SkookumLogger v4.8 now available

Bill Myers, K1GQ has released the latest version of the contest logging software SkookumLogger for macOS.

SkookumLogger is a contest logging program for macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later, available on the App Store. The app is self-contained, except that you will need to install drivers for your serial hardware if it uses a type of USB-serial adapter not supported by macOS.

The SkookumLogger Guide documents everything about SkookumLogger. The guide is available in the Help menu. You can interact publicly with me and other users via the SkookumLogger group at groups.io.

If you are experienced with other contest logging software, beware. SkookumLogger is not like other loggers, and you may become confused and frustrated. Consult the Introduction and Setup sections in the SkookumLogger Guide to get started. Also, ask questions on the groups.io SkookumLogger forum.

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
• Integrated Cabrillo upload to support SCP
• Separate activity table windows (like band maps) for each contest band
• Multiplier checksheets for countries, regions, prefixes, zones, grids, 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, queued message sending for CW, SSB (using radio DVR), FSK/PSK (using radio encoder)
• Voice Keyer using text-to-speech and Personal Voice Apple technologies to send SSB messages
• Magic Message, like ESM with user-defined trigger key
• Great circle maps with terminator and antenna pattern overlays
• Audio recorder for QSOs, entire contests, arbitrary snippets
• SkookumNet networking for multi-operator/multi-transmitter configurations
• Amplifier standby/operate and drive power controls
• Rotator direction display and control
• Panadapter display with graphical known-activity overlays and radio frequency control
• K1EL WinKeyer with KEY1/KEY2 management
• YCCC SO2R Box+ and YCCC SO2R Mini interfaces, including their WinKeyer emulations
• YCCC MOAS antenna switch interface
• XK-24 Keypad interface with red/blue backlights
• 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 SO1R and SO2R/2BSIQ, simulating run and pounce pileups with realistic propagation

Changes in version 4.8 2024-07-08

New

• Added RIT Off radio menu item. Thanks W2RU.
• Added support for a new feature in KPA1500 3.03 firmware version 3.03. The feature adds per-bin ATU memories for up to 32 antennas. When SkookumLogger changes a transmit antenna, it now proactively tells the amplifier to change which memory to use; no need for keying the radio or for searching for best match. The feature is configured using two new key-value pairs in AntennaConfiguration.json. 

Panadapter changes (for Elecraft K4)

• User-facing labels now correspond to K4 terminology, until support for another radio dictates otherwise.
• Main receiver pan window toolbar items now display and control the pan; with settings window reduced to managing only span presets.
• The smoothing slider behavior is now logarithmic, and each pan has smoothing independent of the other three pans.
• Each Radio menu now has a Panadapters menu with leaf submenu items for controlling Main Receiver and Sub Receiver pan windows.
• Activity overlays now show all activities for the radio’s band, ignoring Activity table filters.
• Unmodified click in pan away from an activity now sets radio to transceive at the clicked frequency without changing Log focus.
• Control-click in pan away from an activity now sets the radio to transceive at the clicked frequency and changes Log focus to Run (Steal Frequency).

Other changes

• Major updates to the Guide address the Panadapters and Keyboard Maestro chapters, and add a new User Articles section with a description of W2RU’s experiences with a Logitech keyboard.
• When entering a call, SkookumLogger now begins applying the needed status color and font after the third character. Previously, for contests like the IARU HF Championship, guessing needed status was delayed until you moved keyboard focus out of the call field. Thanks JH5GHM.
• SkookumLogger now blocks activity table updates when the window is the key window, which prevents table content from changing whilst trying to select a row.
• The stroke width for the compass rose and terminator overlays on the Great Circle Map has been quadrupled, for users with monitors that display thin lines poorly. Thanks W2RU.
• Annual update to IARU societies list: Added OH0 (same as OH), Sudan (SARU), S7 (SARA); disambiguated RCH-HH and RCH-HR, RCP-OA and RCP-ZA, SARA-OM and SARA-S7. Thanks W6FB.
• The Magic Message Version selector in Messages settings now includes a Off choice. This choice avoids a corner case yielding undesirable pre-fill behavior when Magic Message is enabled. Thanks JH5GHM.

Fixed

• The Practice noise generator user interface for amplitude was specifying dB instead of % of maximum. Didn’t seem to bother anyone except me.
• The Mode filters in Activity windows had no effect for quite some time. Didn’t seem to bother anyone except me.
• A spurious “Second character after message N token isn’t a digit” was appearing in the Status Messages window when using Magic Message Version 1. Thanks GØDVJ.
• Callers and noise were not muted when transmitting in Practice mode.

The latest version of SkookumLogger is available free of charge for download here or visit the App Store.