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write your own review of the WriteLog by W5XD.
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K6RIM
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 5, 2009 07:54
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Powerful & Reliable
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Have been using Writelog for at least ten years, and I'm an extremely satisfied user. As with any powerful software, there is a learning curve.
Have read a few complaints that serial port generated CW can be choppy, but I have always generated CW in this manner without any problems whatsoever.
Periodic upgrades are available, and my experience is that the upgrade code is received promptly after e-mailing payment information to Ron, usually in less than 30 minutes!
Highly recommended!
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WA6L
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 5, 2009 14:27
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Solid, Dependable, and Bulletproof
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Contesting is a complicated business. You have to deal with different exchanges, duplicate detection, different logging format requirements, cabrillo file preparation, macros, scoring, QSO rates, and many other factors. Therefore it stands to reason that any software you buy to help you with these tasks will be complicated as well.
Writelog is no exception. You are not going to install it and start operating your first contest in an hour. It takes time to read through all the help files and get everything configured. I always find it amusing when Hams write a negative review of a product because it is "too complicated." What they mean to say is that they are too lazy or too dense to figure things out on their own.
In the almost three years that I have been using Writelog, I have found answers to every question I had (and there have been many) in the help files. If for some reason you can't find it or can't figure it out via the help files, there is an active and friendly forum available that will help you find the answer.
I have tried several different contesting loggers, and I keep coming back to Writelog. Yes, it has an incredible feature set. But so do many competing products. Yes, it is reliable, but ditto for the other loggers out there. In my mind, there are two things that separate Writelog from the others.
First is the networking capabilities. The networking was upgraded a year or two ago and it is now bulletproof. When running multi-multi, you have all the standard networking features including chat, instant log updates on all computers, and band listing for all rigs. It also has a lock-out feature, which you can set up to ensure that only one rig is transmitting at a time. That is very handy to ensure you are complying with all the rules in some contests.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, is the redundancy of the logging system. It is almost impossible to lose log entries.
When operating single-op, Writelog keeps QSO records in a temporary cache as well as in the log. So if there is a computer crash, you won't lose records since the last save. As you bring the computer back on line, it will recover the unsaved records and prompt you to put them back in the log.
The networking capability gives you even greater redundancy. If you are running multi-multi, there is a copy of the entire log on each computer. So you can literally take one computer, throw it in a lake, and you haven't lost a single QSO. Further, if you own two computers, you can have both of them running Writelog even if you are just a single op. That way your log is duplicated to the other computer automatically.
Writelog is serious software for serious contesters. I don't think you will find a better product out there at any cost.
Thanks and 73,
John, WA6L
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VE2DC
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 1, 2009 12:39
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Works well but not so cheap.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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As somebody pointed out it is now only $30. But keep in mind, $30 only buys support for one year. I'm also a little miffed that those who paid $75 weren't given an extra years support!
Nonetheless, it works well. I particularly like the CW decoder as it provides back-up if you get distracted or if you are not quite sure you copied a call. Its the best CW decoder I've tried. The only negative is the bizarre, poorly documented, non-intuitive setup. The setup for serial ports is just plain wierd and harks back to days when only 4 COM ports were supported by Windows. Once you figure it out, however, the program is very reliable.
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OLDFART13
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 12, 2008 12:22
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The Best.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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OK, I'll keep it simple:
If you are a serious contester the WRITELOG is the best choice.
If you are a casual contester, or very cheap, then N1MM should suit your needs.
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VE7GIF
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 19, 2008 20:21
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Great contest logger
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I highly recommend it I just got it set up in time to do some S&P in the JARTS contest. It was one of the most fun easiest contest to work. A few simple clicks and the exchanges were sent,logged and noted in the bandscope. I cant wait for the next contest
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K4EC
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 11, 2008 07:43
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Works great with new network upgrades for multi stations
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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We had used WriteLog for years at the NR4M multi station. However, we had network connectivity issues. We switched to Win-Test which had solid network connectivity between the stations.
Steve received word that WriteLog had upgraded the network portion of the application, so about a year ago we switched back. It has worked great since then. The network connectivity between stations is rock solid and we got back all of the Writelog features and contests.
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AB8XG
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 4, 2008 07:32
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AWSOME CONTEST SOWTWARE
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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First just let me say that this is CONTEST software, and very specalized,and like most competition grade products requires that you spend the time to learn all tricks that make it work.That being said it works great and is capable of doing whatever you need from a contest software. It is very reliable and I havn't lost any Qsos even with a power outage and 20 unsaved contacts during an contest, when the power came back on and i rebooted the computer it asked me if I wanted to save my unsaved qsos. Another thing that I really like about it is that you do not have to have a fully automated setup to use this program, you can change bands or whatever you need to do manually with no problems (unlike some of the other contest logging programs). Any questions that I have had have been quickly answered by others on the e-mail reflector.In conclusion if you are looking for a greaat contest logging program,and are willing to put in the time to learn how it works (DO NOT BUY THIS THE DAY OF THE CONTEST YOU WANT TO WORK YOU WON'T BE HAPPY) it works great and supports a bunch of contests, makes great cabrillo logs etc. If you are a little pistol (like me) or a big gun station i think you will like thes software. Kenny AB8XG
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W0BKR
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Rating: 2/5
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Dec 20, 2007 05:07
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Problems from start
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I will update this if I ever get this software package to install. Purchased version 10.4 and yet to be able to install it on my older Win95 laptop that I use for RTTY. I specified this when ordering and wasn't told I needed to install Instmsia.exe updated Windows Installer. Well, downloaded that and loaded it but Writelog still wont' install. So far, no luck and not much help.
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ZS6AAA
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 19, 2007 13:14
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Excellent package but documentation could be better
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've been using WriteLog for about 3 years now. It does exactly what it is supposed to do, and has never given any trouble. I recently upgraded my station to full SO2R capability, and it only took about an hour to set up WriteLog and figure out how to make it work on SO2R.
I'm exclusively a CW contester, have used both the COM port and the LPT line for computer-generated keying, and have never had any CW timing problems. Admittedly, I usually work 25-30 wpm so there may be timing problems at faster speeds (in which case I'll just switch to using my WinKeyer to generate the PC keying). Note however that to use the LPT port under Windows XP you need the directio drivers, which cost an additional US$ 29. (I use two serial ports for rig control, and wanted the CW keying and rig A/B switching on LPT).
If WriteLog has a weakness, it's that the documentation could be better, plus it would be nice if they included LPT control for Windows XP at no additional cost. Also, some more advanced settings require manual fiddling with the writelog.ini text file - it would be nicer if everything could be set up within the Windows interface (but note that these are set-once-and-forget type settings, like automatic log saving, nothing that I want to change regularly).
I haven't had much opportunity to test the technical support recently; but when I first got the package I asked for the RSGB Commonwealth Contest to be added, and it was.
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W3TUA
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Rating: 3/5
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Jun 1, 2007 18:08
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Only okay
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Congrats to the guy that bought the program for $30. It cost a lot more than that when I purchased it about 3 years ago.
PROS--Very stable, voice keying works FB. works well with WinKey or W5XD Multikeyer. With the Multikeyer SO2R is easy.
Cons--If you don't use WinKey then you will have CW timing/stutter problems. It's quite frustrating and it doesn't matter if you use a legacy serial port or USB-to-serial adapter. Networking setup is complicated. N1MM worked the first time with very little fuss. The biggest problem is paying for an "update" later that should have been included in the first place that adds absolutely no added functionality.
N1MM works much better with serial CW keying and networking. It does everything Writelog does and more. Don't mention that it's also FREE.
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