NOT1MM vs CQWW

[GeoBaltz]

Used not1mm for single-op/low-power entry in CQWW Phone this weekend - program performed well, but it's missing some needed features:

• Missing zones - needs a window for zone status, either worked or missing
• Missing country/band - would it be possible to have a switch to automagically scroll the DXCC window(if active) to the country of the call in the entry window? I got real tired of trying to find what was worth working for a multiplier, or just QSO points.

All in all a good experience - will probably use it for SS next month, but may go back to tlf for CQWWCW.

System: Lenovo ThinkPad with openSUSE Tumbleweed, Hamlib 4.7-git, python 3.13, qt 6.10
Rig: TS-890S to a Buddipole

Thanks for all the work on this
73 n3gb

[mbridak]

Pushed change adding option to scroll dxcc window to current call.

Gotta noodle on the first part .

[GeoBaltz]

Thanks for that.

Something else came back to me - could you noodle on SS multipliers, too? 40 zones I might remember, but 83(85?) sections are beyond my memory capacity.

[GeoBaltz]

Still a problem

W1AW is in 'K', but first match for 'K" is in 'OK'. scrollToDXCC() should be looking for exact match, not contains. Same thing happens for 'CT' and 'CT3'.

[mbridak]

I changed the match flag and re-pushed.

[GeoBaltz]

Thanks. I tried 25.10.29 and all the DXCC stuff seemed to work.

73 n3gb

[microphonon]

I pushed not1mm very hard in CQWW CW this weekend. I was in the low-power assisted category using the interface to send messages. Happy to report that the program worked spectacularly well. I was 100 percent S&P and the ability to scroll through the band map and adjust the sending speed with a simple key push was crucial (hardware is Icom 7300 with rigctl).

I'm not seeing zone/country breakdown by band in the stats window, but my totals do display in the online scoreboard when I connect to it. I see there was a recent update to add a zone window, so that may be my issue.

[mbridak]

Hello, Thanks for trying it out. I'm glad to hear it worked out for you.
Someone in another thread had some sort of looping problem, but I don't have enough detail on it yet to fix it.

[N0NB]

I gave Not1MM a try this weekend in CQ WW CW. My effort was minimal as evidenced by 46 Qs in the log and only on 10m.

The installation looked kind of sketchy per the instructions but was seamless and Not1MM came up as expected and I was able to fill in station data, etc. As I was anxious to try the program before the ARRL 160m next weekend I set about working a few stations Saturday afternoon on 10m. I am using GNOME 43 on Debian 12 and had no issues with starting and running the program so I didn't have to use the documented workaround (I do use other Qt based apps such as WSJT-X so I may have set something long ago that I've forgotten, though grepping the environment turns up nothing).

The instructions don't say so specifically but being the Hamlib release guy, I figured out I would have to start rigctld manually. I have an alias for that and once running, frequency readout was flawless with my K3. I will note that I seem to recall that N1MM allows for changing the frequency by typing its value in kHz, e.g. 28020. Trying that here didn't seem to work. This might be a nice feature to consider.

For sending CW with my HamGadgets MasterKeyer MK-1 which emulates the K1EL protocol, I use Winkeydaemon. It is a drop-in replacement for cwdaemon, so feel free to mention it in the manual. No issues noted.

Yesterday I opened the Check Partial window and upon entering the first call there was a noticeable delay but after that it was instantaneous with typing (I'm a rather slow typer, not up to calling myself a typist). This is something I'll keep in mind for the future as something to not be surprised by.

I also opened the VFO window but apparently, upon looking at the manual, it has a different use than I assumed. I thought that perhaps using the mouse wheel over a digit would change frequency. Other than a nice display that is closer to the entry window, it was kind of useless for me (unless I missed something) but easier to see than the title bar but as I used the program on the monitor that is directly above the radio, kind of redundant. Still I left it open as I like neat things.

I did not use ESM as I was strictly S&P for this brief test. As the F4 macro was empty, I set it to "TU {SNT} {EXCH}". That was handy as after pressing F5, making sure the other op had my call correct, tapping space and confirming the zone, hitting F4 was much quicker than F12 and then F3. Back in the '90s up until 2010 or so I used CT and it featured the ; and ' shortcuts. I believe N1MM implements them similarly where ; sends the other station's call and report and ' sends TU and logs the contact. These only appear in N1MM's Run mode column so I presume they aren't present for S&P (I don't recall CT's exact sequence any more). As I did not use Not1MM in Run mode, I cannot comment and whether these keys would be useful.

As noted above, I now prefer ESM for Run mode given that I have used (and contributed to) Tlf for a number of years. Tlf uses the \ as the "log without sending anything" key. I see that is Ctrl-= here. Perhaps \ could be an alias as there are times when sequences get messed up and, well, you know...

That is all I can think of. Thanks for the effort!

[mbridak]

Hello, Thanks for trying it out and the write-up.

• Installation
  Python program installation is usually a moving target. There seems to be a better way every few months and no standard to rely upon.
• Frequency change via khz in the call field
  It does do this, you just have to press the spacebar after typing in 28020.
• The VFO window
  Yeah, I only include it because my radio is in a remote shack. I have 2 CAT5 cables running out to the shack, one for data out to the shack and one to carry audio and the CW key contacts back into the house. So I made a cheap USB 'VFO' knob so I can tune around easier.
• '' alias
  I'll consider it. I'm sure you know people have all kinds of keystroke sequences burned into their brains from hours of butt-in-chair, and they all want it to feel like 'home'.

Cheers, Mike K6GTE

[N0NB]

BTW, the Cabrillo log was accepted by the robot without complaint. Trusted QSL signed and uploaded the ADIF file to LoTW without complaint and matches have already been recorded. Good work!

[N0NB]

My key suggestions aren't so much about feeling like "home" but rather better N1MM compatibility and keeping fingers closer to the home row for most operations. In this regard, ; and ' are strong candidates for consideration, IMO, for those operating in classic N1MM (CT) mode.

As for ESM logging an entry without sending a message, upon further reflection, \ is not a good candidate as that key is used in SO2R operation in N1MM and should probably be reserved for that here if that is in your long-term plan. N1MM uses Alt-Enter for logging a contact without sending a message. To me it's six of one, half a dozen of the other as to whether that is better than Ctrl-=. A proficient touch typist (not me!) could offer a better opinion on that.

Regardless, my plan is to use Not1MM in this weekend's ARRL 160 'test and use ESM. I will likely hit \ a few times when I need to hit Ctrl-= instead. 🤣

[mbridak]

I should probably put my big boy pants on and write some code so the user can assign their own key combinations.