

SkookumLogger

About SkookumLogger

SkookumLogger is a contest logging program for macOS 10.11 (El Capitan) or later, supporting single-mode and and mixed-mode events on 13 bands between 160m and 23cm. This is a personal project that I am sharing free of charge, as-is. SkookumLogger requires a K1EL WinKeyer or a YCCC SO2R Box to send CW.

The first public release of SkookumLogger happened in early 2009. Since then, Jonathan, GØDVJ, Katsuhiro (Don), JH5GHM, and Dave, WD7K, have been important contributors to the project. Bob, WA1Z, and Bud, W2RU, have also provide invaluable assistance, reporting misfeatures with essential steps-to-reproduce. If you would like to help, contact me. The current Xcode project is available to anyone; you will need to be skilled with Objective-C and Cocoa.

The SkookumLogger feature set is driven by a combination of my personal interests (HF CW contests) and requests from serious users, as you can infer by reading the release notes. There is no email reflector, blog, whatever, for SkookumLogger. Please contact me directly if you find a bug or want to discuss a feature. Note: Don't bother asking for Flex support, the answer is no.

To get started, download the disk image file, open it, and drag the SkookumLogger icon onto your Applications folder icon. Once installed, you can use the Check for Updates… command in the SkookumLogger menu to manually look for updates. If you check the Automatically Check for Updates item in that menu, SkookumLogger will look for updates at startup when the previous check was more than one day ago. If you see this window when you use the Check for Updates… command, you will need to manually download the current version:

SkookumLogger is signed with my Apple developer certificate and Sparkle is used for secure updates. It is sandboxed, notarized, and self-contained except that you will need to install drivers for your serial hardware if it uses a type of USB-serial adapter other than FTDI.

SkookumLogger has a Help Book that is the most current documentation. GØDVJ has authored a SkookumLogger Guide. Additional information is linked in the Hints page.

If you are experienced with other contest logging software, beware. SkookumLogger is (deliberately) not like other loggers, and you will be confused and frustrated unless you read the Guide.

Some SkookumLogger Features

Any number of QSOs per log

Two QSO entry boxes supporting interleaved SO1R, SO2V, SO2R/2BSIQ with one keyboard

Duplicate checking as callsigns are entered

Exchange Archive (personal call history file) for exchange pre-fill

Partial callsign matching against log, Exchange Archive, and Super Check Partials (SCP) database

Integrated download of the SCP and cty.dat databases

Separate activity table windows (like band maps) for each contest band

Multiplier checksheets for countries, regions, prefixes, zones, locators, other

Time Tracker and Rate Tracker panels

Score window with band breakdown and scoring for most contests

Bidirectional DX Cluster packet spotting interface, with skimmer and QSX support

CW call type-ahead and CW keyboard mode

Context-sensitive and queued message sending for CW and SSB (using radio DVR)

Great circle map with terminator and antenna pattern overlays

SkookumNet networking for multi-operator/multi-transmitter configurations

Amplifier standby/operate and drive power controls

Rotator direction display and control

Elecraft P3SVGA panadapter display with graphical known-activity overlays

YCCC SO2R Box+ and YCCC SO2R Mini interfaces including their WinKeyer emulations

YCCC MOAS antenna switch interface with antenna pattern displays

Cabrillo export for submitting log entries

ADIF and CSV export for moving contest QSOs to a general-purpose logger

Automated log submission via Apple Mail and via web browser

Statistics report for post-contest analysis of your contest log

CW Practice mode for developing your running skills off the air

Log Window

The boxes labeled Run and Pounce contains the logging data entry fields; for the two-radio operating configuration the boxes are labeled Radio 1 and Radio 2. These entry boxes enable interleaving QSOs, with the ability to type into either box while transmitting QSO information for the other box. The number of QSO entry fields depends on the contest rules. To complete a QSO, type a call into the Call field, tap spacebar or tab to navigate to the next field, press the return key to add the QSO to your log. Call signs that are duplicates or multipliers are displayed with user-defined fonts and colors. The panes to the left of the QSO entry boxes shows partial-call completions with brackets that identify the source of the match.

The log table columns can be resized, reordered, and hidden/shown. The table can be sorted on any column. You can filter the log table on the Band, Call, Mode, Notes, Received, and Sent columns using the search field in the status area. The SQ (Suspect QSO) column contains a checkmark when the app thinks there is something wrong with the logged QSO.

Radios

SkookumLogger has custom support for many radios, with support limited to features that matter for contesting. The supported radios as of version 2.5 are:

Contests

It takes me about an hour to add a new contest, as long as the rules for determining duplicates, multipliers and QSO points aren’t overly complex. Every contest supported by SkookumLogger is either one that I operate myself, or one that a user has asked for. The supported events as of version 2.5 are:

ARRL Contests

CQ Contests

RSGB HF Contests

RSGB VHF/UHF Contests

World Wide DX Contests (everybody works everybody)

Regional DX Contests (everybody works a region such as a continent)

National DX Contests (everybody works a particular country)

QSO Parties

Generic Contests

Nontests (not adjudicated or not a contest)