Digital Voice Recorder - A New Way to Log

Since I have been doing a lot of mobile CW operating recently I thought it would be a wise decision to get a digital voice recorder so I can get my contact information recorded. The method I have employed for many years is the old chicken scratch on the back of my log or just chicken scratch right on the entry line. This is not the best method while driving.

I remember someone using a digital voice recorder for logging so I figured this would be an ideal solution. As I make my contacts I can record the data by talking in to the recorder instead of writing it down. The other benefit is I can record contacts! Since my CW speed isn't the greatest right now, RX anyway, I can record call signs and exchanges so I can double check the recording later.

When I was coming back home last night I was on 40m CW and was trying to work EA9/KH0EM. As if the call sign wasn't long enough, I was trying to copy who to QSL to (who I later found out was a JA!). To make things worse, he was sending at a good 30+wpm. That is WAY over my speed limit. There was a healthy pile-up so I figured he was worth fighting for.

I never busted the pile-up, however it really emphasized the need for a device that I could record with. That way I would have a way to check things. If I did get through and I messed up one letter of his call that could throw the whole contact out the window. Having a back-up would have been ideal.

I went to Micro Center today after looking at some digital voice recorders online for a few minutes. I got a Sony ICD-BX700 for $40. I asked the guy at Micro Center if any of them had a microphone jack as well as a headphone jack and he said this one and another Sony did.

For all of these devices being audio recording devices I guess I made a big assumption - they all can interface with a computer to transfer the recorded files. Wrong! I didn't even bother asking about this, I just took for granted that these voice recorders all hooked up to a computer somehow.

The Sony I got has no USB port and the memory is all internal. The only way I can get the information off of the device on to a computer is to record the audio playback on the computer. This is one thing for short notes like "ab0cd sent 559 got 439 0356z Joe New Hampshire"... However, if I set the recorder to record a QSO that lasts 5 minutes, well.. I need to let the recorder play and the computer record for 5 minutes.

So I am going to take this one back and do a little more research. I don't want to spend $100, I just want something I can pull files off of on to the computer as well as have the microphone and headphone jacks.

Ham Radio Deluxe and USB to Serial Port Adapter

I was able to get Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD) running on my computer with my Radio Shack USB to Serial Port adapter cable. I don't think it is the best way to do it, or at least it could still run better. However, I have been able to get full control over my TS-2000 through the computer with HRD.

The new version of HRD also supports turning the rig on and off via the serial port! This is pretty cool. I will have to get a long serial port cable so when I am writing my blog posts and doing other things on the computer I can bring up HRD and fire up the station from across the room! Ok, maybe that would just emphasize my laziness...

In any event, the USB to Serial Port adapter doesn't like to connect all the time. When I try to turn the radio on it does so but then HRD does not connect. It gets the "on" command through (however it does that) and then it doesn't let the rest of the information through right away. So it takes a few tries to connect. This usually happens when I start the program with the rig off - as HRD starts up it automatically starts the connect sequence on my default rig (the TS-2000 since that is all I am using the program with). I can set it to not automatically connect, so maybe I will try that.

I do like the new version of HRD. The basic layout has remained the same design. Once you get the hang of the controls it is very easy. I still haven't figured out how to use the DX spotting system, or if it even has that. I remember with an older version of HRD I had there was a DX spotting page that allowed me to click on spots and automatically take the rig to that frequency and mode (regardless of band). I will have to play around with this some more. There are a bunch of other neat features to the program as well.