I got the RT Systems software in last night and had a few minutes to play with it tonight. I'll do a more thorough review later, but for now some quick hits.
First off...this is the best programming software for an HT that I've ever used. At my day job, I've personally designed complex enterprise software applications that are still in use by my company, and I like to think I'm pretty good at it. That said, I usually tell people that I think most software for ham radio is crap, for various reasons. Some notable exceptions: Ham Radio Deluxe (superb!), MixW (an advanced application) and I now add RT Systems stuff to the list of good software.
This software is really good. I've also used various applications for the Kenwood THF-6a and various Icom applications. I've never liked any of them.
The application has a familiar Excel look and feel to it, which makes it easy to just jump in and start using. I had prepared an Excel spreadsheet of 2m frequencies for SoCal and saved it as a CSV file. I then used the import function in RT Systems and to my surprise, it gave me a wizard that let me pick each data element in the CSV file and match it with a column in the RT Systems application. It couldn't have been easier. The communication with the radio was flawless and after a few edits, I had the entire list of 164 2 meter repeaters programmed on my radio.
One note: There are a few Excel functions (Find and Replace, for example) that Excel has that may make it easier to use as a data entry application for the VX-8, and then import the file to the RT Systems application. Regardless, I think people will be very happy with this software and programming cable.
I'll get some print screens of the software posted and some pictures of the cable, as well as some more detailed reviews of some specific areas of functionality.
First off...this is the best programming software for an HT that I've ever used. At my day job, I've personally designed complex enterprise software applications that are still in use by my company, and I like to think I'm pretty good at it. That said, I usually tell people that I think most software for ham radio is crap, for various reasons. Some notable exceptions: Ham Radio Deluxe (superb!), MixW (an advanced application) and I now add RT Systems stuff to the list of good software.
This software is really good. I've also used various applications for the Kenwood THF-6a and various Icom applications. I've never liked any of them.
The application has a familiar Excel look and feel to it, which makes it easy to just jump in and start using. I had prepared an Excel spreadsheet of 2m frequencies for SoCal and saved it as a CSV file. I then used the import function in RT Systems and to my surprise, it gave me a wizard that let me pick each data element in the CSV file and match it with a column in the RT Systems application. It couldn't have been easier. The communication with the radio was flawless and after a few edits, I had the entire list of 164 2 meter repeaters programmed on my radio.
One note: There are a few Excel functions (Find and Replace, for example) that Excel has that may make it easier to use as a data entry application for the VX-8, and then import the file to the RT Systems application. Regardless, I think people will be very happy with this software and programming cable.
I'll get some print screens of the software posted and some pictures of the cable, as well as some more detailed reviews of some specific areas of functionality.
