| VE7KI |
Rating:  |
2023-05-28 | |
| Worth Every Penny |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased the Ham Radio Deluxe software suite in 2021, after a 30-day free trial. After the 30 days was up, happily paid the full price and have not looked back.
This software has turned my Yaesu FT-891 into a viable base station transceiver on a budget. Digital Master 780 has performed wonderfully and I really couldn't live without the HRD Logbook. (EASY upload of logbook data to LOTW has been a godsend.) The main HRD Rig Control GUI have made life so much easier. With a mouse click, I can control many of my radio's functions and QSY the rig easily from band to band and mode to mode.
I've had one or two problems pop up, which were dealt with almost instantly by the support staff. Imagine my surprise when the owner of the product, Mike Carper himself, walked me through an issue within 24 hours.
We hams are a decidedly "frugal" bunch. That being said, I feel that HRD has been the best $99.99 I've ever spent in the hobby. It just WORKS. |
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| W1SWL |
Rating: |
2023-01-14 | |
| It works well... Never had to Contact Support |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I worked in the computer world my entire working life. My customers always said that their "out of the box experience" was the most important criteria. Second, was that on their weekly status review meetings... if a vendor was NOT mentioned as a contact for a problem then...that was GOOD.
I am here to say that HR Deluxe fits those criteria exactly. I just works and works well. Never had to contact support ever. All updates install perfectly with no glitches. And I am eagerly awaiting UDP support in the future. I use the logger, the rotator control and at times the rig control.
Keep up the good work HRD! |
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| N4MJG |
Rating: |
2022-07-29 | |
| Great Stuff ! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
update
it works great no problem !i found it it was free when i had it older verson of software !
I use mine for awhile but had mine on laptop,but trying to get it work desktop both either way,works like it sould.now thinking of doing dual monitor,i hope i have FT-950 soon let the fun begin !
The HRD fUN EASY to use no gain no pain !
73
Jackie
N4MJG
Tullahoma,Tn
WWW.N4MJG.COM
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| WA0RLC |
Rating: |
2022-07-29 | |
| Outstanding program and support |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have used HRD since the days of Simon. Purchased the commercial version as soon as it was available (actually before it was available!). It has worked flawlessly and has rekindled in me an interest in Ham radio that had been dormant for a number of years. I made one call to tech support, but resolved the issue shortly thereafter. I received a call back within an hour which was encouraging if I had needed further support. |
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| WO8USA |
Rating: |
2022-06-11 | |
| Time machine, not with the times |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is an updated review in 2022, my 2004 review is below:
So I was one of the earlier users of HRD at really loved it circa 2002-2005. I recently purchased a license thinking I'd move up in the world. Its like a time machine, I have really tried to like it as much, but I fail to see any real upgrades. It seems the emphasis is on making my Logbook into Baseball statistics, like Sabermetics. And the fantastic customer service? I have been referred numerous times to the on-line community from my ticket requests. After 6 months, its a waste of my money. Sorry. Now I get newsletters saying new features are available, and hearing that they only get turned on with a subscription.
It is likely I will revisit HRD in 15 years and see if its still the same. As I have said in other places, I really want to like this again, as I did and reviewed blow in 2004, but its like getting a new PC and being faced with Windows 3.1, still.
My advice, as everyone else seems to do: buy a 7300 or '10, and Win4xx to go with it, with ACLog or another. I wish HRD a massive makeover to redevelop the revolution the original developers had.
-----------------------------------------
Previous review from 2004:
I cannot believe this is free....the developers deserve an award or rewards! I have my IC706MKIIG sety up for radio control (using a W3GEE CAT) directly into the serial port, and my Rigblaster set up using the USB port (with a USB-serial converter).
The S-meter and fine tuning is really great. Also, certain spot frequencies (like for PSK31) are noted on the band slider dial.
I hope the developers do not burn themselves out through---they seem to be going at a fast rate and comments are numerous on their Yahoo group.
Highly recommended!
Chris WO8USA |
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| NN2X |
Rating: |
2022-06-06 | |
| Outstanding |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Update: June 6, 2022
The support from HRD, is really the value add, that most Hams don't know.
In my case, I wanted auto logging from my WSJT-X (FT8), through the HRD into the QRZ log..
Here is real support...
I have Team viewer on my laptop, and (Kevin from HRD Support team), remoted into my Laptop, and he worked about 3 to 5 minutes at most, and selected a dozen parameters and presto...All good..It is not only HRD he set up, also WSJT-X...
These software tools like HRD, can not be fully appreciated, unless you know the finer points of the program, and typically the manufacturer will know this best...
In summary, great support, from HRD
DE NN2X
Tom
Update: 12/17/2021
I needed support to make the FTDX 10 work with the HRD, also need to figure out the logging
The support engineer (Kevin) spent at least 30 minutes, and took care of my problems.
Kevin was professional, highly knowledgeable, precise, and fast...
Really great support, I still don't know how they make money....With all the support!
Cheers / NN2X Tom
Update
Sold all my ham equipment a few years back (I did not want to!), anyway, back into Ham radio again, and one of the first items to purchase is HRD...
I can't imagine how HRD can support every single variation of these rigs! God bless their support...It has to be a nightmare!
Their support, is outstanding, even though my problem had nothing to do with HRD, their team still supported my problem...For a $100 I got my monies worth!
If only it was the software, than one can argue about the price (I guess), but with the support, it is a steal...Nearly every Ham operator will need support when installing the HRD, as each rig is different
They did a great job supporting my needs
DE NN2X Tom
This program is dynamic and flexible, however, requires plenty of support.
There are so many various radios, which require zillions of combinations configuration and unique setups.
Who will support answering all these questions from the Ham operators?...Well of course HRD Team..And for a 100 dollars it is worth it.
About the program itself. This program contains most of the variations of digital modes, remote control for the rig, control of rotor, and logging program..
What more can you ask for!(Super support and great product)!
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| K8DXX |
Rating: |
2022-04-22 | |
| Great Support and Features |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
HRD is a very powerful product that works across a wide range of machines. My experience as an IT guy (retired 15 years) and ham software user says that ham software vendors must design products that are able to deal with a wide range of hardware and software configurations. Apparently, my machine did not contain all the apps required by HRD. It worked but not reliably for the first year I had the licensed version (formerly used the Simon Brown versions).
Since then, the HRD guys offered to log into my machine and fix things, but I could not (until recently) make one of their appointments. Today, one of HRD's tech reps did TeamViewer into my machine and spent over an hour making it work! They were very thorough to make sure that I experienced no data loss and that both radios (FTDX 101MP and Flex 6600) worked correctly. A lot of apps and files were downloaded and installed, despite our slow internet speeds.
Bottom line, I like the product but think that their customer support is even better. Nice job, Ham Radio Deluxe |
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| N6VF |
Rating: |
2022-01-03 | |
| Excellent Companion |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have used HRD nearly from the beginning...first the free version...then the paid version. Almost ALL of my contacts have been logged via hrd logbook. I love this program and it plays nice with the radios i have used. I highly recommend this program! Digital modes, logging, radio control....the list goes on and its growing. I recently ran into an issue i couldnt resolve that caused issues with the logbook. I reached out to HRD and Dr. Michael (Mike) Carper, VK4EIE (WA9PIE)
CEO/HRD Software.... jumped on it! I was excited to get the issue fixed fast! Dr. Carper had me on the track again in no time and has followed up. I have a reniewed faith in customer service! The yearly support option give you newly developed features if desired and of course...help if needed... try HRD! |
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| WU7X |
Rating: |
2021-12-12 | |
| It's alive, ALIVE !! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I was having the same issue as N4EEB; logging program slowing down and freezing up. Big issues using DX Cluster, LOTW, etc. I became frustrated enough to want to transition to another logging program. I contacted HRD via their website asking for help creating an adif file of the log.
Mike, the owner, contacted me directly. He promised to get the program working, or else. Remember, Mike is currently living in Australia. We scheduled a repair time using Team Viewer. It was 5 a.m. my time (PST) and 11 p.m. on a Saturday night his. The problem turns out not to be HRD code but with accessing MS Access. We spent an hour together, mostly just chatting. The repair was implemented within the first 15 minutes.
I have been running HRD controlling WSJT-X for the last couple of hours, a serious problem in the past. Absolutely no issues at all using at least four different bands, turning the system off and on, etc. I've made over 40 QSOs today so far and uploaded/downloaded the data to LOTW. No problemo.
I consider this excellent support from HRD. No more plans on moving off this platform. |
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| N4EEB |
Rating: |
2021-12-08 | |
| Instability and Speed Issues |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| The logbook is painfully slow and buggy. |
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