Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: TravelPlus for Repeaters

Category: Ham Software/Apps - Other than logging

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : TravelPlus for Repeaters
Reviews: 35MSRP: $39.95
Description:
Map based repeater directory software
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.arrl.org/catalog/index.php3?category=FM+%26+Repeaters
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00351.9
VE2DC Rating: 2010-02-26
Ver 10 -Somewhat useful... but cumbersome to use. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Review is for ver 10. It is very useful for generating custom repeater lists but is cumbersome to use. Also it doesn't interface with the very popular Garmin USB devices. The update procedure is ridiculous if you live outside of the USA... you have to mail back a proof of purchase then pay shipping/customs for a new CD... takes a month for a net saving of close to nothing!!! There is no subscription service to keep the data current so you have to upgrade to keep the data current. Overall, desperately in need of a rethink!
W9TAM Rating: 2009-08-03
Interface needs some serious work Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently purchased this software and it took me WAY too long to figure out how to:

- set my home as the default location instead of the "nearest major city."

- generate a simple list of repeaters within 30 miles of my home.

- edit the generated list. I still haven't figured out how to select a group of repeaters to delete, since the standard Shift+click that works in every other Windows program just isn't working for me.

These are basic tasks. I wasn't even trying to do anything "fancy" like find repeaters along a driving route.

I work in IT, and this program made me feel like an idiot for not being able to figure out its lousy interface. I regret spending $40 on this, but there is no real alternative for easy radio programming via computer.
K6LCS Rating: 2009-07-08
Repeater Owners' Input Time Owned: more than 12 months.

I have found the software and resulting data informative for trips to areas I haven't visited before. It has always given me results with open, owrking repeaters the few times I have used it.
WX4JCW Rating: 2009-04-28
Missing some repeaters in 2009-2010 version Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Purchased the 2009-2010 version last week, this cd is missing some repeaters that are active

146.730 Ares.Races in Orlando
K6JSI Winsystem in California

this is what i found so far but i am unsure if any others are missing.

I Hope they will address this in an update
K1SJC Rating: 2009-02-18
disappointing Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this cd 2/14 and downloaded the fixes from the ARRL - no help. It still fails with the 380 message. I called the ARRL (the number inside the CD case) and complained. They said I was the 4th person to complain in 2/17 about the fault that reappeared this weekend. They offered to allow me to return the CD - which I will. I too have the TM-D710 and bought for the same reason the previous poster did. I had v. 10 TP and it worked, but I wanted the latest repeater list. You can update the repeater list, but it requires lat & long inputs, etc. - very time consuming. I called Kenwood to complain about not supporting import of plain old .csv files - I wish RT Systems made software for this radio!
N8DV Rating: 2009-02-10
Not worth the money Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I agree with all about the worthlessness of the software. In 2007, I even spoke with the author of the software about the problems interfacing a gps antenna with the software to track my travels. He hemmed and hawed around and finally admitted that there were capability issues. I even stated the issue with Windows XP, service pack 3 causing problems with the software. 2007 was the last time I purchased the software and I will never purchase it again. It's cheaper and quicker to whip out the repeater directory--book form--and look up the repeaters. ARRL should rethink sponsoring such junkware.
AC9CR Rating: 2009-02-10
Another worthless ARRL Brick Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought this at Dayton last year. This is just another way that the ARRL has found to get more money from us. This is certainly not a quality product. The ARRL does well at manuals and a great many other things, but this isn't one of them. I had a great deal of trouble planning any trip with this program. It took longer with the repeater directory but the results were much better.
KC0WRM Rating: 2009-02-09
terrible software Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I own version 2007-2008

This software is horrible. it was obviously written by a hacker in their basement whos day job is NOT software! why:

1. terrible user interface. see dialog with 10 or more checkboxes.
2. the map is hard to navigate, there are only a couple of zoom levels.
3. way too expensive! at $50
4. the repeater locations are only good to the city level, nothing more specific, so in large cities the repeaters pile up in the same location.
5. you have to keep buying the software every year to get the latest repeater data.
6. it takes about 20 minutes for a new user to figure out how to draw a path of interest on the map accurately.

The only things this software is any good for is for creating a repeater list based on your travel route, and possibly exporting to your radio programming software via csv file or other means. it is horrible at this but it can be done.

its got a monopoly on the market for repeater mapping software (as far as i know).

it would be better if a repeater list was available as an excel file download for a more reasonable price, $50 is way too steep.
KB7TBT Rating: 2008-11-10
Dont waste your cash! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have been using this product for 6 months now, it is the "new" version and it is already out of date and missing old data. The map features are simplistic and not up to any basic standards. I do give it a 1 due to the fact that it is a "ok" tool to have. But without the ability to update the information its reliability is slim to none.
KR6FK Rating: 2008-03-14
no *.tpe format anymore Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just bought 11.0 version. Other programs can import *.tpe Travelplus data files, but this new version doesn't support *.tpe files anymore. Travelplus authors make ADMS program to import new data so you can write it to radio, but that is another $50. I can only assume they dropped *.tpe file support to kill the competition and sell more software. Back to ebay from wence it came.