Welcome to SWLog
Logging since 1988
Shortwave & Amateur Radio Log (SWLog) is a suite of applications that provide logging and remote control for amateur radio plus shortwave, utility, and broadcast listening. SWLog has been continuously improved and expanded since it was first released 35 years ago.
Unified Suite
SWLog is a suite of products that provides logging, radio control, GPS synchronization, QSL management, reporting, and propagation prediction. Program schedules from HFCC, ILGRadio, AOKI, ADDX, SWSkeds, EiBi, and others are leveraged for broadcast reception. Call sign lookups and remote logbooks are integrated with ClubLog, eQSL, QRZ, Ham365, HamQTH, and LoTW.
Android & iOS Apps
SWLog provides Android and iOS applications for logging on the go as well as web servers for logging and remote control from anywhere. The apps seamlessly transfer logs without the tedium of ADIF export/copy/import.
Web-based Logging & Radio Control
In addition to a traditional desktop application, SWLog has a web-based application that allows for adding shortwave/broadcast/utility and amateur radio logs. Recent logs (QSOs) can be viewed. The web application also allows for remote control of radios. This runs under Linux or Windows.
Click on each tab below for detailed information about the topic.
Key Features
Since amateur radio logs and shortwave/broadcast/utility logs have fundamentally different characteristics, each is handled separately. The logs, reports, and utilities for are specifically tailored for each type of log. Thus the awkwardness and inexactitude of slamming a medium wave log into an amateur QSO template (or vice-versa) is avoided.
Amateur Radio
All logging programs provide basic logging. That is where most programs stop, which is unfortunate as the logs provide a wealth of detail. For example, the above image shows QSOs by band and allows for drilling down into the specific bands.
The focus of SWLog is on data and analytics. SWLog is built using modern tools that are used in the enterprise. SWLog leverages a full relational database (SQL ServeR) that includes geometry (i.e. mapping) support. This allows for maps of continents or countries to be shown with interesting views, such as the number of QSOs per state.
Amateur Radio Integrations
SWLog integrates with the following amateur radio sites, databases, &c.
- Amateur Radio Country Files (AD1C)
- ARRL LoTW
- Club Log
- DX Watch
- eQSL
- Ham365
- HamCall
- Hamdata
- HamQSL.com (N0NBH)
- HamQTH
- QRZ
Designed for POTA
SWLog provides a real-time view into active POTA spots. Spots are categorized by band with real-time propagation conditions. This is also integrated with the Radio Control module so that when a spot is selected, the radio will automatically tune to the spotted frequency.
Logging by POTA is also directly integrated. Logs can be sorted and grouped by the park, providing a detailed overview of park history.
Application Scalability
Using an enterprise-grade relational database naturally opens up many use cases with networking. Since the database is separate from the applications, the database can reside anywhere on the network. In the simplest terms, this means that it is trivial to have SWLog running on a main computer and to access it from a simple notebook on the back porch. Even more interesting possibilities are possible, such as setting up a centralized database in a home lab or even hosted in the cloud. Additionally many users can log to the same database, making this scalable to field day or a remote DXpedition.
Shortwave, Broadcast, & Utility
The first version of SWLog was released in 1988. Each new version has brought improvements for logging Shortwave, AM/MW, FM, and Utility transmissions. A key goal of SWLog is to leverage the various program schedules to properly identify a station. SWLog supports the following program schedules:
- Association of German DXers (ADDX)
- AOKI/Nagoya DXers Circle Frequency List
- ClasseAxe Non-Directional Beacon List
- DRM Schedules
- EiBi Comprehensive Shortwave Broadcasting Schedule
- European Medium Wave Stations (Wikipedia)
- FCC AM Engineering
- FCC FM Engineering
- FCC HF Seasonal
- HFCC Frequency Tables
- ILGRadio Frequency Tables
- Mesa Mike's List of USA AM Band Radio Stations
- SWSkeds Shortwave Schedules
All of the various program schedules are combined into a single view called What's Playing Now or simply WPN. SWLog searches across all program schedules at once to help in identifying the transmission.
Additional views of the data are also provided, such as the plotting of FCC AM Engineering data, which covers all AM radios stations in the Western Hemisphere.
Community
The Shortwave Log Community is a collection of active, recent logs that are optionally uploaded. In addition to viewing the submitted logs, the Community can be used to help identify stations when adding logs, much like a database like HFCC or ILGRadio.
Themes & Fonts
SWLog is designed to look like a modern application and specifically does not look like an Excel spreadsheet running under Windows XP from 20 years ago!
The suite of applications can be run in light, dark, and gray themes. The gray theme has been designed for outdoor use in bright sunlight, such as POTA or SOTA. It is quite useful when using notebook screens that are difficult to view in the bright sunlight as the gray provides contrast. The themes also provide a variety of serif, sans-serif, fixed-width, and even Comic Sans MS!
Download
SWLog runs on Windows and has a specific, tailored features that run on Linux, Android, or iOS. Advanced users can configure the database to run in a Docker container or on native Linux. A web front-end can run on a Raspberry Pi or Ubuntu. Android and iOS have apps that are available from the respective stores for mobile logging.
Build 8726 - Released November 22, 2023
windows-amd64
All desktop (i.e. non-mobile) applications within the SWLog suite run on Windows. This is for full installations and upgrades.
Targeted for AMD- and Intel-based systems running Windows 11 or Windows 10. The installation package will optionally download and install SQL Server Express 2022. Compatible with SQL Server 2017 or 2019.
linux-arm
Supports a subset of features, namely the Radio Control and Web Control servers. Does not support the main logging program.
Targeted for the Raspberry Pi 3B+, Pi 4, Pi 400, or Pi Zero 2 W. It has not been tested on other platforms.
linux-amd64
Supports a subset of features, namely the Radio Control and Web Control servers. Does not support the main logging program.
Targeted for .NET supported Linux distributions, although it has only been tested on Ubuntu.
Android
A mobile logging application for shortwave/broadcast and amateur logs.
Targeted for Android 13 and higher. Designed for the Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, and other Android phones. Requires Android 13 or later.
Apple iOS
A mobile logging application for shortwave/broadacst and amateur logs.
Targeted for iOS 16.4 and higher. Designed for the iPhone.
Docker
For savvy users, SQL Server 2022 can be configured to run under Docker. The image can be found on Docker Hub.
Release Notes
Detailed release notes can be found here.
Licensing
When originally released in the fall of 1988, SWLog was released as shareware. In keeping with that spirit, SWLog is available as a trial version and with one or two year licenses. All licenses are standalone and do not auto-renew. When a trial ends or when a license expires, the ability to export logs is unrestricted. The logs are never locked or paywalled.
While priced in US Dollars, the payment processor (Stripe) will dynamically convert to other currencies.
License Key Retrieval
If a license key has already been purchased, a copy can be retrieved here. Use the email address that was used when purchasing the license.
Frequently Asked Questions
SWLog started back in 1988 and was solely focused on shortwave logs. In the late 1980s, shortwave transmissions were the primary source of news and features from an overseas perspective. The big names in broadcasting such as the BBC, Radio Netherlands, Deutsche Welle, Radio Moscow, Radio RSA, Radio Australia, HCJB, Swiss Radio International, and many more broadcast daily to North America.
In 1988 SWLog was (obviously) a program written for MS-DOS. For the classic computer aficionados, SWLog version 1.00 was coded under MS-DOS 3.30 on a Tandy 1000 SX first with Turbo C then with Microsoft C 6.0A. The logs were stored with the Paradox database engine. While the original version does still technically run, the code to import the data from Paradox has long been sunsetted. So any logs would be effectively orphaned. For retro-PC enthusiasts, version 1.21 of the MS-DOS program can be downloaded. It can be run under DOSBox and DOSBox-X, so a traditional MS-DOS virtual machine is not strictly necessary.
SWLog was originally distributed on BBS systems and the well-known Simtel MS-DOS Archive, which was the primary method of distribution as CD-ROMs of the Simtel archive were widely available at computer fairs in the early 1990s. By 2004 the web site was created and SWLog started to be distributed as a download, although users could still has for a CD-ROM version if necessary.
As the years progressed, the scope and features expanded and the underlying technology has changed. SWLog is today a suite of programs providing not only logging but radio control and extensive reporting.
The main focus of SWLog is data, reporting, and analytics. The program has always focused on data, be it logs, external program schedules, or propagation data. The program does not assume to be the perfect solution for all use cases; however, it does have a very strong data structure.
And do not forget the maps! SWLog is admittedly a bit map crazy!
SWLog just looks and operates differently from other logging programs. So many logging programs look like Excel for Windows 95. SWLog (hopefully) does not give the 1990s vibe that is so typical of radio-related programs.
The data that is collected and how it is collected simply differs beetween broadcast and amateur logs. For example, a shortwave or AM/FM log would use frequency databases like ILGRadio, HFCC, or FCC AM/FM Engineering. Amateur radio logs use data from QRZ, the FCC, HamQTH, ClubLog, etc. However, the underlying structure for both types of logs is unified in the database.
Or think of it as like the McDonald's McDLT - the hot stays hot and the cold stays cool!
Bundled with the installer is a 55 page PDF that can be printed old-school style like the old Word Perfect manuals from the 1980s! The level of detail in the documentation is quite extensive, often times being far too geeky.
SWLog is proudly coded entirely in America in the State of Florida. No offshore assets are used whatsoever. It is critical to sustain a high-tech, local workforce and to not offshore for profit.
Support can be found on the groups.io forum or the Discord server. Priority is given to licensed users.