Drew: Here's my list, for what it's worth:
Nova (It does some things better than SatPC32, some not as well -- I have and use both) Smith chart program EZNEC Some kind of CAD program for doing schematic and other drawings (I use TurboCAD, mostly because I've used it for over 15 years and found a new version relatively expensively) Elsie filter design software (say you want a better diplexer to use 2m and 70cm radios on the same dual-band antenna, Elsie will let you design up to 7 or 9 poles) Obvious office stuff (I use OpenOffice, tho have MS on the laptop for the rare occasion OO doesn't quite cut it) Skype -- don't use it often, but nice to have when you want it, especially with all the time I spend in hotel rooms A good restore disk creator. I had to buy one for the XP desktop, but think the Win7 laptop came with it, albeit VERY difficult to find. Finally, a manual -- continuing the tradition of refusing to provide user documentation with the product (it's all in the help files -- yeah, right) I bought Windows 7, the missing manual from O'Reilly. Missing manual is a series, this is the first one I've bought, and it has been VERY helpful in figuring out Win7. I hate the new interface (why must they tinker for the sake of tinkering?!) but I really do like the much faster boot, awake, and shutdown of Win7 compared to XP (on comparable processors -- replaced both machines within a month of each other.)
I'll be eager to see others' lists -- probably a WHOLE lot better ideas out there!
Good luck!
73, jim wb4gcs@amsat.org
On 8/18/2012 4:50 PM, Andrew Glasbrenner wrote:
So my 4 yr old XP shack computer is in critical care right now, and I have a new quad core Win 7 HP that I'm setting up today. So far I've downloaded and installed:
SatPC32 (still working on the speech error problem) MixW 3 HDR 5.sumthing Spectravue
next up is WSJT
What must have ham radio programs, especially satellite/vhf/uhf, do you have and recommend?
73, Drew KO4MA _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb