QSO Relay 1.3 - An update

Chris Fredericks VK2BYI responded to a support email about an issue I was seeing with QSO Relay.
I was seeing a popup message saying that QSO Relay could not verify if a QSO had been written into the HRD Database.
I switched on "Enable Tracing" as per the troubleshooting guide.

This Created a Session log and also should the Exception logs. After turning off the enable tracing tick box it wrote all the issues to the session log.

I then sent Chris the contents of my c:\users\<my user name>\AppData\Roaming\VK3BYI\QSORelay folder to the email stated in the guide

He replied back the very next day with the solution to my problem.  When I looked at his advice I indeed hadn't created a connection string to the HRD Access DB. I had not configured QSO Relay correctly - DOH. I'm not sure how I missed that but a few clicks and I was done.

Next right clicking the QSO Relay icon in the task bar brought up the "Synchronise Databases.." option.

This synchronises the JTAlertX and HRD databases. I clicked it and got a message back saying that I had a duplicate record in my HRD database. It wrote the actual error into an exception log which is human readable. There it was in plain sight. I had a dupe in the log from back in 1980 that I hadn't noticed!
I deleted the dupe from HRD logbook and ran the synchronise process again. It ran without error.

Next, while still having the "Enable tracing" option checked I made a WSJT-X JT65 QSO.
QSO Relay intercepted the ADIF log and parsed it through to HRD without any error. I disabled the "Enable tracing" option and the session log was written to and closed. Examination of this log found that communication had worked and all was good.

I can't emphasise just how useful this small program is in your radio arsenal. When using WSJT-X and Ham Radio Deluxe Version 6.x in conjunction with the latest JTAlertX it is an essential addition.

Great thanks go to Chris VK2BYI for adding this superb program to the ham radio community and his fantastic support.

QSO Relay Version 1.3 review

I have been using JTAlertX 2.8.7 with Ham Radio Deluxe and decided to stick with that configuration due to the author of JTAlertX withdrawing support for HRD V6 (the paid for version).
This has been to the disappointment of many radio hams worldwide as the community thought that the two packages integrated well together. For whatever reasons the olive branch to make up was offered to the author from HRD LLC and was ignored.

Anyway new on the scene is a small program written by VK2BYI that enables usage of the later versions of JTAlertX to function again with Ham Radio Deluxe. Hurrah I hear you say.

I installed version 1.3 of the software this morning along with the latest version of JTAlert. QSO Relay comes with quick installation instructions and an in depth manual. It makes use of MicroSoft .Net Framework 4.6 which is pre-installed on Windows 10. Older versions of operating system may require you to install .Net Framework 4.6 if it hasn't been installed by other programs on your system.

JTAlertX needs to be changed to log to a standard ADIF file. The Quick Install pdf file shows you how to configure this.When firing up the QSO Relay software the first time after installation you need to configure it.
The pdf file shows you how to do it and then synchronize your HRD database with QSO Relays own SQLlite database.

Operation

In use the QSO Relay acts as a proxy between JTAlertX and Ham Radio Deluxe logbook.  It runs as a system tray application that listens for contacts being forwarded from WSJT-X/JTALertX via a UDP port. As datagrams are received they are logged locally in a SQLLite database and then relayed using TCP to the Ham Radio Deluxe Logbook (Version 6.x) database.
I found this worked well but there was a popup message saying that the QSO had not been entered into the log. When I looked at the HRD logbook it was there. I was unable to capture the popup box as it was partially obscured by another window. Another QSO brought the same popup box but again disappeared before I had time to look which program was generating it.

If you want to try out the software yourself I can recommend it and it is available from www.vk2byi.com.au/qsorelay

Ham Radio Deluxe LLC offers olive branch to JTAlert developer.

Dr Mike Carper, WA9PIE, the co owner of Ham Radio Deluxe LLC has offered an olive branch to Laurie VK3AMA the developer of JTAlert. Essentially Mike has offered to meet up with Laurie, maybe over a meal, to repair a relationship issue.
There are a lot of radio hams worldwide hoping for a good outcome for this. At the time of writing Laurie has not accepted Mike's dinner invitation. Mike is in Melbourne, Australia until May 12th 2017.
Good luck Mike I hope it all goes well.

Terry G8YPH

"I sent Laurie (VK3AMA) an email inviting him to dinner with me in  Melbourne.  He basically replied saying he wasn't interested in a dinner reservation.  For the record - I've never had any interactions with Laurie - positive or negative.  I've certainly not done anything to cause ill will.  Nonetheless, I'll keep trying.  I think HRD and JT Alert have users who need our mutual and cooperative support.  I hope he'll reconsider.  I'll be in Melbourne until Thursday.

Mike, WA9PIE"