you it. 

While I believe it does a satisfactory job for the IL QSO party, Just
please remember it is not meant to be commercial quality logging
software.

Paul Zerkel
N9PCS