Issue #10: Logging the Future of Interactive On-the-Air Nets

Please see this link for the article if you haven't read it yet, and join us in the forum discussion below to ask questions, add comments, or generally suggest new topics for the column "Trials and Errors -- Ham Life with an Amateur."

 

Here's Sean's next project, which I KNOW will be a popular product . . . "The next product is called Fluidity. I've been working on it for the last 6 months. It's a real-time dashboard for repeater owners to see what's happening across all their repeater controllers, in aggregate, at each site. The software is free / open source. Like Ham.Live, the product is "mobile device friendly". The DARN system (darn.org) will be first to utilize the platform with the SRS controllers later this year. I'm expecting the product to ship early summer."

 

I appreciate the “Logging the Future of Interactive On-the-Air Nets" issue #10 that led me to Sean's Ham.Live page. It took me no time at all to start and tested the online logging software. I think it's great to simply type in the call sign and see the name of the operator. I love the capability to have a relay/logger/co-owner. Lastly, I think it's a bonus to get an email immediately after the closing of the net with report of the net session (in email body and CSV file).

I know that capability is available on QRZ but if there's a way to incorporate wildcard lookup (e.g. K?7AZD) and have a list of possible participant to choose from, it would be a great help to me.

I share NCS duty with several hams for a daily morning ragchew net and a few weekly nets in the South Central and Central Oregon area. I'm very excited about Ham.Live and plan to share the info with my fellow Net Control hosts.

Thank you Sean; thank you Dave!

 

Hi Cindi, so happy to hear this! You made my day and I hope Sean catches this. I agree. I don't think it will be all that long before he picks up the level of business that Netlogger does.

 

I knew the name Dave Jensen rang a bell -- then I read the author bio -- he's the career advice guy from Science back when I was a desperate post-doc! I think he even answered one of my e-mailed-in questions. What a small world.

 

That's me Jordan! Good to have you here, as there as SO FEW scientists who picked up the hobby. Write me at my QRZ email someday and let me know how you transitioned into a Ham, and I see we even share some radios in common. I'm happy you have a fond recollection of me in my role with SCIENCE! I'm still here to help you, with career or with Ham Radio. Dave

 

Hi Cindi, thanks so much for the kind words and I'm very happy to hear you like the software. I'm thinking about your wildcard idea (which is a great idea). Just thinking about how to manage the performance implications. Ham.Live maintains a cache of QRZ lookups when callsigns are looked up in the QRZ DB. I'd have efficiently pattern match the cached data, even as the data set grows quite large. I'm giving this some thought now and do like the idea. If you end up using Ham.Live for your reoccurring nets, let me know.

73s,
Sean
KK6BEB

 

Oh, this is so good for getting newbies like me going in the right direction - with VarAC, we do a Sunday Net, but as far as I know, no one has really logged it as a Net, and we "check in" rather informally (people are logging their individual QSOs, it looks like)

I'll act as Net Control this next time and see how that goes.

 

that's a great idea Amanda . . . it's so intuitive, and SO easy to use, plus your friends can join from anything, a phone, an iPad, and so on . . . Come back and let us know what you think! Dave

 

Very interesting. I am active on a few nets all using Netlogger. Since I use large screens and multiple monitors, I like its big screen with lots of info but forget it is not used on smartphones, and I believe only on Windows.

I have not run into the problems some have, and the delay seems only on AIM, which is maybe 5 seconds or so. On some nets, AIM is very active and can see maybe 30 posts on a 28" monitor that is in portrait mode. However, most hams don't have my "mission control" type set up! I have not been a NCS, but often as a relay and when checking in pileups like your i 0 system since it must be just as hard for the logger to log in pileups as NCS if using a separate logger as on many of the large nets.

You have been very creative with some good simple features, which would probably work very well on more of a rag-chew type net or on VHF/UHF nets, as you show in your sample.

While I no longer chase awards but enjoy the nets more for the social aspects of getting to know folks even though I am more on awards nets like HHH, 3905CC, etc, even though mostly just making contacts with brief social exchanges, sometimes more social on AIM than on the air. And, of course, signal reports have to be on the air to count, but I like your idea of off-air average reports via the Ham Live, although propagation differences between stations can make averages less meaningful. Your reports system also seems excellent.

When we have 30-40-100? folks on a net it is nice to be able to refer to line numbers vs. finding the green line if not just going in order.

I get bored chasing DX or contests, yet am not a good rag chewer as I run out of ideas to talk about vs. just the weather and typical 80m old timer ailments (shy as a kid long ago). So these nets are kind of a middle ground.

For established nets with lots of folks already on Netlogger may be hard to convince to switch over but for starting a more local/rag chew net

I am very intrigued by the work you have done, and I forget that some folks use other operating systems and devices Netlogger doesn't run on.

 

Netlogger is a boat anchor, I'm afraid, a software program that hasn't adapted to today's world. Ham.Live is a great complement or a wonderful stand alone tool for nets that want to incorporate mobile or iPhone/iPad users and more. It's so easy to use you're on track within moments . . . There's no reason to support older programs that don't adapt to today's standards. Please, please give Ham.Live a try and you'll be quite surprised at how easy it is. That's why I wrote about it in my column -- Dave, W7DGJ (author, "Trials and Errors -- Ham Life with an Amateur" column on QRZ.com.)