I finally finished my WFD log
I use an open-source program called Xlog (the only one I can get to work right with my various Linux Mint computers) to produce electronic logs from my pencil-and-paper ones; it makes a very nice ADIF file that Parks On The Air accepts with no problems, but when I try to export the same data as a Cabrillo file, the output looks nothing like the sample shown in the WFD rules document. Using that export as a basis I can hand craft a conforming log in a text editor, and I did that this morning. If I wasn’t a peanut-whistle station with a whole 27 contacts to log, this could be a real time-suck.
In the process of submitting my log I discovered that WFD will accept logs in other formats, including ADIF, though the example only shows Cabrillo. Maybe next year I will try doing it differently …
Speaking of pencils
A couple of years ago I bought a Rite-In-The-Rain 1.3 mm mechanical pencil, it quickly became my go-to for field logging and it has served me well all of that time. Rugged, dependable, easy to grip, just all around excellent.
Amazon, of course, knows everything I have ever bought from them and recently popped this item into my recommendations:
Three pencils, tubes full of extra lead, including yellow and red colors, spare erasers of two different kinds … all for about the price of the single pencil with no accessories. Bought it on the spot!
To an eyeball inspection it is identical; I haven’t brought out the measuring tools for a detailed dimensional / material study.
Anyway, if you log in pencil and you’re looking for a bargain, here it is.
Update: I found a R-I-T-R pencil still in it’s packaging; made in China. For all we know they all could be made by the same people in the same factory.
Same time, same sky
That’s all. Just thought it was cool. Seen while driving, one recent morning.
New stuff in the shack:
Clockwise from top: tr(u)SDX, Workpro miniature multi-bit screwdriver for the field toolkit, VK3IL v2 pressure paddle made by VE6LK, Western Electric 6B miniature straight key. Mostly from Ebay; the pressure paddle can be found at this link.
For the last 10 days or two weeks, Wisconsin has been in the deep freeze of winter; sub-zero every night, rising to single digits in the daytime. Weather forecasts hint that tomorrow and the next few days may get above freezing, maybe even into the 40s! Maybe a park activation? We’ll see.
Thanks for visiting driftlessqrp!