Still in a learning curve MacLoggerDX is doing a good job. So far, the shortfalls are ones I knew of before I made the purchase so I would never consider those items a negative (including being pricy). It runs very well on the Mac and supplied the info necessary to talk to popular digital programs. It has a whole bunch of features and will take some time to work through them all (or most). Of the two digital mode programs I have found that WSJT-X is the most seamless with MacLoggerDX. Fldigi is a bit clunky (I used MultiPSK on the windows machine). I hope I can make improvements with the interface with Fldigi, but I am not too hopeful that will happen.
For information purposes the following are things I knew going in that would have been nice to have:
- User define fields
- Mapping of fields from my former logger to MacLoggerDX
“Nice to have” items I should have known about:
- It would be nice to have more rig control including user specific commands. (e.g. VOX on and off and a tune button)
- More to come (?).
Not so good:
- In the QSL received field DXLab puts a Y for QSL received and R to request a QSL. When the confirmation process in MLDX was run it confirmed 100% of all QSO’s in my log (entered using DXLab) as the QSL R field contained data. Note: This issue was corrected in v6.54.
My aging Windows laptop was in need of replacement. It has been said that you want to replace your old computer the day before it crashes. Having no idea when that would be I decided to bring in the new and out with the old. The new came in the form of a Mac mini (a new monitor also). In the ham radio world running a Mac is not exactly mainstream, but I did it anyway.
By getting an new computer I hopped to accomplish a few things as follows:
- Replace before the old machine called it quits.
- Reduce the computing equipment footprint.
- Increase computing efficiency – boot up and shut down time; processing time (although not all that bad with the old machine).
- Try something different.
With only a week behind the keyboard the following are my thoughts (so far).
The Mac mini itself is an impressive little machine. And I mean little. But as with any computer platform in the end what can I run on the system? Being frugal (aka cheap) I reluctantly put my money down and purchased MacLoggerDX. After using for a few years an incredible software suite called DXLab I was not sure what to expect. I will not comment too much at this time. It would be unfair as I am still in the learning phase (more to come in future posts). In short, MacLoggerDX runs very well on the Mac, does a whole bunch of stuff, appears to be well supported by the developer and is easy to use.
The question that is begging to be asked are there issues so far? The short answer is yes. Although primarily a CW op I have been getting involved with the digital mode Olivia and I did want to get WSJT-X up and running also. For Olivia the use of Fldigi was necessary. I was surprised the hoops one has to jump through to get the digital programs to run. I wanted the two digital programs to see the radio, log a contact and use PTT. It felt like I was back in the days when I dabbled in Linux. After reading the documentation and with help from videos by KØPIR mission accomplished.
More to follow.
Well, I am graduating. Olivia 8/250 is so slow, even for me. I kicked it up to 16/500. It is not blazing speed, but a bit faster than 8/250. At this point I only had one QSO at 16/500, but it is promising. Obviously when answering a CQ it will be at the speed of the caller, but now I will respond to CQ’s at two speeds of Olivia and call CQ at the faster speed. I will not get into a conversation at faster speeds as typing is and will forever be a handicap.
MultiPSK is a very good program. I am getting familiar with the interface and have written the proper number of macros (for my needs). Also, it links well with DXLab. The link is not as smooth or as complete as I would like, but better than others I have tried (limit). Keeping in mind that I keep a detailed log more so than others may maintain. Therefore, I like a lot of detail.
Note: I have the utmost respect for those hams who write the software I am using and offer it to the Amateur Radio community. I would not know where to begin to write such great applications. Any comments made in my post are not meant to take anything away from this fact.
My logging program and limited radio control is DXlab. Therefore, it is always preferable that any other applications used interface with the modules of DXlab. Since the digital component of DXlab (WinWarbler) does not support most digital modes, other applications are required to operate those modes. For example, when operating FT8/4 (not my favorite) using WSJT-X with JTAerts is flawless. When it comes to Olivia, I started out with FLDIGI. To try and have it talk to DXLab I used the published gateway between the two applications. Not having the best of luck with that combination I moved on to MULTIPSK, the program I am currently using. This application talks well with DXLab, but at times I struggle with the user interface. I will not go into my issues in this post as I am too new to the application and still learning. I will save that for future posts. I will say that MUULTIPK is a fine program and can do a lot of stuff very well.
Well, as stated before Olivia in the version I am trying (8/250) is very slow. However, for my typing ability, it appears to be just fine. As it is a full duty cycle mode and transmissions are very long, I run only 15 watts. So far, I have done okay and manager to have good QSO’s at that power level. As for software, I have moved from FLDIGI to MULTIPSK. More on that in another post.
Other digital modes are getting a look see. I have tried Olivia 8/250 and MFSK16. I thought Olivia 8/250 would be perfect for my typing speed, but it is very slow even for me. Getting contacts on any of these modes (including PSK31) so far has been hard. This is true because of my setup and so few active stations. I have been operating only on 20 meters so far.
Back in the day when PK31 first came on the airwaves I was very active with the mode. Over time I drifted away and became all in with CW. Maybe the fact that I am a poor typist had something to do with the move. Although my typing has not improved very much, I am now giving PSK31 another look. There is far less activity on the bands now than when I was active, but there are operators out there. Time will tell.