Recently my wife and I have taken on the "minimalism" life style by making the choice to live happily with less. As a part of this we have cleaned out our home and reduced what we own.
My Ultralight Radio DXing hobby has become a real focus for me of late. I am now undertaking more portable sessions and carrying my Ultralight Radio DXing kit with me more. I have settled on my current case and have set this up to suit my needs, it works well.
One area I have never really been that happy with is the method and process I have used to log what I hear, over the years I have used a few different methods:
- Pen and Paper: This started off as an exercise book which I used to log what I heard. Over time I then started also entering these in to a spreadsheet but this meant double handling and the issue with errors being introduced. In late 2018 while still using pen and paper, I developed my own custom database, but I struggled to get this working how I wanted. Based on that I've decided to discontinue the development of the database system and just use a spreadsheet.
Digital: Working IT support, my next idea was to try and log directly in a digital method such as using a small laptop, tablet or smartphone. I tried doing this for a few times however I found that it slowed down at my log process substantially and I also had some issues with particularly tablets and smartphones not working well close to an AM broadcast Band radio, causing interference which made logging stations hard.
Recently I was cleaning out my garage when I came across my old eBook reader, it is a Hanvon n526 which is a very interesting device. As it uses a passive screen, it only consumes power when it is actually updating the screen information. It also doesn't have a backlight which means that the screen is excellent to use in daytime conditions where you have some sunlight direct on the screen. The most interesting feature about this Hanvon n526 eBook reader is that it has a full qwerty keyboard which allows you to enter notes which save as a text file.
I have now developed a process that I use for logging that I hear. I setup my Ultralight Radio DXing session using my radio, I also have my Hanvon n526 eBook reader. I open up a new notepad file and at top of that I enter the date, the time, the location and what radio I'm using. I then log what frequencies I hear active and beside them I add any notes on what I hear such as locations, call signs, advertising or anything else that would help me to confirm what stations I'm hearing. Once I finish my session, I plug my Hanvon n526 eBook ready into my laptop. I can then easily copy the text file to my laptop, from here I can add in any further information, make any changes and correct any incorrect information. I then save these text files into a folder on my laptop and I didn't delete the file off my eBook reader.
So far it has proven to work very well, it allows me to quickly log information that I hear in a digital format without having the issues of transferring from pen and paper. I keep a copy of my notes on my eBook reader which helps me to keep a track of what stations I have heard. I have also downloaded a range of PDF files onto my Hanvon n526 eBook reader, including a copy of the latest Mediumwave radio station list off the ACMA website.
One thing that I really love about this eBook reader is the fact that it easily fits in my radio case as you can see in the photos below. It slips in nicely in front of my 7.5” Loopstick equipped PL380. I can have that my other two AM radios and this for easy access when as I need it.
The other great thing is that using the Hanvon n526 eBook reader has allowed me to get rid of a lot of paper out of my Radio DXing kit. I still do keep a couple of pens and one log sheet, just for the off chance that for some reason my eBook reader fails when I need it the most.
In the short time that I using my eBook reader for this, it has been working extremely well. It makes the whole process quicker, easier and it reduces chances of errors been introduced into my logs.
Maybe 2019 could be the year that you move across to a digital logging system? if you are still using paper and pen. While I've only just started using this system, I think that it will work well for me and I love the fact that I can use this near my radios without any issues.
Photos: The Ultralight Radio Dxer: Going Paperless for Radio DXing
My Ultralight Radio DXing hobby has become a real focus for me of late. I am now undertaking more portable sessions and carrying my Ultralight Radio DXing kit with me more. I have settled on my current case and have set this up to suit my needs, it works well.
One area I have never really been that happy with is the method and process I have used to log what I hear, over the years I have used a few different methods:
- Pen and Paper: This started off as an exercise book which I used to log what I heard. Over time I then started also entering these in to a spreadsheet but this meant double handling and the issue with errors being introduced. In late 2018 while still using pen and paper, I developed my own custom database, but I struggled to get this working how I wanted. Based on that I've decided to discontinue the development of the database system and just use a spreadsheet.
Digital: Working IT support, my next idea was to try and log directly in a digital method such as using a small laptop, tablet or smartphone. I tried doing this for a few times however I found that it slowed down at my log process substantially and I also had some issues with particularly tablets and smartphones not working well close to an AM broadcast Band radio, causing interference which made logging stations hard.
Recently I was cleaning out my garage when I came across my old eBook reader, it is a Hanvon n526 which is a very interesting device. As it uses a passive screen, it only consumes power when it is actually updating the screen information. It also doesn't have a backlight which means that the screen is excellent to use in daytime conditions where you have some sunlight direct on the screen. The most interesting feature about this Hanvon n526 eBook reader is that it has a full qwerty keyboard which allows you to enter notes which save as a text file.
I have now developed a process that I use for logging that I hear. I setup my Ultralight Radio DXing session using my radio, I also have my Hanvon n526 eBook reader. I open up a new notepad file and at top of that I enter the date, the time, the location and what radio I'm using. I then log what frequencies I hear active and beside them I add any notes on what I hear such as locations, call signs, advertising or anything else that would help me to confirm what stations I'm hearing. Once I finish my session, I plug my Hanvon n526 eBook ready into my laptop. I can then easily copy the text file to my laptop, from here I can add in any further information, make any changes and correct any incorrect information. I then save these text files into a folder on my laptop and I didn't delete the file off my eBook reader.
So far it has proven to work very well, it allows me to quickly log information that I hear in a digital format without having the issues of transferring from pen and paper. I keep a copy of my notes on my eBook reader which helps me to keep a track of what stations I have heard. I have also downloaded a range of PDF files onto my Hanvon n526 eBook reader, including a copy of the latest Mediumwave radio station list off the ACMA website.
One thing that I really love about this eBook reader is the fact that it easily fits in my radio case as you can see in the photos below. It slips in nicely in front of my 7.5” Loopstick equipped PL380. I can have that my other two AM radios and this for easy access when as I need it.
The other great thing is that using the Hanvon n526 eBook reader has allowed me to get rid of a lot of paper out of my Radio DXing kit. I still do keep a couple of pens and one log sheet, just for the off chance that for some reason my eBook reader fails when I need it the most.
In the short time that I using my eBook reader for this, it has been working extremely well. It makes the whole process quicker, easier and it reduces chances of errors been introduced into my logs.
Maybe 2019 could be the year that you move across to a digital logging system? if you are still using paper and pen. While I've only just started using this system, I think that it will work well for me and I love the fact that I can use this near my radios without any issues.
Photos: The Ultralight Radio Dxer: Going Paperless for Radio DXing