NCJ Reviews: WriteLog for Windows Logging Software

By Randall A. Thompson, K5ZD
11 Hollis Street, Uxbridge, MA 01569
E-mail k5zd@contesting.com

National Contest Journal, Volume 27 No. 2 (March/April 1999)

I "discovered" WriteLog in September 1997 when I posted a message on the contest reflector asking for information on software packages that would enable me to work RTTY using my computer's sound card. The choices included a variety of DOS packages that all had proven track records - but with a higher price tag than I really wanted to pay just to try out a new mode.

I work for a software company that develops industrial automation software for Windows NT. I spend all of my computer time at work and at home in the Windows 98 or Windows NT environments. Why should I go back to DOS for contest logging? WriteLog advertised itself as a true Windows package so I ordered a copy.

I had actually seen WriteLog once before back in 1991 or so. The program's author, Wayne Wright, W5XD, had sent me a copy of his package for logging in Windows 3.1. It had some interesting features, but was in no way competitive with the DOS packages of the time (mostly because of the limitations of Windows 3.1). Seeing it 7 years later, I couldn't believe how far it has come.

Despite the years of work Wayne put into the package, WriteLog had not received much visibility in the contest community. Logging is a very emotional subject, and people are not willing to take many risks. Several years ago, RTTY contester K5DJ saw WriteLog and asked Wayne to add support specifically for RTTY. As Ron started winning RTTY contests using WriteLog, it developed quite a following among RTTY contesters and Wayne committed to continuing the development. The result is a package, which is full, featured, extremely robust, and competitively priced.

My RTTY Experience

My first attempt at RTTY and WriteLog was the CQWW RTTY Contest in September 1997. I only needed a trip to Radio Shack to get the necessary cables to connect from the Soundblaster card in my computer to the radio's mic input and audio output. It took just a few minutes to get set up running AFSK and I was making QSOs. It was a thrill to be a novice contester again. The QSOs came slowly, but I was learning something new with each one. Prior to this, my entire RTTY career may have been 50 QSOs helping out at contest multi-ops.

I remember being totally confused when stations would send their exchange as TOOQWP. Yikes! Turns out, you just look for the number on the keyboard just above the letter and you can convert from the letter to the associated number (something about old TTY units and pressing the shift key…TOOQWP is 599120).

At first, RTTY contesting is a little frustrating for a CW operator. You have to tune the station in before you start getting useful information. On CW, I start copying letters as soon as the signal enters the passband. This made search and pounce operation in RTTY a bit more difficult, but I quickly learned how get right on the proper tones to start "printing." WriteLog includes a tuning scope window that really helps with getting on frequency.
RTTY contesting is fun in that you see the information flow on to the screen. WriteLog automatically color codes new calls that it sees in the text - green for new QSOs and yellow for new multipliers. To work someone, you just click on their call which fills it into the logging window. Then click on their exchange info and it is automatically entered into the exchange field.

RTTY is much more than just point and shoot. There is still a bit of skill required. The HF bands are filled with QRM, QSB, and noise, so not every station prints perfectly all the time. All of your skills at detecting callsigns are just as valuable in RTTY as they are on CW and Phone. WriteLog supports the same super check partial databases that are available for CT and NA, as well as its own specialized one for RTTY. There is also a "friend" mode for those of you who like to say hello by name during your exchanges.

Pile-ups are a combination of brute force and timing. RTTY tends to only capture and print one signal at a time. If several callers are on the same frequency, all you see on the screen is garbage. It is kind of like a big Sunday afternoon African pile-up on SSB mixed with the capture effect of 2-meter FM. The really good ops seem to have a knack for putting their call right in the spaces.

WriteLog supports all of the major RTTY contests. It also supports a wide variety of FSK terminal units. FSK is the choice of serious RTTY operators, but I have found that WriteLog does a very competitive job copying in AFSK mode - especially if you can narrow down the audio passband of your receiver. WriteLog has two copying modes - a narrow band mode and a wide band mode. By displaying both of them simultaneously, you can often copy part of a transmission in one mode and another part in the other. W5XD has an advanced degree in signal processing and it is simply amazing what he can make the Soundblaster card do. I have seen clear print on a station that I could not even hear among the QRM.

CW Logging

WriteLog's user interface has improved dramatically over the past year. As a result, I found myself using WriteLog in a number of smaller contests.. It was while CQing on CW in a relatively dead band in the ARRL 10 Meter Contest that I discovered one of the fun things about logging in Windows - I started using other programs at the same time! I could do some writing or other work and then just alt-tab over to WriteLog to log a QSO. I really became a convert when I had the auto repeat CQ going and simultaneously dialed my Internet Service Provider and downloaded my e-mail. Even with all the serial port activity to the modem, the CW sending from WriteLog was perfect.

The WriteLog user interface for CW is similar to CT and NA. You can assign predefined messages to any of the function keys. There are a number of custom codes that can be inserted in messages to automatically send calls, pieces of the exchange or handle dupes. The insert and enter keys will automatically send the call plus exchange or QSL messages. You can program the CW speed to change within the message to make those fancy sounds that are all the rage among contest expeditions today.

WriteLog allows you to preprogram up to 20 different sending speeds. The alt-F9 key moves down the list of speeds while Alt-F10 moves up. I set my system up to change by 1 WPM in the 30-34 WPM range, and then go to 2 WPM jumps for the rest. Sending speed can range from 5 to 60 WPM. You can also adjust the CW weight.

The keying interface from the parallel and serial ports is identical to that used by CT so I was able to use my W1WEF interfaces without modification. WriteLog can send CW through the LPT and COM ports in Windows 95 or 98, but only through the COM ports for Windows NT 4.0. My work laptop only has NT installed, so there is no way I can run any of the DOS packages on it, but WriteLog works just fine. W5XD has designed an external keying circuit that will also allow the keyer paddles to be connected into the computer.

WriteLog is very efficient in its use of computer resources. I run it on an AMD K5-133 processor with 64 MB of RAM and Windows 98. A pretty basic machine by today's standards. Even with several thousand QSOs in the log, the super check partial comes up quickly. I often catch a mistake and change it in the logging window while the call is still being sent. If the changed letters have not yet gone out, WriteLog will send the corrected letters.

Phone Capabilities

Much of the functionality described in RTTY and CW is also available for Phone of course. WriteLog supports the W9XT voice keyer card but it does not support the DVP board available from LZ Engineering.

DVP support isn't really missed since the sound card can duplicate many of the same functions. Messages can be recorded and editing using any Windows WAV recorder or editor, or you can record messages on the fly from within WriteLog. Letter and number combinations can be prerecorded so that WriteLog can send callsigns and exchange serial numbers for you. The same cables I purchased for working AFSK RTTY can also be used for SSB contesting. You may need some inexpensive 1:1 audio transformers (available from Radio Shack) to prevent ground loops causing hum on your transmitted audio.

Two Radio Support

WriteLog has excellent support for two-radio operation in all three modes. Users can configure separate logging windows for each radio - an interface that I find far superior to the DOS packages. I can start an auto-repeat CQ in logging window 1, and still check calls in logging window 2. Each logging window can have its own band map as well. This is really helpful for the assisted operator who is chasing multipliers on the second band. All packet spots can be automatically included in the band maps plus you can manually enter your own.

For RTTY operation, WriteLog is powerful enough to simultaneously decode two audio streams through the sound card. Imagine having two logging windows, band maps, and RTTY copying windows running and visible at the same time. Lockouts built into the software handle the problem of transmitting on more than one band at a time. K5DJ uses the multiple monitor feature of Windows 98 to drive a separate screen for each radio!

On SSB, you can wire the left and right audio channels to different radios and WriteLog will handle all of the audio switching as you move between the logging windows. Here too, the ability to CQ on one band while checking calls on another is a real score builder.

WriteLog toggles pins on the parallel port for controlling external peripherals and antenna switching. The pin outs are fairly compatible with the other contest logging packages so you should have no trouble converting over. Software menu entries allow you to select which window is the right hand radio and which is the left. It is actually possible to have four separate logging windows but I find I am limited by the number of ears that I have!

WriteLog has excellent support for connection to the popular contest radios. I counted entries for 17 different Icom radios, JRC, all Kenwood rigs, the three most popular TenTec rigs, and 7 different Yaesu radios. Radios can be connected to up to four COM ports.

Multi-Ops and Networking

I have not personally used WriteLog in a multi-op or networked situation. However, reports from KV1W and from K5DJ are that it is pretty slick. All networking is handled using standard Ethernet connections between the computers and NetBEUI protocol. Ethernet cards and cables are cheap and NetBEUI is a standard built into every version of Windows. The network can be any mix of computers running 95, 98, and NT.

WriteLog minimizes the impact of computer or network failures by allowing individual computers to join or leave the network at any time. If a station goes down, it recovers its local copy of the log first before rejoining the network. It then exchanges copies of the entire log with the rest of the network so there is no need to later merge the various logs if stations fail to stay on the network for the entire contest. Don't worry, performance is such that the operators on the other computers don't even see this happening. WriteLog claims it can handle 500 network updates per second!

Passing information between stations is a big part of any multi-op. A gab function allows you to send a message to all stations in a pop-up window. The real-time frequency of every station can also be presented in a window. Of course the packet information is also passed across the network and each operator can elect to see spots from all bands or only the current band.

According to WS7I, WriteLog has the best support for directed telnet access to PacketCluster systems that may be on the Internet. For the contests that allow Internet access to spots, this makes it easy. You simply connect to your local service provider and then telnet to the appropriate host. Any time the host sends out a spot, it will automatically show up in the packet window and band map. More details are provided in the support area of the WriteLog web site.

Supported Contests

WriteLog currently handles 37 different contests plus a general purpose DXpedition mode. All of the major RTTY, HF, and VHF contests are covered. The two largest state QSO Parties, California and Pennsylvania, are included with support for both in and out of state entrants. The NCJ's NAQP and NA Sprint contests are provided. Even the Stew Perry Top Band Distance Challenge with its grid based scoring in real-time is included. While I use WriteLog just for contest logging, several users have reported that the DXpedition mode makes a very good general-purpose logger including the WARC bands.

File Formats

All of the files needed for submission of contest logs can be quickly generated. The use of Windows RTF format files provide beautiful looking summary and log sheets. I have had no problems with any contest sponsor accepting the RTF format or text format log files generated by the program. WriteLog has its own native log file format, but data can be exported to a variety of formats including ASCII text, WK1 spreadsheet, comma separated variable, and ADIF.

The CTY files generated by AD1C can be imported for use in WriteLog. The multiplier files can be easily edited for building custom contests.

Final Comments

WriteLog has so many features it is impossible to list them all. Windows for scoring, multiplier display, rate graphs, check call, check country, rate display, on/off time calculation, and many more are available. Placement of windows on the screen is completely up to the user. I found it took me a few hours of operation to adjust to the differences between the Windows environment and what I had been used to in DOS.

My only complaint about WriteLog is the lack of post contest statistics information. There is no hourly breakdown or count of QSOs/multiplier that are most useful for analysis after the contest. KV1W has used the WK1 file format to import log data in Excel and then use pivot tables for generating this information. I just don't want to work that hard!

WriteLog has a generally good on-line help file. There is no printed document available, but this is the trend in the software industry. Considering the programmer is the guy also writing the help, you can generally find the answers to all of your questions. I have found K5DJ to be quick in responding to technical support requests. There is also an Internet mailing list of users who are very helpful.

I have now used WriteLog in a full year's worth of very competitive CW and RTTY contests. Not once has the program crashed during operation. When you consider the number of features and complexity inherent in good Windows software, this is a powerful testimony to W5XD's programming skills. Wayne has also been very agreeable to accepting suggestions from users and seems to generate a new and improved version every month or so. Minor version updates are available for free download from the web site.

I recommend WriteLog without hesitation. WriteLog has satisfied virtually all of my contest logging requirements. The ability to handle all three contesting modes without the need to buy lots of extra hardware is an added bonus.

WriteLog is available from Ron Staihley, K5DJ, 504 Dove Haven Drive, Round Rock, TX 78664. Telephone (512) 255-5000 (8 AM to 9 PM CST). E-mail: k5dj@writelog.com. Web: http://www.contesting.com/writelog. Price is $75.

Send mail to k5dj@writelog.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 1997-2005 by Ron Stailey, K5DJ