Frequently
Asked Questions |
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I have a list of step by step instructions on my Installation Tips page. Please click the link for complete details. -
Download the installation file to your hard drive by clicking
on the download link on my website with your web browser. * Note, if you have a CD burner or zip drive it is unnecessary to rename and unzip the file you downloaded from my website. Just copy it from your hard drive to the CD or zip disk and take it to the destination computer.
At this time, when you register the $39 package, there is not a link to download the package all at once. You can download the programs as needed from the website on their individual pages. There is no time limit, and you can download as often as you like. If your old logging program exports its data in standard ADIF format, you can import your log data files to AC Log with no problem. Please try the following: -
Export your data in ADIF Format from your old log. I have prepared a simple Excel spreadsheet that will help you convert the data. Please click here to download a copy of the spreadsheet. Steps for transferring your contest data to AC Log: -
From the contest log Menu Options: click File, Export ADIF Format. Yes, the Log Book of the World uses either ADIF or Cabrillo format. All of my software will export in either one or both of these formats. In addition, ACLog will upload, download confirmations from LoTW and update your log file automatically, For more information on LoTW, please click here - http://www.arrl.org/lotw/ We have had good reports from users commenting that our programs run on Vista and Windows 7. We do understand that it is very important to install and run the software with Administrator privileges. Also, you may have to click the Compatibility tab to see files created by our software (see the next question for more details). In Vista and Windows 7, after navigating to the program directory where you saved the file you created, you must click on Compatibility Files to see the file. Vista and Windows 7 actually store the files in a “Virtual Store” under the AppData store in your user folder. Fortunately, you don’t need to hunt around for the files, just turn on “Compatibility Files” in Explorer. When you browse to a folder that has these hidden files, you’ll see a Compatibility Files toolbar button. Clicking it will show the virtual files for that folder. Keep in mind, though, that the files won’t show up in Open and Save dialogs. Yes, the Log Book of the World uses either ADIF or Cabrillo format. All of my software will export in either one or both of these formats. From the computer with the most recent data click File, Export - ADIF Format. Write the file to a floppy and take the floppy to the computer with the older data. From the "old data" computer click File, Reset Counter, and enter a value of 0. Then click File, Import - ADIF Format and select the file on your floppy. From the Menu Options click File, Export - ADIF Format; navigate to the destination drive and click Save. - Download the AC Log Ready Call Data ( click here)
and unzip the file. - Insert N3FJP's Software CD into your CD ROM drive. The QRZ Online Callbook option is not included with the free QRZ membership and services. This is a subscription service offered by QRZ to help support all their hard work and efforts for the amateur community. Please click here for more information - http://online.qrz.com/ Yes, after you copy your data to the hard drive, from AC Log's menu options click Callbook, Hamcall Buckmaster CD and enter the designation of your hard drive. Don't type any other characters such as a colon or backslash. Just enter the letter such as "C" (without the quotes).
Yes, copy the entire folder CALLBK from the QRZ CD to your hard drive. AC Log will then find the data. The folder on your hard drive containing the data must be c:\CALLBK. If you want a "hard copy" of your contest log, you can print the Cabrillo, ASCII or data file you created for contest submission by opening the file in a text editor such as Notepad and clicking File, Print. If you want to keep a copy of your log file after the contest, you need to copy it to a new directory and rename the file. After you exit the contest program and then start it again, you have the option to continue an old contest or start a new one. If you choose to start a new contest, your old file will be gone. Most users export their contest contacts to ACLog for a permanent record.
You will need the following files: ACCtrlLc.txt The bearing and distance works best for DX. With versions 1.8 and later, I have included the latitude and longitude of the state capitals so, when you enter the state, the calculations should reflect the bearing and distance from your QTH to the state capital. Buckmaster's Hamcall CD does include coordinates for all hams, and AC Log will use these values to calculate bearing and distance if you are using the Hamcall CD for lookup. Also, if you are recording the grid square, the bearing and distance will update based on the value you enter in the grid square field. Once you have your column order and widths the way you like, double click anywhere on the white listing display area. A message box will appear confirming that your column defaults have been updated. With version 2.4 and later, you can also click Settings, Save Current Column Width and Order. For best results, you should have the date format for AC Log and the date format for your operating system set as close as possible. To change your AC Log Date Format click Settings, UTC QTH & Date options. To set your operating system format click Start, Settings, Control Panel, Regional Settings, Date. That will help AC Log and the operating system understand each other. When you have the rig interface operating, the Mode Field will automatically fill depending on the portion of the band you are on with CW or SSB. To be able to input your preference, you need to disable the rig interface. Yes, any new Amateur Radio programs will be freely available to those that have registered our software package. We usually send an e-mail announcement with information about a new program. If you have registered the package and would like to use the new software, just send us an e-mail, and we'll forward an updated password list. Yes, so far all upgrades have been free to registered users. We have no plans to change the policy at this time. Yes, upgrades are free to registered users. You have already purchased the package so all you need is a new CD. You can purchase a new CD for only $13 (including shipping). Please visit our Register Now! page to use the PayPal button for the CD only order. You may use and install the Field Day Contest Log and the Field Day Network Log on multiple computers at one Field Day site with one registration. Please keep the password confidential for club use only. We would very much appreciate it! Most of our customers find us by hearing about our software from other satisfied customers.
Yes, please click here to learn more.
It sounds like
the problem may be that your station location is not identified
properly on AC Log's LoTW form. To view your station locations
in the TQSL software:
I'm
sorry that you have run into trouble transferring your log file.
Let's try this:
From: https://p1k.arrl.org/lotw/faq#modes LoTW supports
the emission modes allowed by the ADIF specification with the
exception of "ASCI" (ASCII is a character set, not
an emission mode). The modes currently allowed by LoTW are: CW
Using any spreadsheet program, you can easily format and print reports for award submission. To do this: - Open AC Log. You can now format and print the data in any way you like using the spreadsheet program.
N3FJP Software has gone through some amazing changes since I first started back in 1997. There are lots of great things that I never foresaw when I first began, such as how popular the software would become, how large the package would grow to be, all the features that I eventually added, etc. I also never foresaw many of the challenges, such as how much time would be required in daily e-mail support (time I used to be able to devote to programming), the huge problem Microsoft would present in choosing to discontinue to support the VB6 development environment, interfacing with on line data storage such as Log Book of the World, QRZ, etc., and the constant rule changes that would accompany many of the smaller contests. I naively thought I could answer an occasional question or two and then spend the majority of my time writing new programs and adding features. Prior to the release of Vista and Windows 7, there was a lot of uncertainty about whether programs written in VB6 would run on these operating systems. Thankfully, Microsoft decided to support VB6 programs and so far we've received lots of good reports from users running Vista and Windows 7. There isn't any certainty, however, that VB6 programs will run on future operating systems. That sequence of events, along with many other life considerations, helped Kimberly and me to realize that we had reached a crossroads with our software. We considered a lot of different factors, but in reality, our only two paths are either to stay with VB6 and hope that Microsoft continues to support VB6 programs (as mentioned above, they've already discontinued support for the VB6 development environment), or commit the time to rewrite approximately 50 programs in the new VB.NET language that Microsoft is promoting for the future. I've been learning VB.NET (it is quite a bit different than VB6), I like it, but the rewrite time would be very extensive. It took approximately 8 years to write the 50 programs in the package. In addition, since the .NET programs will perform the same functions currently available now, and it still isn't confirmed that Microsoft will drop support of programs written in VB6 with the next operating system, a multi-year rewrite time commitment could wind up to be largely a wasted effort. On the other hand, the fear that VB6 programs may be rendered obsolete with the next operating system can't be ignored. There is no sense continuing to develop programs in VB6 if they may not run on future operating systems. The decisions for the software come back to time. I did start a VB.NET rewrite, but it quickly became apparent that right now, with my "real" job, wife, two boys, all the support time that N3FJP software now takes along with other family and life commitments, there just isn't time to do the rewrite. Lord willing, I should be able to retire from my "real" job in 2017 - 2018. In the mean time, Chris and Bradley will have finished college and probably not be nearly as interested in hanging with their dad as they are now. When that time comes, if there is still interest in N3FJP Software and circumstances warrant the very large effort that a rewrite will require, I should have plenty of opportunity to devote to the software. Hopefully Windows 7 will get us most of the way there. So, with that all being said, and again Lord willing, here is the current plan and thinking for N3FJP Software: For the next few years: - The overall package will probably stay pretty much as it is now, with programs written in VB6. - Any additional programs will be rare. If any are added, they will be focused on contests that are well established and similar to an existing program. - Enhancements to existing programs will be infrequent and determined largely by the coding and testing time required. - Contests requiring significant coding changes as a result of rule changes will probably be dropped from the package. - State QSO parties have been particularly problematic with their frequent rule changes. Even minor rule revisions often require significant time in coding, recompilation of the software, etc. For that reason, by and large, there will no longer be any updates to the state QSO parties. If the rules are changed they will be dropped from the package. - Current features that are "broken" through external causes such as new Telnet formats, changes in interfaces to on line connectivity, etc., may be dropped from the functionality of the software. Longer Term: - If / when it becomes clear that rewriting the programs in VB.NET will be necessary to run on a future operating system AND if life circumstances afford the time and point in that direction, I plan and look forward to doing the rewrite. In Summary: Kimberly and I have a big chunk of our lives wrapped up in N3FJP Software. I've thoroughly enjoyed Amateur Radio, I love coding and the marriage of the two passions made this project a labor of love. I have thoroughly enjoyed this journey. Over time though, as much as we enjoy helping folks, answering the same e-mail questions over and over daily has become strictly labor. Because support requires so much of us, I no longer have that time available to spend actually coding, which is the part I enjoy most. Microsoft thew us a HUGE curve with their lack of support for their own VB6 product - essentially forcing thousands of hours of additional labor from us to continue to be able to run our software on future operating systems. Unfortunately, not foreseeing what was ahead, our pricing strategy of only charging $6 once for most programs and free upgrades forever doesn't support the effort this is requiring now, much less what the rewrite would require. My hope is that once I am able to retire, Lord willing, in 2017 - 2018, having the responsibilities of my "real" job removed and the time demands of my family reduced, I'll be able to again dive in with the labor of love motivation and bring the software back to the state of the art at that time. I still love coding and I'm really looking forward to being able to do more of that in the future! In the mean time, I plan to continue to keep my software available on pretty much an "as is" basis. |
