I'd like to ask my fellow DXers: What program on your personal computer do you use to keep track of the stations you have logged?
Like most DXers, I began keeping track with pen and paper back in 1981, when I began shortwave listening. I didn't start using a computer to keep track of the stations I logged until the late 1980s, when my late father got a computer using DOS from his employer. When Windows came along in the 1990s, I started keeping track using a computer to keep track of the stations I logged in earnest. I initially used a computer to keep track of the AM (MW), FM and analog TV stations I received.
Today, I use Microsoft Excel as my DX logging program. It enables me to keep the logs of the stations I've heard in chronological, state and frequency order using a single file. In addition to AM (MW), FM and analog TV, I have used this program to keep track of the NOAA Weather Radio, digital TV stations and LW beacons I've been hearing. I've also used Excel to keep track of the logs I've heard on the DXpeditions I've taken in the Saint Louis region between 2018 and 2024.
In doing the Chronological log for AM (MW), FM, NOAA Weather Radio, LW beacons and analog TV, Column A is for the date I heard the station. Column B is for the frequency or channel I received the station. Column C is for the time in which the station was heard (local time or Eastern US time for AM, FM, NWR, analog and digital TV, UTC for LW beacons and SW). Column D is for the quality of the signal received. Column E is for the station's call letters or identifier and the city of license. Column F is for the station number heard in the logbook from the first entry for AM and LW, the distance in miles and kilometers for FM, NWR and analog TV logs. On the FM, TV and NWR logs, the number of station logged is moved to Column G. Column H in the FM log is the mode of propagation which the station was received (groundwave, tropospheric enhancement, sporadic E-skip or meteor scatter). As of October 1, 2026, the last number in the AM logbook is 1,853 (first log at my present location on July 4, 1992), FM is 1,421 (since July 1, 1992), NWR 146 (since January 6, 2001), analog TV 580 (July 26, 1992-June 17, 2015) and LW 24 (since June 3, 2024). For the Digital TV logbook, I put the date in Column A, RF channel number in Column B, the virtual (display) channel number in Column C, time in Column D, signal quality in Column E, station call letters and city of license in Column F, distance in miles and kilometers in Column G and the number of the station from the first log in Column H. The first entry in my DTV logbook was made on September 19, 2005, 230 digital TV stations have been logged. Here's a few samples from my logbooks:
AM (Note that CLT is Central Local Time, one hour earlier than ELT)
FM
Analog TV (Boldface type indicates I received a verification from the station, S.N. is Station Number)
Digital TV
FM
NOAA Weather Radio
Digital TV (Note the "-DT" suffix was dropped after June 12, 2009)
In the Frequency log for AM, FM and NWR, the frequency of the station is in Column A. Column B has the station's call letters or identifier and city of license. Column C has the date of reception. Column D on the AM and NWR logs has the time of reception. On the FM log, it's the channel number (FM channel 201 is 88.1 MHz and FM channel 300 is 107.9 MHz, for example) Column E on the AM log has the frequency and the number of the station logged on the frequency in chronological order, and on the NOAA Weather Radio log, the last three digits of the frequency after 162 is indicated (such as 400 representing 162.400 MHz). For the AM sample, I'll use 1230 kHz as an example. For the FM log, I'll use 93.3 MHz and the NWR logbook sample is for 162.475 MHz.
AM
FM
NOAA Weather Radio
For the Analog TV log by channel, column A is the band and channel number. Column B is for the call letters and city of license of the station received. Column C is for the network the station was affiliated with or the station it relayed at the time of reception. Column D is for the date when the station was received. Column E is for the channel number and the number of station logged on the channel after the first log. Column F is for the reception mode (mostly tropo or E-skip). On the Digital TV log by channel, Column A is the RF channel in boldface type. Column B is the virtual, or display, channel. Column C is the station's call letters and city of license. Column D is the network the station was affiliated with or the type of station it was at the time of reception (either "Ind." for Independent or Christian). Column E is the date of reception. Column F is the RF channel number and the number received in chronological order on the channel. Column G is the mode of propagation in which the station was received. For the Analog TV sample, I'll use UHF Channel 17. For the DTV sample, I'll use RF Channel 5.
Analog TV
Digital TV
I have also used Excel to keep track of my DXpedition logs. I've been keeping separate logs for AM and shortwave logs from each DXpedition site. The only place I logged longwave beacons was at Lincoln Shields National Recreation Area on the Mississippi River at West Alton, MO. In each logbook, Column A is for the date of reception, Column B is for the station's frequency, Column C is for the time the station was received (Central time for AM and LW, UTC for SW), Column D is for the strength of the signal, Column E is for the station and location, and Column F is for the number the station was logged in chronological order. For the AM sample, I'll use the log from Pere Marquette State Park near Grafton, IL. For the SW sample, I'll use the log from Saint Stanislaus Conservation Area in Hazelwood, MO. Also included is the Lincoln Shields LW logbook.
AM
SW
LW
Of course, there are other computer programs you can use to keep track of your logs. I've found that Excel suits me best.
