Hi All,

In addition to the new International DX Contest Log 3.0 I announced last week, for this weekend's contest, I have several quick announcements to share:

State QSO Party Log Updates Now Available (VB6 Versions)!

Minnesota QSO Party Log 1.7

- Scoring changed to 2 points for all QSOs

North Carolina QSO Party Log 1.6

- Added 6M & 2M
- All Phone Contacts 2 Points
- Added DC (District of Columbia) Multiplier
- Updated Bonus Point Calls

Washington Salmon Run 2.1

- Added 2M
- Changed CW scoring from 4 points to 3 points

As always, these upgrades are all free to registered users. You'll find them on the State QSO Party page at www.n3fjp.com.

A Note to State QSO Party Sponsors:

If you've been following along, you know that I'm rewriting all my software in C#.NET. After nine months of work, I now have the contesting template complete, but I still have a great deal of work ahead. It is taking me on average about two weeks per program, with about 50 programs to rewrite.

With all that is on my plate, time for updating the VB6 versions of my software is limited, but I'm doing my best where I can. It is a great help when contest sponsors let me know exactly what they would like changed and give me a punch list of things to do. It saves me from wading through the rules, comparing the old and new rules, hoping I find all the changes and wondering if I'm interpreting everything correctly.

If your state QSO party rules change, I can't promise, but if you review the current version of my software and then give me a specific, concise bullet list of requested changes, it's much more likely that I will be able to implement them. Thanks in advance for your cooperation!

K7RE RTTY - Anyone interested in taking over development?

It appears that Greg is no longer active with K7RE RTTY. I have been corresponding with Brian, K7RE (the original developer), who asked me to see if anyone would like to take over its growth and development. Brian will supply all the source code and resources needed.

K7RE RTTY is currently available for download here: http://k7re.net

If you are interested, please contact Brian (and CC me when you e-mail him) for more information here briank7re@gmail.com

Beware PC "Cleaners" - They May Eat Your Log!

I've mentioned this before, but I continue to receive horror stories from folks who run some types of PC "cleaners", only to discover they have indiscriminately removed every file with a .log extension from their hard drive! Some versions don't even ask for verification! The .log extension is used in many applicaitons besides Amateur Radio, so this could present a variety of problems.

Other Software "Protection" Problems

PC "cleaners" aren't the only problem. Recently, I've received reports of virus protection software that checks for keystrokes and shuts down the program if it believes it finds a threat. That's fine in theory, but one of the events that causes it to fire is using space bar to tab with my software! I understand this virus software is primarily distributed by Comcast.