Newsletter | Ham Radio Deluxe | 22-Dec-2018

In this newsletter, I’m going to roll-up a few of the most common questions we get throughout the year. I hope this is helpful. Many of these topics address some misconceptions about the software, so feel free to share this newsletter with friends. Even if you know some of what I cover in this newsletter, I can almost guarantee that I’ll be offering some information you may not be aware of.

Reminders About Ham Radio Deluxe Software

As far as Ham Radio Deluxe software is concerned, we sell two things.

One – we sell the full Ham Radio Deluxe suite. That is a purchase that you will never need to make more than once (for so long as it is commercially feasible to do so). Regular price for this is $99.95. That purchase gets you a software activation key and twelve months of Software Maintenance and Support. The activation key turns on the software and defines the expiration of the initial Software Maintenance and Support period.

[Software Maintenance and Support permanently entitles you to feature enhancements released prior to its expiration and direct access to our technical support team during the coverage period.]

And two – we sell optional 12-month renewals of Software Maintenance and Support. Regardless of whether this optional renewal is purchased at the end of the initial 12 months, or at some random period after its expiration, it catches up all features and continues coverage for the next 12 months.

Some folks have referred to this “option” as a “subscription.” The fact is, we’ve never sold software on a subscription basis (and this is why it’s never necessary to buy it again and why it will always work - to the extent that it’s commercially feasible). Unfortunately, someone previously built the word “subscription” into the License Manager dialog box. We’re removing that language with the migration to a new license key server in early 2019. [We’re completely eliminating the word “subscription” from our vocabulary. It’s inaccurate in this context.]

It is our objective to continue to add features to the software so that there will be value to you for buying the optional renewal. In 2019, for example, we plan to add a panadapter display for ICOM radios. This feature will only be available to clients with unexpired Software Maintenance and Support. There will be several such examples of this during 2019.

[Editorial Comment: After sending out this newsletter to about 25,000 recipients, one person wrote me because he understood this to mean that we will disable features if folks don't continue paying for the software. Folks - that's NOT going to happen and I made no attempt to indicate such. Think of it this way, if the feature has a release date of 02-Jan-2019... then that date can be compared to your most recent Software Maintenance and Support expiration. If the expiration is before that date... you're expired and won't be able to use that feature. If the expiration is after that date, then you OWN that feature forever because you will never have an expiration date prior to the release of that feature. We will never disable features that people have purchased and are entitled to.]

For as long as it’s feasible to do so, bug fixes will always be free. For that reason, you should always try to stay reasonably current by downloading and installing the latest version of Ham Radio Deluxe. You are entitled to these bug fixes and this is the only way you’ll get them. If you end up calling on our Support team, the first thing they’ll do is ask you is to install the latest version (if you have not already done so). You can always download the software on www.HamRadioDeluxe.com using the Download links. The software installs as an upgrade to existing installations, or will activate with your callsign and most recent software activation key on a fresh installation.

Lots of folks contact us and tell us they lost their software activation key. You don’t have to buy the software again to get your original software activation key. This is the one case where our Support team will look it up for you - even if you’re expired - and email it back to you with your Software Maintenance and Support expiration date. But then again, for the past two years, the activation key is always included in the receipt email you receive from us (not the PayPal receipt). And if you’re using something like Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook.com… and the like, it’s an easy search to find it. Just search for the phrase “activation key” in any email from either ultracart.com or hrdsoftwarellc.com.

You can retrieve your key from https://keyretrieval.hamradiodeluxe.com using the email address associated with your purchase.

The software activation key is tied to your email address. When you install the software, the installation is tied to your callsign.

You can install the software as many as FIVE computers as you will use it for your callsign.

If you have multiple callsigns (and this can be verified on QRZ.com), we add these additional callsigns to your software activation keys at no charge.

If you have other family members in the same household (verified on QRZ.com), we can add these additional callsigns to the software activation key for the primary software owner upon request and at no charge. The proper method for running multiple family member callsigns on the same computer is to use different Windows User IDs per user. This keeps things like logs, awards, alarms, macros… etc… separate for each user. To request a key for a family member, send an email to sales@hrdsoftwarellc.com.

We almost always provide FREE software activation keys for university and K12 clubs. The callsign must be verifiable on QRZ.com and the activation key must be requested by the club’s trustee. If you are the trustee of such a club, send an email to sales@hrdsoftwarellc.com for more information.

Ham Radio Deluxe is a Windows program. It runs on supported versions of Windows supported by Microsoft. The operating system and hardware requirements for Ham Radio Deluxe are listed here. We have a desire to create versions for Mac and Linux, but we're a couple years away from that.

Other Reminders

Lots of folks seem unaware that we enabled FREE callsign lookup services in Ham Radio Deluxe. The most notable one I like to recommend is “HamQTH.com”. You’ll find this in the Callsign Lookup options within Ham Radio Deluxe Logbook.

I hear from folks occasionally who have completely lost their log database. In some cases, folks felt that having the log on a flash drive would protect the log. Then the computer’s hard drive fails, and the flash drive is lost. I highly recommend watching the short video on our YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/HamRadioDeluxe

Contacting the Support Teams

There are three ways to contact the Sales and Technical Support teams. But before I go further with this point, let me say this: our goal is to get you assistance as quickly as possible. Most common questions can be answered on our knowledgebase solutions pages.

If you don’t find the answer on our FAQ page, then the fastest method to obtain assistance is to email support@hrdsoftwarellc.com (for technical questions) or sales@hrdsoftwarellc.com (for sales related questions). These emails come into our support site (https://Support.HamRadioDeluxe.com). You’ll get a confirmation email from the system. The question will be answered by the next available staffer. There’s a record of the whole interaction that can be tracked by members of management.

The next fastest method is to go directly to our support site (https://Support.HamRadioDeluxe.com). Register there and manage your email tickets or new tickets you create there. The process of managing the tickets is the same as mentioned in the previous paragraph.

You can call us at +1(813) 434-4650. There are four people on the Tech Support team and two people on the Sales Support team. If a staffer is available to take your call, they will answer the phone and assist you. They will create a ticket in the support site. This will generate a confirmation email to you and the interaction can be tracked as described above.

If no one is available to take your call, please leave a voicemail message with your name, callsign, return phone number, and email address. These voicemail messages are transcribed to text and automatically brought into the support site. Once your email address is added to the ticket by a staffer, a ticket will be created from this. When possible, your question will be answered via email.

Note: During the holidays, we see a higher call volume. To avoid creating a backlog of tickets, please refrain from leaving multiple voicemails.

Ham Radio Deluxe Websites and Your eMail Addresses

All our websites are within the HamRadioDeluxe.com domain. However, there are several of them and – unfortunately – they do not share directories.

In June of 2017, we moved to a new ecommerce platform for www.HamRadioDeluxe.com hosted by a company called UltraCart. The website in-production prior to this had no ability to create user accounts that stored callsign, name, address, and purchase history. As a result, there were no accounts to migrate to the new system. So, all purchases after June of 2017 are new in our ecommerce system. If you chose the choice of “Express Checkout” (which does not create an account) or “Create a Profile” (which does create an account).

Our software license key system has all the transactions in it going back to early 2012. This contains whatever email addresses were included in the orders prior to June 2017.

Our support site (https://Support.HamRadioDeluxe.com) has another account and email address in it.

Our peer support forums site (https://Forums.HamRadioDeluxe.com) has another account and email address in it.

All of these systems are used to compile a list of email addresses for these newsletters. I try to deduplicate it based on callsign and email address. However, many of you change your callsigns. But moreover, many of your have used different and unique email addresses for each of these systems.

The points for all this are as follows:

If you purchased prior to June of 2017, you don’t have an account on www.HamRadioDeluxe.com
If you used “Express Checkout” after June 2017, you do not have an account in www.HamRadioDeluxe.com
You may have various different email addresses on these systems. You may want to update your email in these systems as follows:

Main website: https://www.hamradiodeluxe.com/myaccount/index.do?merchantId=HRDLL

Support site: https://support.hamradiodeluxe.com

Peer support forums: https://forums.hamradiodeluxe.com