[DogParkList] Where's the Overview or Intro to MacLoggerDX Video or PDF?

[Rick Hubbard (RHE)]

Rich,

Thanks for the note. My hope is such clarifying discussions will lead to a better experience for all affected parties.

Please accept this claim “as is.” Our circumstances are very, very different.

You are (clearly) a “Power User.” Both for Ham Radio and MLDX.

On the other hand, I hope to evolve into “POU” (Plain ‘Ole User)…and have a long, long, long way to go. 

How far? For example: NOT including Field Day, I have one (1) HF QSO to my credit. That’s it. One. Singular. This means—unlike you—I can’t rely on “what I do with a radio” to guide what I want to do with MLDX because I don’t have a “what I do with [HF] radio” frame-of-reference.

Hopefully this point-of-view will clarify why an Introductory Overview of MLDX would be so helpful to a certain class of user, like myself. 

The absence—for users in a similar situation as mine—of an Intro/Overview is a SIGNIFICANT BARRIER to using MLDX. It’s painful. I have a vague idea MLDX can do a lot…but I have no idea where to start. Nor can I find a place (e.g., a manual, video) to find out where to start.

From your perspective, that is, in the hands of an experienced Ham Radio operator like yourself, MLDX is probably a great tool…because you can rely on your prior knowledge and experience. 

Because I—and many similarly situated users like myself—cannot rely on prior knowledge…the absence of (as we say in the tech world) “On Boarding” renders MLDX shelfware. I’ve had a license to use MLDX since July 1, 2016 had have made ~half-a-dozen attempts to understand and use MLDX since them (please recall…my days are overflowing with science, prepping grad school classes, research and writing). Candidly, I’d welcome—BUT DO NOT HAVE THE LUXURY of—an opportunity to hack around and figure out what MLDX does. 

Let me also clarify what’s envisioned for an Intro/Overview…
…something on the order of ~7-10 minute YouTube video which explains What? MLDX does—at a high level (certainly not every feature)...and provides some form of a “Things to do first” checklist. 
Power Users such as yourself can skip the video. 
Newbies, such as myself, might view the video several times as we’re trying to build an understanding of what it does…AND THEN try to figure how to do something.
This important point merits re-affirmation: Many tasks that Power Users, like yourself, routinely accomplish with MLDX are tasks, which users like myself, DON’T KNOW EXIST and HAVE NEVER DONE (or, we’d know about them…etc.). 
Rich, please understand: The next time I use MLDX to do what you consider to be a routine tasks will—for me—be the first time ever. 

While I’m one of the slow kids in the MLDX class, I do know this: Over the course of my four decades in the Tech Sector—representing hundreds of millions of dollars in software projects—I’ve learned that brilliant software that users cannot use is not brilliant. It does not matter how clever developers (and power users) believe code or design is…if everyday users cannot use it. Every module of software spanning the range of human experience can be reduced to one of two categories: either it enables users achieve a desired outcome effectively and efficiently or it impedes users from achieving a desired outcome effectively and efficiently. For users like you: MLDX appears to enable your desired outcomes. For users like me: MLDX impedes us from achieving desired outcomes…and leaves frustration and a bitter after taste.

A thoughtful introductory overview {video, PDF, ?} is the type of artifact that can be produced in hours, not days…and would make the MLDX experience so much better for those—like myself—new to the product (and HF).

Rich, in closing: thanks again for the comments…and please have mercy on us tyros. Please be mindful: what you consider routine…I’ve never done and may not know exists.

Hope this helps…and the comments of others users (from Power to N00b) are invited, as well.

73 de KI6VOS,
Rick





 
> On Mar 31, 2017, at 09:50, KE1B <ke1b at richseifert.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> On Mar 30, 2017, at 5:42 PM, Rick Hubbard (RHE) <rick.hubbard.email at gmail.com <mailto:rick.hubbard.email at gmail.com>> wrote:
> 
>> MacLoggerDXers,
>> 
>> Although MacLoggerDX’s Help Files have an abundance of “How to…” entries useful for the already knowledgable, there’s virtually zilch, nada, nil, {empty set} that I can find regarding “What…” can be done with MacLoggerDX.
>> 
>> For someone who is new to using MacLoggerDX, the help files are the equivalent of tossing a few dozen components on the table and telling them… “there you go! Now, build something.”
>>  
>> Which would be OK if the hapless newbie (like myself) knew what could be built with the components that were provided. For those of us who lack such prior knowledge…MacLoggerDX seems…well as impenetrable as a random pile of foreign components whose purpose and functioning is unknown.
>> 
>> Where is the “Welcome to MacLoggerDX! Before you dive into the ‘How to…’ Help Files, here’s an Overview of All the Cool Things You Can Do with MacLoggerDX”? 
>> 
>> A comprehensive video Intro/Overview would be IDEAL…a PDF would be helpful.
>> 
>> Regrets, if there is such a thing as an Overview or Intro to MacLoggerDX video or PDF…I can’t find it (after several attempts and many, many, many searches).
>> 
>> Suggestions? URLs? Pointers? Are there Intro/Overview resources lurking somewhere that a newbie can access prior to trying to assemble MacLoggerDX’s “pile of components?”
>> 
> 
> Interesting. I look at the issue exactly the REVERSE of you. You are asking “What can MLDX do?” apparently in an effort to flex or learn the capabilities of the program. I, instead, look at “What do *I* do with my radio (e.g, contest, chase DXpeditions, use LoTW, etc.) and then see if MLDX can support my needs in an efficient manner. There are a ZILLION features of many large programs (Word, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.) that almost NO ONE uses, except the rare professional who appreciates the feature. If you don’t know what something means (there are a lot of features in Photoshop that I am clueless about, but I can still use the program to do what I want to do), then it probably isn’t immediately relevant to your style of operating. So be it.
> 
> Many people use MLDX, and I’m sure Don will tell you, there is no “one right way” to use it. That’s part of why MLDX is so flexible; it supports a wide range of use models, from the casual ragchewer who just wants to keep a clean log, to the heavy DXer who wants to deeply analyze and track awards and QSLs; there are people who use the cluster HEAVILY, with its rich feature set, and those that never connect to a cluster node and could not care less.
> 
> On top of that, Don is constantly adding functionality and flexibility, and a “This is MLDX” file would quickly become outdated.
> 
> I suspect (and Don may confirm) that I am one of the more “power users” of MLDX; I push some of its features to the limit (occasionally breaking it). I use dozens of callsigns and have logs with hundreds of thousands of QSOs. I am almost NEVER disconnected from the cluster, and use Don’s rich set of alarms and filters. However, I don’t think I have ever touched the Schedules, QSLs, Labels, or History panels (other than to see if there’s anything there I need). So what? It’s not part of my workflow, so I don’t care how it works. Obviously, some people use MLDX to generate electronic QSLs and care about all the features on that panel. Some people use MLDX to print their QSL labels for mailing or affixing to a card. (I don’t, primarily because it doesn’t efficiently support someone with dozens of callsigns, and who can make a few thousand QSOs per week. I developed my own separate program to handle QSLs and labels, and am grateful for the “Export Report” feature of MLDX to support that. I doubt many others use, know about, or care about that feature.)
> 
> My bottom line is, don’t worry about what MLDX *can* do; just think about how YOU operate, and look for features that make life easier for you. MLDX may be the “nerve center” of your operation (it is for me, except when contesting), but don’t look to MLDX to explain how the cluster works, or how QRZ lookups are used, or how LoTW/eQSL operate. MLDX supports all of these, but Don didn’t *create* them, he built in functionality to *support* them. Many of the threads I see here are about lack of knowledge of the cluster, or some serial interface glitch, or LoTW confirmations. None of this has anything to do with MLDX, except to the extent that the program supports all of these.
> 
> And remember, Don is (essentially) a one-man show. Given his resources, he puts on a pretty good show.
> 
> If someone wants to start a wiki on all the facets of ham radio that are supported by MLDX (or not supported, like heavy-duty contesting), go for it. But it’s not Don’s job to teach you all the facets of ham radio that are out there to be used and enjoyed. It’s hard enough supporting the myriad of radios, operating systems, rotators, serial interfaces, and use models.
> 
> Rich KE1B

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