Logger32

Evaluating logging programs

How does one choose a logging program?

• 1. Clarify the requirements: what is the program expected to do, or not do? These become the evaluation criteria.

  2. Since some requirements are clearly more important than others, prioritise and rank them to generate “weightings” for each one.

  3. Put the criteria into a column of a spreadsheet, adding columns for each program and a column with weightings for each criterion.

  4. Download and install evaluation copies of the programs, systematically checking and scoring each one against the criteria.

  5. Calculate a percentage rating for each program by multiplying each of the scores by the corresponding weightings and totalling. Easy peasy.

The criteria and weightings in my spreadsheet reflect my priorities as they were back in 2005. Since your requirements probably differ from mine, download the spreadsheet and adapt the requirements and/or adjust the weightings to suit your purposes.

I chose K4CY’s Logger32 for my everyday station log and N1MM+ for contest logging.

Both programs are free and support the ADIF XML log standard, meaning that after a contest I can integrate my contest logs easily into a consolidated station log. ADIF also lets me export logs to other programs if Logger32 doesn’t do what I need it to do, although I have noticed differences in the way some program interpret the ADIF standard so it can be a risky process. Whatever else you do, take frequent log backups and check them to make sure all the essential QSO information is in fact being backed up! ADIF files are plain ASCII text, so you can open them with Notepad or TED to browse through and edit. Check that your latest QSO appears at the bottom, and that the details such as UTC date and time, callsigns (both the DX and you, as operator), band and mode are all correct.

ADIF or Cabrillo output is essential if you use ARRL’s Logbook of The World, which I heartily recommend (it’s one of the heavily-weighted criteria in my evaluation spreadsheet). The Web interface to LoTW is somewhat clumsy and the initial registration process laborious but it’s worth it in the end to have such rapid and cheap electronic confirmations of QSOs with thousands of other LoTW users, in a secure manner, and an easier way to claim the ARRL’s DXCC and WAS awards, plus CQ Magazine’s WPX and WAZ awards.

Logger32 features, snags and bugs

Logger32 is an excellent logging program with loads of useful features such as:

1. It’s free, as in free beer not free speech. The program’s author K4CY and support team put a huge amount of work into developing, testing, documenting and maintaining the program while expecting virtually nothing in return except respect.

2. It follows the current ADIF standard closely, allowing me to exchange logs easily with other ADIF-compliant programs such as N1MM+ and LoTW.

3. It competently handles the basics - things such as entering and storing QSO information, displaying country info, beam headings, times, previous QSOs etc. Logger32 is fast enough to keep up with me, even in pileup situations.

4. The screen layout can be customized to show windows such as the logbook, DXcluster, greyline map, log entry screen, notes and more, all on the one screen (such as the screenshot above) or spread across several (e.g. I now monitor the band maps on a second screen while working, catching up with emails, browsing the web etc. on the main screen with Logger32 in the background until some juicy DX catches my attention). The layout, sequence and colouring of most windows and the highlighting to show DXCC and QSL status can be customized.

5. It tracks our DXCC statistics statistics automatically, and can switch between DXCC stats for all time or just for the current calendar year - handy for those of us who participate in various annual challenges such as the CQ DX Marathon and league tables such as those in Clublog. In the example shown here, I see that I had worked HA (Hungary) on all bands and modes over the years, but only on 2 bands on CW at that point in 2015, neither of which had been confirmed. The toggle also changes the highlighting of DX spots accordingly.

6. It’s extensible with several useful third party add-ons written and released by other talented and generous hams.

7. It has additional features such as the Digital Voice Keyer function. From an icon on the main screen, I can trigger replay of the voice messages stored in the K3’s DVR hardware - handy for calling DX in an SSB pileup without constantly reaching for the rig or shouting into the mike like a demented parrot. [The ‘radio control panel’ function lets me send CAT commands to the radio - even better! I can compose and test new K3 macros on the fly.]

8. Logger32 uses Club Log’s wonderful DXCC info database maintained by Alan 5B4AHG, to identify the correct DXCC countries, both in near real time as we are logging QSOs (using a daily update from Club Log) and subsequently (checking logged QSOs for their DXCC status at the date and time they were logged).

9. It can link to WSJT-X, JTDX and other digimode software via UDP, receiving QSO information into the log, updating statistics etc.

However, like all software, Logger32 is not totally free of issues. Here are the snags that bother me the most - a mix of what I consider design flaws, bugs and things it just doesn’t do, in decreasing priority order at least as far as I’m concerned (your priorities probably differ):

1. Pointless confirmation clicks are annoying, especially in the program functions that I use frequently (e.g. LoTW and Club Log updates through the otherwise very useful L32 LogSync utility from N2AMG). Logger32 sometimes pops up a selection panel even when there is only one option. From a usability point of view, it would be nice for the user to at least have the option to drop unnecessary confirmations (perhaps a sticky “Do not bug me with this again” option?). And yes I appreciate that’s one more click!

2. The logbook can be sorted by several fields. The sort happens quickly but does not leave the cursor and display on the previously-selected QSO line right after the sort, which is the Windows default. For example, with the cursor sitting on a G3SXW QSO, if I sort the log by callsign, it should finish up with me still looking at that same G3SXW QSO but with the logbook now in sorted callsign order around it. There are other niggles with the logbook display that I believe stem from an early design decision to develop custom routines for displaying, navigating and sorting the logbook.

3. The process for changing the appearance (layout and content) of the logbook is unconventionak. Instead of simply being able to drag columns around on the screen and hide/reveal them, we have to either (a) enter a separate configuration screen, then carefully drag the relevant fields into the right sequence while avoiding crossing other items already shown. This is not unlike threading a needle with the mouse, tricky enough for this able -bodied computer user but must be next to impossible for physically-handicapped hams, or (b) On the upside, it’s an infrequent set-and-forget operation and the screen layout settings are retained through program updates.

4. Logger32 won’t let us select multiple QSOs to make bulk changes e.g. to fill-in missing reports, change the QSL status, change the operator, fix busted zones etc. It is a one QSO at a time program. On the upside, we can only screw up one QSO at a time without trying really hard or being really unlucky!

5. Although Logger32 can check for program updates automatically as it launches, those updates do not include updates to the User Manual . Every so often, Logger32 users must remember to download the current User Manual (which I maintain and update roughly once a month, in line with new program versions containing bug fixes, new functions and other tweaks).

Here’s a parting thought from P Williams that perhaps explains how Logger32’s users are perceived by the program’s long-suffering author Bob K4CY:

"From the programmer’s point of view,

the user is a peripheral that types something

when you issue a read request"

Using Logger32 with the Elecraft K3

Logger32 will communicate quite happily with the Elecraft K3 and other radios via their serial ports. Elecraft radios emulate the Kenwood command set, but choose the right radio type to get the full range of commands. There’s a K2/K3 section in the Logger32 help file that tells you how to configure the radio comms.

There is a small drawback to the K3, for me anyway. It defaults to the ”wrong” sideband for CW and digital modes when QSYd using Logger32. I prefer tuning from the bottom of the band upwards, hearing successive CW tones going high-to-low as I go, which requires CW-REV mode on the K3. That's fine, until I click on a spot in Logger32: as well as QSYing the rig for me, it automagically resets the radio mode to [normal] CW. :-(

A simple workaround nearly solves this annoyance. Simply tell Logger32 to use mode CW-R in place of CW in its band-mode table, and likewise use FSK-R instead of RTTY. The table is accessed from the Tools menu (select "Setup Bands & Modes"). Open the table, find a CW entry, edit it to read CW-R and hit return to finish editing that line, then go to the next ... and finally click the Apply button. Now whenever you click a CW spot, the radio QSYs to the frequency and sets itself to CW -REV. The workaround doesn’t fix Logger32’s NCDXF beacon-tracker QSY function though, which still insists on putting the K3 in CW mode. Given that I only use it occasionally, I can live with that.

The contest logger N1MM+ has a setup option to use CW-REV. Easy.

Logger32 can send arbitrary command strings to the K3 through the ‘radio control panel’ function. I use this mostly to trigger the K3 to send my callsign from its DVK memories in DX pilesup, using a handy function key on the PC keyboard. There’s a config option that lets me use the function key even while I am running some other program (such as when I am working in Word or Excel): the trick is to pick function keys that you rarely if ever use in any program, such as F6, F7 and F8 in my case. I have F6 configured to send the K3 “RX;” command which aborts sending the current message if I trigger it by mistake - tapping the rig’s PTT footswitch achieves the same end but first I have to duck under the desk to find where the footswitch is hiding ...

There’s more on the Elecraft products here

and lots more about Logger32 in the User Manual.