HF/SW Logging?

[Mex]

Does anybody else log shortwave/HF encounters at all? If so, how do you log them?
I'm just getting into shortwave & HF, right now I'm using Excel to log them wondering if theres anything better to use out there.

Thanks in advance

 

[K4EET]

KB6IBB SWL Logger

KB6IBB SWL Logger

Download KB6IBB SWL Logger for free. A shortwave listening logger for shortwave and amateur radio. The KB6IBB SWL Logger is a program designed for the shortwave radio listener. It offers shortwave specific logging of stations, with most tasks handled automatically.

sourceforge.net

The software is free and is very well written.

 

[Mex]

Thanks @K4EET. So far this program is awesome

 

[K4EET]

You are certainly welcome @Mex. I’ve tried a few over the years and KB6IBB SWL Logger continually wins out because it doesn’t crash, looks great, has all the needed record fields, is well laid out, and most importantly, the author, Jeff KB6IBB, welcomes comments and suggestions. I believe he can be contacted via Sourceforge.net. His eMail address can also be found at QRZ.com.

One thing I will point out for the readers of this thread is this. KB6IBB SWL Logger is for logging SWL observations. It is not for logging two-way amateur radio type QSOs. There are other free programs for doing that. KB6IBB SWL Logger is strictly for logging SWL observations.

Happy SWLing! Dave K4EET

 

[mikethedruid]

I am not as good about my logging as I used to be, but I still do it as I always have, in one of those black and white marbled cover notebooks. I list time in GMT (CUT for you modern folks) , Frequency, either caught from the broadcast itself, or as close as I can get from the dial of the receiver, the station name or call letters, the signal strength and receiving conditions such as interference, and some details about the program I heard. I then try to find the address of the station and list that also. Often foreign shortwave stations will announce their mailing address. Today the internet makes this easier than it was years ago, when we had to look up such things in White's Radio Log. With this information you can send to the station for a QSL card or letter of verification that you heard them. Collecting QSL cards from foreign stations was quite popular when I was young, in the 1960s and 1970s. Is it still as popular today? I used a new page for each reception report, and would attach the QSL card or letter to the page when I received one.

 

[W8WCA]

Never mind CUT= UTC etc)

I just use "Z" ie 1205Z (Zulu)

 

[mikethedruid]

" (CUT for you modern folks) , " what is cut time (Unless it is related to Music)

"Coordinated Universal Time", the new fangled term for GMT. Guess you haven't listened to WWV or CHU lately.

 

[W8WCA]

"Coordinated Universal Time", the new fangled term for GMT. Guess you haven't listened to WWV or CHU lately.

Lol ayup just long enough to check conditions - some of my misc. frequencies I use to see how the bands are

 

[Boombox]

I use spiral notebooks, the cheap kind you can get by the metric ton at box stores, stationary sections of supermarkets and drugstores.

I used to put the best loggings in an Excel file. I quit doing that when conditions / solar cycle went south in 2016 or so. Maybe I'll go back to that. Maybe not. I still use the notebooks, though. Nightly. For MW and SW, and they help when trying to read CW (which I'm getting back into after a 7 year break), you just scrawl down the letters you recognize and gradually you get more accurate and better at it. Difficult to do on a computer.

 

[Mex]

Excel is good to a point. But like everything, it has its limits and wasn't working for what I was doing.

 

[K4EET]

Excel is good to a point. But like everything, it has its limits and wasn't working for what I was doing.

Mex, are you still using the KB6IBB SWL Logger? I really like that program. Do you have any comments about the program? I would be interested in knowing if you were finding that KB6IBB SWL Logger does what you need, has features that you hadn’t even thought of, and/or is missing a feature or two that you think is really important in SWL log books. You may even want to submit your comments to the software’s author as well. I’m fairly certain that he would appreciate positive comments or positive critique.

73, Dave K4EET

 

[Mex]

Mex, are you still using the KB6IBB SWL Logger? I really like that program. Do you have any comments about the program? I would be interested in knowing if you were finding that KB6IBB SWL Logger does what you need, has features that you hadn’t even thought of, and/or is missing a feature or two that you think is really important in SWL log books. You may even want to submit your comments to the software’s author as well. I’m fairly certain that he would appreciate positive comments or positive critique.

Sorry for the late reply. I have been using KB6IBB logger its awesome for what Im doing with it. At the time I dont have any comments or suggestions but if I think of something I will definately pass that alog to him.

I am considering doing some QSL cards however I wanna get my HF Loop outside before I do that. I got a huge feeling I'd get alot more then WWCR if I do. Only issue Im having is finding some rg402 coax for a 25-35 ft run.

 

[mikethedruid]

" I wanna get my HF Loop outside before I do that. I got a huge feeling I'd get alot more then WWCR if I do. Only issue Im having is finding some rg402 coax for a 25-35 ft run. " Depending on your local conditions, RF noise generated in your home, you don't really need a fancy antenna to do some pretty good DXing. A tried and true long wire set up with separate antenna and ground leads coming in to your receiver will work quite well. I used one for years. Of course, for things above 20 MC more advanced antennas begin to show their advantages.

 

[Mex]

Yea. This $30 YouLoop is really good along with my R30 & AirSpy R2. I dont have it grounded or anything fancy, its just hanging there on the edge of my whiteboard on the wall. I forgot to mention its currently in the basement which is primarily why I want it outside.

Unfournately, I am rx only as I have yet to get a ham ticket however I am studying for it.

 

[swlqsl]

We have been using the Super antenna SR1 and it works well across all bands with my XHDATA D-808 and with my laptop using RTLSDR in shortwave mode ............ got it from Amazon.....

 

[spongella]

I use SDR#'s Frequency Manager option along with an Airspy receiver to log SW intercepts. For ham QSOs I use an old school ARRL logbook.

 

[N4JKD]

As far as logging, if that is what you are asking, I have a QRZ XML subscription, which allows me to upload contacts to LoTW. Some contacts do not show up in QRZ, so I just write them down and manually log them into LoTW as soon as I finish the QSO.