I don't like the insulting type of DX cops either but there seems to be more of them than the "UP" or "SPLIT" only type. Remember according to the DX Cops handbook, you are only allowed one mistake a month or you will be chastized on top of the DX frequency Really! ... it's in the rule book and has to be done or else the cop might lose his badge!!!


I always figured if someone had to tell me the DX is calling me, I must not be able to hear them myself. If that is the case, how can you log an incomplete QSO for DX credit??? Kind of like those DX nets where someone is always 'hinting' at what your report is so someone can send "twenty two twenty two rifle shot rifle shot" (one of the stupidest thing I ever heard on the radio) and then the net control can exclaim "GOOD CONTACT" and make it all legal and fulfilling for others???

Gene W5DQ

I'll take a job (and already have one) where I don't have to deal directly with customers. I have so many levels of bigshots over me at the current job (or at least they consider themselves bigshots) that I only have to deal with engineers and s/w developers. I find it very amusing that as long as LOTW has been around that there are many that still can't just follow the WRITTEN directions and do it the first time or keep it backed up once installed and working. The instructions tell you precisely how and why to do a backup of your certificate as a P12 file. Common computer practices that have been around as long as there have been computers have detailed how to succesfully do backups and how to handle multiple backup revisions. It's not rocket science by no means. Golden Rule is to NEVER keep a backup file on the main operating hard disk. If the main operating disk goes TU, then there goes the backup too. CDs, DVDs, and thumbdrives all make excellent backup media and thumbdrives allow easy updates with new backup revisions with no muss, no fuss.

I have helped many in our local club and area setup LOTW and not inculding the wait for the 'postcard', it can be done in less than 10 minutes and this includes uploading a large logbook the first time. Sure it take a little while to get that upload processed but it's not like the data is being used to prevent a world war or such. Once your certificate has been obtained from the ARRL and loaded into TQSL program, first thing to do is make a P12 backup and save that to an off disk storage element (CD, DVD, thumbdrive, etc) and store that away safely. I keep a copy with my logbook backups and another with my important backups on media in a fireproof safe. If the hard disk crashes, I simply reload the logging program, restore the latest logbook backup and load on TQSL program and restore the P12 file. Back online in a matter of minutes (of course not counting the time to install new hardware).

I have always held that if you can operate a new state of the art transceiver, you should be able to setup and use LOTW with no problems. I guess there are exceptions to every rule???

Gene,

Sorry to hear about the problem. Hopefully you can get it resolved with ARRL or other's help.

This is a good place to make a point about backing up IMPORTANT data such as LOTW certificates, browser favorites, email contacts, email texts, banking / checkbook electronic data, whatever you have on your computer onto a SEPERATE media such as a CD-R, DVD+/-R, thumbdrive, floppy, whatever, just to avoid these sort of gotchas! I keep a backup of my LOTW certificates along with other important personal data on to a thumbdrive and another copy to a DVD-R disc and put both into seperate locations (one copy in a fireproof safe). I also make a habit of backing up my electronic logbooks onto thumbdrives (multiple copies rotated at each use) just like I do my Quicken banking data. After having lost data in the past by having only ONE copy of backup data and finding it flawed when called on to restore a corrupted hard drive, I now routinely keep 2 (at a minimum) and usually 3 copies of any backup data. Some might say this is paranoid but I have never lost any data since starting this method, even when a 1 TB RAID system bit the dust (controller crapped the bed and killed both 1 TB drives configured as RAID 0 - lost all the data on that set but had backup of backup and all was ok).

You can NEVER have too secure a backup of your data.

Gene W5DQ

Allen,

Being one of those folks who previously posted about the undue need for a life's dissertation in a macro dump, I understand that there are needs for macro use. The point that most were making was the fact that

1) Many new users simply start using the canned macros without any thought as to the usefulness of them for their needs
2) Many users think that it is ok to have a 5 to 10 minute transmit time packed into a single macro. They start out with the typical shack inventory followed by a list of life's experiences and the resultant medical conditions, etc. Usually those types have way too much info in a single macro where it would be much better to have single thought/topic coverage in a single macro rather than a long winded one. And not to sound callous as no medical issue is unimportant but I really don't find discussing someone's medical issues very entertaining. I have my own and do not discuss them on the air. I tend to lump that in with politics and religion and avoid the topics all together on the air.

If you find that you need to have less macros and make them longer, do the receiver a favor and start out the macro with "I have such and such diability and need to have a long macro.....". This way the receiving station will know that is the reason why rather than just do a power dump on them. Doing it the polite way will probably make the long macro a non-issue to many that would have some problems otherwise. I know I would be more tolerant than I might be otherwise.

Good Luck and maybe I'll see you on the waterfall. Just let's not discuss our medical stuff

Gene W5DQ

I use two 20.5" monitors configure on a vertical post style mount. The bottom monitor is directly over the main transceiver and I look straight at it with the other one being just above it with enough clearance to allow it to be tilted forward so as to when I look slightly up at it, I am looking more or less straight into it also. I wear reading glasses (1.75x) and find that the distance of appx 28-29" is perfect to see all of the screen, everything in focus and without requiring bobbing the head back and forth to see side to side on the monitors.

I use Dave AA6YQ's DX Lab suite and have DXKeeper (logging prg) with some other DX LAB app windows on the lower screen (main) and the Spotcollector prg and Commander (C.A.T. prg) on the upper. While probably 24" screens would be a bit better due to size over my 20.5", I had the 20.5's from a previous upgrade on a photo editting setup and used them. The space I had between the gear on the station console just gave me enough room to fit in the pair of 20.5" without having to move too much equipment around so that was a plus too.

You will find having 2 monitors in the shack just as useful as in other PC applications so I, for one, would say go for it.

Gene W5DQ

Sure, no problem SO LONG as only one is used at a time. I do it all the time with a trackball and a regular MS Mouse, both wireless and both active at same time. I simply turn off the MS Mouse (disable switch on bottom of mouse) when I am not using it to save the battery as I use the trackball about 99% of the time. I too have right wrist issues after a long time doing engineering drawings and docs with a mouse. Using a TB has solved much of my discomfort.

Gene W5DQ

It will until around APRIL 2014 then it dies from lack of support.

I too like the stability that XP seemed to afford me along with the ease at which it seems to work with older hardware. I find Windows 7 a bit finicky about the hardware it will play nice with. Sure it supports all the new stuff but it tends to balk once in a while with older peripherals since there is no support for Win7 compatible drivers, etc. Not pointing fingers here so no need for anyone to launch a "Windows 7 vs Windows XP" firestorm in the thread.

I'm in the 'wait till the end' mode too with my shack PC running a VERY stable Win XP build!!!

Gene W5DQ

Still like that but looks like I'll be a bit closer to AF in a short few years if all goes the course we've laid out. We're planning to retire back to Northeast Texas in 5 or so years (maybe sooner if the CA economy tanks like it is on the verge of doing). Then I'll be in the thick of the annual 6M 'bloodbath' I sit and watch with great desire every summer Es season. HF should be much better too as I need many EU and AF areas still.

73

Gene W5DQ

Exactly as it should be done (or at least applied). The overall "picture" created by reading the reviews is one of the ways I judge the suitability and quality of any item I intend to procure, whether it is for work or ham radio. One line "5 star" ratings are immeadiately squashed as non-informative (i.e. 'had it for a week and it has not failed' - ok but how was it used?). Same with low count quantity "1 star" gripes.

If the gripe is repeated over and over again then it requires more scrutiny as to why it is occuring but single (or two or three) complaint could be seen as 'the inability of the user to understand and follow directions correctly'. If a product has the typical bell curve of user reviews but is skewed towards the low end of the scale, then that suggests that either the product indeed may have a problem(s) and may need to be investigated further before deciding to procure. If it is too high, then it also needs to be closely looked at since there is no such thing as a 'perfect' product. The higher the price, the closer I scrutinize the high level reviews. No one wants to admit they bought a lemon for a bucket of money!

The number of review samples also is a big motivator in how the reviews are analyzed. A small set of reviews might not reveal the real truth about a product in as much as a very large sample set would.

Bottom line, it is up to the reader of the reviews to apply common sense and read their own 'gut' feeling about the product under review. I have never been burned YET from taking a sound logical (and educated) approach to deciphering on-line reviews. But nor do I base decisions solely on them either.

Gene W5DQ

Well for those of us NOT in Florida and can't see Africa out our front window I like the idea of having AF activiated. There are still a bunch of AF countries I still need and I, for one, like to hear AF on as much as possible. Now I can almost say your story but substitute JA vice AF I can work JA almost anytime, day or night from my QTH.

Gene W5DQ

Sounds like another OO that can't copy CW. Read a post about that a while back on another forum. OO was sending out 'slips' to those using CW for IDing at the end of a handover while using phone in a roundtable. The OO apparently could not copy the CW IDs so he had a ball sending out reports.

Many times I see stations that are very loud and have a big bright waterfall trace. Their signal is clean, just very strong. I suspect it could be considered overmodulated by someone less experienced with JT65 ops?

Gene W5DQ

From the sound of all the replies, it appears (at least to me) that many have not tried to customize the settings for CWGet. Don't get me wrong, I don't think a CW op should ONLY depend on a program like CWGet for copying code (I use my ears as much as I can up to about 20wpm) but I like to use CWGet as a second set of 'ears' in CW contests. Having tweaked the settings over a period of time, I find that I get about 80+% perfect copy on CWGet in contests where lots of ops are using computer generated code. There are NO extra spaces between the characters and I get one space between words. Of course this all depends on the sending fist. If someone has a really chaotic fist, then CWGet falls apart and copies what it can. For contests, I find this isn't a problem since I simply use it to help with fills. For ragchew and a bad fist, it isn't much good.

I'll post my settings later as I don't have access to them right now. Hopefully they will help others get more out of CWGet.

Whats the callsign? K1MAN???

Regardless of the reference error between 10M and 6M, I think maybe you might want to go back and re-read your license manual. 6M is from 50.0 to 54 Mhz, not just 54Mhz and all license classes except Novice have use of it. You're a Extra Class (or so QRZ says) so I would have thought you would know the frequency allocations for 6M even if you possibly don't operate there. Appears I may have thought wrong???.

Gene W5DQ

I have the same issue. I'm off a couple in all categories. Not a big issue right now as I am hovering just above 250 worked so got a while to reach HR. Maybe I'll try the 'resubmit all' and see what happens. Not sure what affect dropping 12K of QSOs into LOTW will have but one would think the system should be able to handle it. It would be like a new account being populated and that happens all the time (or so I suspect).

Please let us know if you have success in matching them up 1 for 1. I have never seen any logging program that I have dealt with (mine or others) where LOTW and the logging program match completely. It always seems to be a couple off one way or the other, with LOTW usually behind the logging program.

Gene W5DQ