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Reviews For: BV QSL Management and Label Printing

Category: Ham Software/Apps - Other than logging

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Review Summary For : BV QSL Management and Label Printing
Reviews: 13MSRP: freeware
Description:
QSL Management and label printing
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.qsl.net/df3cb/bv.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00133.5
SV9RMU Rating: 2017-06-17
Very difficult to get working Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have now spent 2 full days trying to get BV7 to print QSL stickers as I want. No success!!! For some reason the first two (2) labels on the A4 page are positioned correctly, but all the rest are far too wide and totally misaligned.

Another problem is that BV7 always sends stuff to the default printer (an inkjet in my case) and not to the one selected in printer settings (a laser in my case).

I will dump this software and find something else, that works.
K2CJ Rating: 2013-02-04
Tricky but good ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had used BV6 on another PC and just downloaded BV7 on my WinXP laptop. Having originally created a label template on BV6 many moons ago, I figured I could create a new one (since couldn't import the old one) in BV7 but... whether it's old age setting in or what I don't know, I gave up after an hour or so and looked for help which led me to the Yahoo Group on BV7 and, happily, KI4WCQ's post and his label template. I downloaded that and did some massaging of it in BV7 - modified text, changed font sizes a bit, etc. and lo and behold just printed a 30 label sheet with minimal tweaks. So... a big TNX to KI4WCQ for the template and post, and I definitely agree with the advice to use someone's template rather than create your own from scratch - it's not for the faint of heart - hi! There are a number of label templates in the file section on the BV7 Yahoo Groups site.
KI4WCQ Rating: 2011-05-18
Works great, but get someone's template as a start point Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
BV7 does a great job on labels. I give it a 4 as it is a little tricky to make up your first label since the documentation/help file assumes you have knowledge of the designer template. To avoid all the distress and aggravation, download one of the templates that are in the BV7 Yahoo Users Group and use that as a basis for adjusting to other label types. I could have saved several hours of effort if I had done that. I uploaded a template for Avery 5160/8160 so you can use that as a starting point and avoid that first high hurdle. While it has many preloaded templates, they require tinkering to get a good starting template and it's not obvious on how to make it happen. It's more than a select and click, so I recommend starting with a download from the user group to avoid all the problem solving. Once you have a download or make your own starting template then you can easily select other label styles. It really makes a nice label, and apprently a lot of mangers use it since my labels looks like theirs!
W1MU Rating: 2010-12-29
Excellent Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This application does a superb job of printing QSL labels. I have used it off and on for several years, and the new BV7 label designer is a big improvement. The one recommendation I could make to any prospective user is to PRINT OUT AND READ THE MANUAL. This is not a program that you should just jump into to see what happens. It is a thoughtful, fully featured piece of applications software and if you don't read the manual you could get very frustrated.
K0HB Rating: 2007-05-15
Does what needs doing Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
For the price (free) it's hard to beat. I'd have given this product a "5" except for some tweaking and fiddling needed to initially get it to print good labels. Contains templates for many brands/sizes of labels and paper size/formats (and you can build your own 'custom' templates). Unfortunately (I think because it is set up for European paper sizes) it takes some fiddling to get the printing properly registered on the labels.

Once that's done (only needs doing once) the output is very professional and attractive.

Highly recommended.

G3UCQ Rating: 2006-08-01
Worth sticking with Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I tried practically every logging program with label/qsl print facilites I could find and none were that easy to setup to do what I wanted - to print on my own QSL cards. BV QSL was one of the first and I gave up after a while, but after trying the others gave it another try and I am glad I did.
After a little work, BV QSL does exactly what I want so I cannot ask more than that. I printed out the manual which helped with a few queries.
It will be the only QSL printing program I shall use until something very much better comes along.
Heck it is free!!!!!
73s John
G3UCQ
WW3S Rating: 2006-07-06
very confusing and difficult to use Time Owned: more than 12 months.
no "stock" layouts included and a very, very confusing layout designer makes this next to impossible to use.
G3VGR Rating: 2005-01-11
Complex Product Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I had little success using various different programs to print QSL labels, so eventually tried BV. For a single operator, it definitely seems a case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, because it's power and functionality is aimed at QSL Managers and others who deal with large quantities of cards/labels. The program isn't too intuitive either, but I managed to get to grips with using it successfully and reliably to print out either labels or direct details on cards. I have saved a few different layouts from the Label Designer, tailored for various annual contests etc., which is quite a neat feature. Now that BV has given me a repetitive method to print labels and cards, I'll stick with it.
KJ5XX Rating: 2004-11-12
Very buggy, not ready for primetime Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Great concept, very poorly implemented. This program is one of the most frustrating pieces of software I've ever worked with. It is not at all intuitive and behaves in unpredictable ways that after struggling with trying to figure out for over 2 hours, I finally gave up.

There are many, much better Ham Radio software examples out there - Ham Radio Deluxe being one of the very best. This program pales by comparison.

I work in the IT industry, so I'm not some newbie.
W9IND Rating: 2004-10-26
Just not user-friendly Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I don't mean to look a gift horse in the mouth -- I'm always appreciative when someone puts intense effort into a software product and then offers it for free to anyone who wants it. So I want to say thanks right up front, lest anyone consider me a malcontent.

But this is the place for honest reviews, right?

So let me say this: I'm no newbie when it comes to software or ham radio. I've downloaded and installed more software programs than I can remember, and have rarely had a problem making them do what I wanted them to do.

But quite frankly, BV has some of the most unfathomable instructions I've ever seen. Tonight, for instance, I spent a couple of hours trying to get it to import my ASCII contest logs, which it theoretically has the ability to do. I followed the instructions carefully and had no trouble getting to (and into) the import function. The problem was, it didn't like something about my files. Partway through the import process, it repeatedly got hung up at a certain point, lacking any visible means of going backward or forward.

The help files were, well, no help. They didn't cover the situations I encountered, plus they read like they were written for someone with an engineering degree, not the average ham looking for a simple way of printing labels.

So ... I'd love to brag about this product -- believe me, nothing would make me happier than saying I had a wonderful experience and have cranked out hundreds of great-looking labels. And I'm sure that's possible with this software.

But I have to rank it a 2 -- "needs help" -- because the bottom line is, it's simply not user-friendly. The designers should spend less time on bells and whistles and more time on clarity.