[DogParkList] Re: Another happy customer

[Don Agro]

Hi Randy,

On 24-Aug-05, at 10:32 PM, Randy NV0U wrote:

> No I did not. I gave your program a review. Just like when I review  
> anything else out there. I did not write to George Lucas when I  
> complained about Jar Jar Binks in Episode I and I am not going to  
> write anyone else when I review something they produce, create,  
> make, build, whatever. Same goes with Kenwood, Yaesu, Icom, you, or  
> anyone else in the ham radio game.

Jar Jar Binks ? You talk to George Lucas ? Wow !

This isn't Hollywood Randy, my customers have immediate access to me  
for any bugs or problems, that is obvious to anyone reading the other  
33 positive reviews on eHam.

> Reviews I have done in the past that I can find off the top of my  
> head:
> http://randyrathbun.org/index.php?s=review
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/AYMYSI7ZL1XGS/ 
> ref=cm_pdp_content_reviews/002-0109946-8809600

You will have to forgive me Randy but I'm just not all that  
interested in seeing any more of your work after reading your review  
on eHam It's obvious you have some kind of problem.

> Can you point me to that spot in the manual? Clicking MacLogger DX  
> | Online Manual:
> http://www.dogparksoftware.com/MacLoggerDX/Manual/Pages/ 
> logpanel.html - Nothing there in big red letters.
> http://www.dogparksoftware.com/MacLoggerDX/MacLoggerDX_Manual.html  
> - Nothing here about ambiguous calls or big red letters.
> http://www.dogparksoftware.com/MacLoggerDX/Manual/Pages/faq.html -  
> Nope. Still nothing.

It's in great big red letters in the program Randy. You had to have  
seen it.

When you enter "VK0SJ" and press return a big red letter "M" pops up  
next to "Heard Island" to remind you that "Macuarie Island" is an  
alternate DXCC ID for that prefix.

And here is the section of the manual...

<http://dogparksoftware.com/MacLoggerDX/Manual/Pages/controlwindow.html>

"Overlapping DXCC Identities and Call Suffixes
There are a number of cases where a station's call sign does not  
uniquely identify it's DXCC ID. For example ZK1 can be North Cook  
Island or South Cook Island.To handle cases like this MacLoggerDX  
employs a suffix. To indicate the call you are looking up or logging  
is North Cook Island append "-N" to the call sign: ZK1ASQ-N, to  
indicate South Cook Island append "-S" to the call sign: ZK1ASQ-S.  
These suffixes are dropped on export to ADIF (so as not to confuse  
the LoTW). The suffixes are shown in the Awards Panel/DXCC.

To edit a previously logged call and add or change the suffix You  
just have to edit the Call field in the Log Panel, delete the Country  
field, press the "Save" button and then the "Reload" button to see  
the change take effect."

It couldn't be any plainer.
> I figured this part out after about 2 hours of digging through the  
> data files and finally noticed the VK0-M entry. After trying to  
> enter VK0SJ/M, VK0SM (is the - a wild card I wondered? Since there  
> is nothing in the manual per the above pages I was trying  
> everything) I finally tried VK0SJ-M and it took.

That took you two hours ? Can you read ? It is in the manual. You  
could have emailed me - I would have straightened you out in about 10  
seconds.

> Like I said in my review - I don't like having a program change my  
> data after I hack it. That is my only beef with the way you handle  
> that function.

After you 'hack' it ? It's data validation - a DXCC ID is a DXCC ID  
it is totally prefix dependent with some ambiguities and a few  
dxpedition overrides.

If you decide to put Baltimore in the Virgin Islands MacLoggerDX  
won't let you - there is nothing to 'hack' with DXCC ID's they are  
internationally agreed upon.

This too, is in the manual...

<http://dogparksoftware.com/MacLoggerDX/Manual/Pages/logpanel.html>

"The DXCC field cannot be edited because the DXCC ID is based on the  
call, the date of QSO, the portable prefix, the optional alternate ID  
suffix and the dxpeditions.dat special issue prefix overrides."

Here the nice people at the ARRL have actually listed them...

<http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/dxcclist.txt>

You can't edit the DXCC ID because the DXCC ID's are universally  
agreed upon - it's called data validation - where did you take your  
computer science degree - or where you off sick when they taught data  
validation ?

> As for the date - where is that in the manual?

You need a manual to tell you that date formats are set in the  
International System Settings ?

It's right here:

<http://dogparksoftware.com/MacLoggerDX/Manual/Pages/controlwindow.html>

"Above the QSO Edit area is displayed the registered user call sign,  
the call sign of the last found image from the QRZ call sign lookup  
(which is displayed in the Image Well), the grid square of the  
registered user and the UTC date and time displayed in whatever  
format you have set in your system settings (International/Formats)."


>> If you find these problems "REALLY annoying" as you said in your  
>> review - why didn't you spend the 10 seconds to send me an email  
>> instead of whining about it on eHam ?
>
> As I said, I don't contact folks about their products before I do a  
> review. I use a product for a long time before I ever give it a  
> review. Hell, I even ended up purchasing your program so that I  
> could finish entering my old log books so I could give the program  
> a review. In other words, I go way out of my way to beat the hell  
> out of the thing and try to get around the problems. In the two  
> annoying things I posted on eHam, I could not get around those  
> problems as they are not documented in the manual, as I show above.

All you have "shown above" was that the problems you ran into were  
due to your own ignorance and arrogance in not asking for help.

You paid 95 dollars just to review it on eHam ? You seem to think  
your are some sort of well known journalist or perhaps podcaster ? -  
well if you were - your publication would have paid the fee or asked  
for an evaluation copy. But I guess in your mind you are some kind of  
tech stud Siskel and Ebert ?

>> If the flaws in MacLoggerDX are so egregious and so painfully  
>> obvious then why don't you write something better than MacLoggerDX
>
> Already have started. Started Monday night as a matter of fact. As  
> soon as I get some more UI stuff done I will be posting it on  
> SourceForge. However, I must decline any future offer from you to  
> donate to the source. You have a really thin skin it seems and I am  
> not going to piss off my users like your message has pissed me off.

That's when you actually have any users.

Randy we will all eagerly await your masterpiece - how many weekends  
do you think it will take you ? I will not be making any future  
offers to help you with your project. I am not in the least  
interested in anything you might do on Source Forge but I am sure the  
rest or the world (including George Lucas and Jar Jar) are waiting  
with bated breath.

Best of luck with the new project. Do keep us posted. You have no  
idea how much entertainment you have provided us all with :)



73 Don Agro VE3VRW

D o g   P a r k   S o f t w a r e   L t d .

email: dagro at dogparksoftware.com
   www: http://www.dogparksoftware.com
     iChat AV:dogpark at mac.com