New User - Feature suggestions

[vk4ma]

Hello Log4OM V2 Team

I am a recent convert to Log4Om V2 after being a pretty satisfied DXkeeper user for many years.

I thought I would use the Wuhan Virus lock down period to trial a new logbook and compare to Dxkeeper - I trialled logger 32 and Log4om version 2 for a few weeks and have decided that Log4OM version 2 is now my new logbook on a permanent basis. Congrats to the team on developing such an excellent logbook.

As I was going through the log setup via reference to the manual I did jot down a few things that were not working for me so thought I would throw these things up as potential improvements (or get some tips from the forum if I am simply not understanding right) - here goes

1 I cannot change the cell header names - double left click does not work for me - F1 may work but I have a mini keyboard without F keys. Can another method be implemented?

2 Stations Worked before - possibly the most controversial topic in ham radio logging - I appreciate I have the f10 worked b4 window and I can also have a floating worked b4 window (I hate floating windows). What I would really love is a smaller Worked B4 window which could sit up in the top right hand of the log screen - not floating - and always visible that would only have to show very limited info on previous qsos - ie band, mode, date, time and maybe op name - this is really all I need to see about past qsos - not sure if this is achievable in Log4Om right now but thought I would ask

3 LOTW auto upload - I understand the desire to not auto upload each LOTW qso - but auto uploading on program close does not work for me either. I never close my logbook or shut-down my PC unless I really have to (I operate remotely a lot). Would it be possible to implement a button whereby a batch of LOTW qsos is auto uploaded upon clicking upon it- ie may be a minimum of 10 in a batch? - or some other auto upload system not dependent on program closure?

4 In station config - how do you add more than one radio and one antenna - I got the first radio / antenna in OK but try as I might I cannot add a 2nd radio or 2nd antenna.

5 The Confirmations Page within Settings/Program Configuration - I have read the manual twice re this page and still do not understand how this page works or what it is doing?

6 Cluster filtering - this would be my number one wish for all logging programs - I simply love the filtering system implemented in JTAlert and I suspect this is why JTAlert is such a popular application. In JTAlert - you simply point the alert system to your logbook and then select which Awards you are chasing and specify you are chasing the "slots" on each individual band. JTAlert literally takes about 5 minutes to set-up my entire filtering wishlist which includes DXCC, WAS and others. The way the alerts are then displayed in the little boxes above say JTDX is also so much more user friendly than color coding of spots etc in a long list of spots coming in. Maybe there is a way to set-up this sort of thing within Log4OM (the filtering part) but I am yet to work out exactly how (particularly for Worked all States and awards other than DXCC).

7The only things that I miss from Logger32 is the true great circle map - can any one recommend a source for importing such a thing into Log4Om - the FT8 cherry picker function is also great but opinions no doubt vary as to the appropriateness of this (I personally found it a handy tool if used properly).

8 The only thing I am missing from DXkeeper is the ease in which I can see my Award tallies in live time - this may simply be my inexperience in using Log4om but the DXkeeper Realtime Award tracking is something I am yet to be able to implement in Log4OM - but I am learning everyday - if anyone who has moved over from DXkeeper has any tips in this regard.....

All in all, I found Log4Om easy to setup, the manual is great, the layout is great, the interactivity with other software fantastic and the real killer is the ADIF sharing which finally allows the separate logbooks on my two radio PCs to remain in sync which was always a big chore with DXkeeper. I also like the fact that everything is pretty much contained all within one window without windows floating off onto other monitor screens never to reappear or floating over top of other applications.

Cheers and Thanks
Paul - vk4ma

[DK9JC]

3 LOTW auto upload - I understand the desire to not auto upload each LOTW qso - but auto uploading on program close does not work for me either. I never close my logbook or shut-down my PC unless I really have to (I operate remotely a lot). Would it be possible to implement a button whereby a batch of LOTW qsos is auto uploaded upon clicking upon it- ie may be a minimum of 10 in a batch? - or some other auto upload system not dependent on program closure?

Same here. I would love to have such a batch upload LOTW button somewhere in the main view not hidden somewhere with a minimum of 10 qso.

[G4POP]

1 I cannot change the cell header names - double left click does not work for me - F1 may work but I have a mini keyboard without F keys. Can another method be implemented?

You do realise that its a double left click on the name when viewed in the 'Edit table layout' window dont you? This works for everyone else so if its not working for you I suspect a Windows setting that is affecting it.

2 Stations Worked before - possibly the most controversial topic in ham radio logging - I appreciate I have the f10 worked b4 window and I can also have a floating worked b4 window (I hate floating windows). What I would really love is a smaller Worked B4 window which could sit up in the top right hand of the log screen - not floating - and always visible that would only have to show very limited info on previous qsos - ie band, mode, date, time and maybe op name - this is really all I need to see about past qsos - not sure if this is achievable in Log4Om right now but thought I would ask

We would probably have to sacrifice the Lookup photo to do that due to restraints of real estate but it might possibly be a user option to show one or the other.

3 LOTW auto upload - I understand the desire to not auto upload each LOTW qso - but auto uploading on program close does not work for me either. I never close my logbook or shut-down my PC unless I really have to (I operate remotely a lot). Would it be possible to implement a button whereby a batch of LOTW qsos is auto uploaded upon clicking upon it- ie may be a minimum of 10 in a batch? - or some other auto upload system not dependent on program closure?

Possibly

4 In station config - how do you add more than one radio and one antenna - I got the first radio / antenna in OK but try as I might I cannot add a 2nd radio or 2nd antenna.

Just type the new information into the field, overwriting the existing and click on the plus sign!

5 The Confirmations Page within Settings/Program Configuration - I have read the manual twice re this page and still do not understand how this page works or what it is doing?

It allows the user to select the DEFAULT sent and received status for each type of confirmation (EQSL, EQSL, QRZ, LOTW Etc) for example if you have WSJT send your eqsl confirmation direct to eqsl you can chose to mark them Sent = Y in Log4OM automatically as the QSO arrives, alternatively you might want all new QSO's to be marked QSL sent =No or Requested or Invalid, the choice is yours

8 The only thing I am missing from DXkeeper is the ease in which I can see my Award tallies in live time - this may simply be my inexperience in using Log4om but the DXkeeper Realtime Award tracking is something I am yet to be able to implement in Log4OM - but I am learning everyday - if anyone who has moved over from DXkeeper has any tips in this regard.....

I could never see the point of real time display of awards status, what is the point if your busy operating and logging it is something we browse at leisure! Its not like contest operating where we need live WB4 and score displays.

[G4AON]

Re: rig/antenna, this is now included in ver 2.6.1

Re: cluster, you can configure many parameters in the cluster itself, for example you can turn off RBN cluster spots.

Re: worked before. It would be nice if the priority of checking previous QSOs could include an option to auto populate at least the name from earlier QSOs. Currently it auto fills from a web lookup, eg QRZ.com (if enabled) which is OK for a first QSO, but not always for subsequent ones.

There are quite a few changes from ver 2.5 to 2.6.1, so keep an eye out for future updates. It’s got a few welcome additions already.

73 Dave