Ham Radio – A contact sport

I have used a few of the many ham radio logbook applications on the market. Freeware, shareware and commercial. There are some good ones out there and some that are simply unusable. Which do you think is the best?

I’ve added what I think are the top 20 Windows logbook programs to the ham radio reviews database. 16 of these I’ve listed as general purpose ham radio loggers (that is, they handle QSO/QSL management, award tracking, rig control, etc.). 4 loggers I’ve listed as contesting logging software.  These products are specifically designed to support ham radio contesting.

Variation in Ham Radio Software

The world of ham radio software is filled with variation.  Ask a contester who operates at more than one multi-op station. You’re likely to hear that at station X, they use WriteLog, at station Y it’s N1MM and station Z uses TRLog. Switching between these is a bit of a headache as the commands (keyboard macros, options, etc.) vary between programs.

Likewise, there is a wide variation in what hams find in terms of quality, support, features, etc.  Additionally, the licensing models vary from freeware with Internet support groups to commercial software that costs well over $100.

Thankfully for logbook program developers there are a few standards (like ADIF and rig control protocols). But, I’ve found many logbook programs take every opportunity to ignore industry standards for application design (Logger32 and DXLabs come to mind).

Which logbook program is your favorite? Which should we avoid?

So, with so many choices – what’s best? Of course, that depends on your needs. Why not chime in with a review? Registration for the ham radio reviews and forums is free, fast and painless.  Unlike other ham radio review websites, on my site you’re able to review products on several attributes (overall value, user interface, performance, etc.).

I’ll soon be posting a few reviews of my own.