AK4AO

VWS will not host our usual Field Day event at Burke Lake Park this year due to concern for safety during the pandemic.  Members are encouraged to operate individually or form teams and to name Vienna Wireless Society as their club when submitting scores.

We have mentors available to help with your Field Day questions.  Please post them here or e-mail to FD@viennawireless.net.

I have a couple blind ham friends who are interested in trying FT8 and possibly other modes offered by the WSJT-X software package. One of these friends recently discovered a logging program called QLog that includes support for the visually impaired.  Qlog works with WSJT-X and provides a command set and audio prompts.  It does not require a screen reader such as JAWS.  There are commands, for example, to search for an open audio frequency, call CQ, call a specific station, or call any station that is calling CQ and passes a test defined by filters such as DX, new state, never worked before, etc.  Setup is best done with the help of a sighted assistant, as several parameters need to be set in QLog, WSJT-X, the rig used for operations, and possibly within the operating system on the computer.  

The QLog program and setup instructions can be obtained by joining the QLogusers group on the groups.io web site and navigating to the Files section.  Among the files is a detailed description of the setup steps that the sighted assistant should help perform.  

One of my friends made his first few QSOs this past week.  I'm still working on setup with the other.  The assistive features in QLog seem to be well designed and effective, but, of course, there is a learning curve.

As of this date (November, 2019) there seems to be one significant item not covered in the documentation.  QLog will work properly when calling CQ only if the RRR message, and not RR73 is sent.  The sighted assistant may need to set up WSJT-X in this mode via a double left click on the TX4 button.

We need ideas for meeting topics for the upcoming year.  We're a radio club, but we don't have to limit ourselves strictly to radio topics.  One of our most well attended meetings was the one in which we learned why Enceladus, one of the moons of Saturn, is thought to be one of the most likely places in the universe to harbor extraterrestrial life.

Our fall picnic is popular.  Would you like to do one in spring as well?

There is a power substation in Wakefield Park located off Braddock Rd. near I-495.  It's filled with strange devices, which I assume must include transformers, circuit breakers, lightning protection, etc.  Mike Aimone, our power systems expert, has agreed to give us a tour and explain what all of those devices do.

Doug Reece -- DXKeeper, N1MM+

I've added an online poll to find out what packages folks are using...

We're interested in learning what logging software packages are in use in the club and who would like to be available to help with setup and/or questions on that software. If you are using some other package, please respond to this post with the name. Also, please respond with your name and the package name if you would like to volunteer to help others wanting to use the same package.

Mike,

I think you did everything right in picking a logging package.  You thought through what features you need and might want in the future; you looked at how the logger would interface with other components; you tried it out, liked it, set it up, and got back on the air. 

I also believe that for contesting, you need a contesting logger.  You can download the contacts into your master log later.  

You noted that many solutions are part of a suite that goes well beyond just logging:  award tracking, rotor control, integration with spotting sites, etc. are all things important to some but not to everyone.  The goal should be to find a solution that covers what you need, get it going, and get back to operating!

The fact that you and I landed on different solutions just illustrates that there's more than one very good product out there.  

Thanks for posting.

Doug

Yes.  You can view the session in real time or later via the livestream.  The link is on the blog and will also be added to the Presentations database on the web site.  On the web site go to Meetings->Presentations, and you will find everything we have about a presentation:  video links, slides, etc.  I try to get my slides posted in advance of the presentation so that anyone who watches via the livestream can have a copy.

N1MM setup would be a good topic for a workshop if we have some folks who are interested.  Getting on LoTW would be another possible topic, but their security process requires two sessions to get on: one to make the request, and a second to actually get on after they send a postcard to your FCC database address.

Also... All of the VWS presentations are available to everyone unless there is some reason to restrict them.  Some of our videos have thousands of views.

Please post your general questions and comments about the VWS space on Ham Community here.

I will give a short presentation on the subject topic at the VWS meeting on Friday, September 27.  You can get an advance look by downloading my slides from http://viennawireless.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Ham-Radio-Logging.pdf

Please respond to this post with your questions, comments, and requests for future club activities related to this topic.  Want to learn how to

- get started on ARRL's Logbook of the World?

- configure N1MM+ for a contest?

- track award progress in DXKeeper?

Let us know!

Doug

AK4AO

VWS is now a Member Club of Ham Community.  What does that mean?  It means that members have access to the best features of both the VWS web site and Ham Community.  Go to the web site for the membership list, the presentations database, dues payments, and other administrative functions.  The Blog, where meeting announcements and other announcements of general interest are posted, is available on both the web site and the club site on Ham Community.  But the Ham Community version has more features.  You can "Follow" the blog, which means that you will receive an e-mail when new material is posted.  And you can comment on the blog posts to add your questions and insights.  Also on Ham Community you will find some nice photo albums of club events and a Discussion area where you can interact with other club members.  You will need to join at hamcommunity.com to utilize the interactive features.

What is the relationship between this Ham Community Club and the Vienna Wireless web site at

https://viennawireless.net/wp/ ?

Jim,

Thanks very much for your presentation and our follow-up meeting.  Your community looks very interesting, and I look forward to further discussions and prototypes to see how it would work out for the Vienna Wireless Society.