AmateurRadio.com

Well, I am here to say that I did not have a hard drive failure and if I did I have a dedicated drive with clone backups of my main hard drive and another separate drive with image backups. These backups are done on a regular basis and in fact, I have had to go down the restore road twice now and it has worked amazingly. 

My click of the mouse was during my just being bored and "clicking" around my logging program N3FJP logger. I still am not sure what I did but somehow I deleted my whole log...yup 16,000 contacts GONE! Well, not a big deal I thought as I also upload my contacts to LOTW, Club log, QRZ.COM and Eqsl. Soooo Eqsl I just could not figure out how you can even export contacts so that option was out. QRZ.COM you can export your log but first, you have to be a paid member and I am not. The free version only allows you to upload and I have no issue with that at all. I was then off to club log and for the life of me I searched everywhere and I could not find any link to download the complete log............having said that I know there is going to be a comment posted that explains it and I missed it. Well next is LOTW and again I could not find anything there. 

Now I did post a question on N3JFP's contest logger IO groups site and Scott (The developer of the software) got back to me right away. Before I go on yes Scott is the developer but not just him it's his wife Kimberly and his son Chris who work as a team it just happened to be Scott that got back to me. He gave me a suggestion that also got me to think. Long story short I did find out that within the N3FJP logger program you can request LOTW to download a complete copy into N3FJP. Excellent my issue has been resolved.........not so fast! 

It did download a complete copy of the log BUT the number in which the contacts were entered was reversed......so my first contact was numbered 16001 and my most recent was 1 ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!. 

It was time for tea and some relaxation as really in the big picture it's a hobby and not the code for a missile launch. The next day I was reading the email again that Scott had sent me and at the bottom of the email there was a link. It was a bot in which you entered your question and the bot did the search. Low and behold the bot gave me info on how N3FJP automatically stored a backup of the log. I found the backup and was thrilled. So I deleted the complete log again (on purpose this time) and restored my log using this back up and I was back in biz!! 

The lesson of the day is yes you may have a backup for your PC and I do BUT being a ham a log backup is also very important just in case like me you end up clicking your mouse one too many times and well.....you read the possible results. 

Well, I am here to say that I did not have a hard drive failure and if I did I have a dedicated drive with clone backups of my main hard drive and another separate drive with image backups. These backups are done on a regular basis and in fact, I have had to go down the restore road twice now and it has worked amazingly. 

My click of the mouse was during my just being bored and "clicking" around my logging program N3FJP logger. I still am not sure what I did but somehow I deleted my whole log...yup 16,000 contacts GONE! Well, not a big deal I thought as I also upload my contacts to LOTW, Club log, QRZ.COM and Eqsl. Soooo Eqsl I just could not figure out how you can even export contacts so that option was out. QRZ.COM you can export your log but first, you have to be a paid member and I am not. The free version only allows you to upload and I have no issue with that at all. I was then off to club log and for the life of me I searched everywhere and I could not find any link to download the complete log............having said that I know there is going to be a comment posted that explains it and I missed it. Well next is LOTW and again I could not find anything there. 

Now I did post a question on N3JFP's contest logger IO groups site and Scott (The developer of the software) got back to me right away. Before I go on yes Scott is the developer but not just him it's his wife Kimberly and his son Chris who work as a team it just happened to be Scott that got back to me. He gave me a suggestion that also got me to think. Long story short I did find out that within the N3FJP logger program you can request LOTW to download a complete copy into N3FJP. Excellent my issue has been resolved.........not so fast! 

It did download a complete copy of the log BUT the number in which the contacts were entered was reversed......so my first contact was numbered 16001 and my most recent was 1 ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!. 

It was time for tea and some relaxation as really in the big picture it's a hobby and not the code for a missile launch. The next day I was reading the email again that Scott had sent me and at the bottom of the email there was a link. It was a bot in which you entered your question and the bot did the search. Low and behold the bot gave me info on how N3FJP automatically stored a backup of the log. I found the backup and was thrilled. So I deleted the complete log again (on purpose this time) and restored my log using this back up and I was back in biz!! 

The lesson of the day is yes you may have a backup for your PC and I do BUT being a ham a log backup is also very important just in case like me you end up clicking your mouse one too many times and well.....you read the possible results. 

 This site has endless gems regarding computing. The site is a bit limited unless you register. A simple donation is asked for full access to a wealth of information on the site. One aspect I took advantage of right off the get-go was Windows patching or MS-Defcon as the site calls it. You are advised when to install Windows monthly patches, basically once Microsoft irons out the glitches. The site guided me to a program that stops Windows from automatically updating. I can update when I want to and when the Ask Woody site recommends it's safe to do so. 

They have user forums on more topics than you can imagine. Here are some of the takeaways I found at Ask Woody.

- When upgrading my PC there was a wealth of information on how-to, recommendations on processors, hard drives and ram. Recommendations are not based on the fastest and newest but what overall was the wisest upgrade for your system requirements? 

- The importance of backing up and recommended (free) very easy-to-use backup programs. 

- Recommended maintenance that you should be doing to your PC. With very easy-to-follow advice, links, free programs and user forums for advice. 

- becoming knowledgeable regarding your router, internet connection and firewall. 

These are just very few of the gems I have found on the site. PCs have become a part of our hobby and I don't want to become a computer wiz but not PC illiterate either. This is one of the sites that can make my PC adventure a bit more comfortable and gain some knowledge. 

I encourage you to take the site for a spin and see what you think? 

 This site has endless gems regarding computing. The site is a bit limited unless you register. A simple donation is asked for full access to a wealth of information on the site. One aspect I took advantage of right off the get-go was Windows patching or MS-Defcon as the site calls it. You are advised when to install Windows monthly patches, basically once Microsoft irons out the glitches. The site guided me to a program that stops Windows from automatically updating. I can update when I want to and when the Ask Woody site recommends it's safe to do so. 

They have user forums on more topics than you can imagine. Here are some of the takeaways I found at Ask Woody.

- When upgrading my PC there was a wealth of information on how-to, recommendations on processors, hard drives and ram. Recommendations are not based on the fastest and newest but what overall was the wisest upgrade for your system requirements? 

- The importance of backing up and recommended (free) very easy-to-use backup programs. 

- Recommended maintenance that you should be doing to your PC. With very easy-to-follow advice, links, free programs and user forums for advice. 

- becoming knowledgeable regarding your router, internet connection and firewall. 

These are just very few of the gems I have found on the site. PCs have become a part of our hobby and I don't want to become a computer wiz but not PC illiterate either. This is one of the sites that can make my PC adventure a bit more comfortable and gain some knowledge. 

I encourage you to take the site for a spin and see what you think? 

 For you CW buffs out there, a great group is the CWops. This is an international organization and their main goal is to promote continual improvement of CW proficiency across a broad range of activities. They have a CW academy which moves people along toward improving their CW skill level. They have a monthly newsletter (which can be found on their site) called Solid Copy which is all things CW. 

 Have ever been on the air and all of a sudden a section of the CW band becomes alive with action? Most likely if it's a Wednesday or Thursday it's the Weekly running of the CWops Tests or as it's also known as CWT. This is a mini 1-hour contest. Everyone is welcome in these mini contests, and it's a great way to improve your CW skills. 

Today was the first time I took a dive into the CWT. The hours went by very fast and in this contest I was in Search and Pounce mode and not Running. I made 14 contacts for 196 points, not a record by any means. But I was getting my feet wet. 

I encourage you to have a look at the CWops site and for sure have a look at their newsletter Solid Copy.