[MacLoggerContest] select vfo contol

[Chris Harris]

Hi all,

It there an easy way to select the VFO control, I mean to make it  
active so the it can be tuned with the arrow keys, by a simple key  
stroke?

During the recent WPX contest I didn't feel like working pileups so  
just did a bit of casual search and pounce. I found that this was  
easy from the keyboard using left right arrow keys to tune by 5kHz  
and if I heard something to fine tune with the arrow keys and  
modifers. When I got a station tuned it was simply a matter of  
hitting command+K to start entering the callsign. The pain was  
getting back to the VFO, one the station was in the log or if he  
moved frequency, as there doesn't seem to be a key-stroke for that -  
maybe there is can anybody enlighten me?

I've been thinking of getting a powermate but the same issue would  
apply, I think. I'd have to go from keyboard entry to mouse to (to  
select the VFO control) to powermate. The problem is that all these  
hand movements between input devices take time and if you are trying  
to retune to follow a moving contact it can be too slow.

It's funny but if you are in old fashioned logbook mode it's easy to  
tune the radio with one hand and write with the other. However when  
computer logging you need both hands on the keyboard to be able to  
keep up, well at least I do.

73 de Chris VP8BKF