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Wireless Field Day Log Software
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FDLOG Magazine Article (CQ VHF Spring 2003) (pdf format)
What makes FDLog different from other logging programs?
This program cohesively ties together the stations in the Field Day
activity, maintaining copies of all data on all computers via the
(wireless) network. It allows the stations to choose bands knowing
the status of the other stations in the group at a glance. It helps
manage the number of transmitters active and allows everyone on the
site to see "what's going on" at all times. The input system is
designed for minimum keystrokes, and it is optimized for Field Day
operations. It is capable of preparing nearly the whole FD Entry form
for ARRL submission, making it much easier to actually send in the
results. More information is included in the Readme and Manual,
accessible below.
FDLog is distributed under the GNU Public License. It is written in
Python (which is available for no charge) and is of course itself
available at no charge. In addition to synchronizing databases over
the wireless network, it synchronizes the time clock in FDLog.
FDLog was developed on Windows 2000, but has been used on Linux and
on the Macintosh. There are some font issues with the Mac, making it
difficult to make out some buttons, but it does work.
Status Update September 2005
Field Day went well this year, however we had problems with our
access point. Good thing we had a spare! The spare did the job.
Next year we will have MORE than one spare!
I have done many improvements to the software. Right now (9/05) I'm working
on a long awaited editing feature...
Status Update June 17 2005
I have just uploaded release 2005-1 for Field Day 2005. It has a few
improvements and at least one bugfix. It has not been extensively tested
however the changes were not major. If you elect to use the previous version
do not use the type-in power field, instead use the pulldown menu. This
bug was fixed in this new release. For questions the best plan is to
subscribe to the FDLog discussion list. It is a small quiet list but there
are folks there including the author that can help with any problems.
This year we will use an Access Point with DHCP support. We used it last
year and it worked well. We also have a spare one in case the primary
fails.
Status Update July 2004
This year the main new feature is the synchronization of time clocks in the
client programs. We had enough trouble with NTP that I decided to put this
feature into the FDLog itself. It is a simple sync process that gets the
programs within a second or so and keeps them there. It requires one machine
to be designated the master. This sync system can be disabled if not required.
This will be very handy next year!
We had planned to go back to AD-hoc peer to peer wireless this year, but
again we tried an Access Point.
Ad-hoc is a bit harder to configure, so the Access Point makes things
easier.
Against that it requires more equipment, and power to run it.
We had good site coverage (the AP was located inside a fiberglass trailer),
and experienced some difficulty providing the right voltage to the AP.
The final solution was to tap the middle of a golf cart battery stack (at the
6v level) and use a dropping diode to the 5v input of the AP.
Eric WD6CMU provided the power and Rich WA6FXP provided the AP.
It worked out well, though we did not have a spare this time in case it
flaked out.
Discussion List
We have a discussion list set up for users, developers and interested parties.
Go To Discussion List.
The discussion list is on 'lists.topica.com' and is called 'FDLog'.
It is a quiet list most of the time. Of course around FD there is more
activity.
Program Development
The program is always under some development.
Rules changes by the ARRL prompted some of the changes,
and some were from the todo list.
User feedback provides input as well.
FDLOG Development Donation
I added a Program Development Incentive here. Donations by PayPal.
A way to express appreciation for the effort that goes into a complex
software package and encourage its further development.
My time gets divided between many things, and FDLOG doesn't always
show up in my priority list, which is rather deep. Your contributions
to its development will raise its priority. I cannot guarantee that
all requests will be implemented, but reqeusts with Donations do get
more consideration.
Thanks in advance!
Donations are not required to download and use FDLOG.
FDLog Software Downloads
FDLog is made available under the GNU Public License.
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