On Jan 6, 2010, at 10:08 PM, Gary Hinson wrote: >> One >> thing I would recommend is to run your log/db on a USB flash >> based device, this way if your PC decides to act up or even >> worse the drive dies then your log will be safe. > > Errr, not if the flash drive dies, unless you meant to use the flash as a > backup. With no moving > parts, flash drives are probably more reliable than conventional hard drives > but they are not > immortal and are only rated for so many read/write operations. Also *all* > your local drives of > whatever type may go up in flames if the PC or shack catches fire, or someone > may steal the lot .... Hi Gary,
No actually I meant use the flash for the actual live log. Flash based drives are far more reliable then traditional platters. Flash has a life expectancy for ~10K read/writes far less then what would be used in a 24hr contest :) I have had many platter drives fail in my career and as of to date never had a flash device fail (knocking on wood). > > >> There are also a few other technologies other then the flash >> drive approach, you can get a free 2GB account from >> http://www.dropbox.com and point your log to your dropbox >> folder and it will backup into the ether in real-time and you >> can even have the same dropbox folder on a backup PC ready to >> go. > > That's the better option - an offsite backup - if used as a backup, in other > words again not the > only copy. The online file systems are fine if you have a sufficiently fast > and reliable Internet > connection, but again I would advise sending backups off-site and retaining > one or more local copies > of your log as well, just in case the organization running the offsite system > has a technical fault, > or deletes the files, or whatever (trust me: it happens). I am also a huge believer in off-site backups as well, we are seeing newer technologies like dropbox where it acts more like a local drive then a backup device. I use that service to create corporate wide shared folders across large geographical locations and its been very reliable. > > You can also take occasional offline log backups onto CD-ROM, or yet another > flash drive, that you > physically remove from the machine and place elsewhere in safe storage, far > enough away from the > shack not to be caught in the same fire/burglary/whatever. > > If that's all too much effort, at least consider uploading your log regularly > to Logbook of the > World. LoTW is a 'last resort' backup since it only stores the minimal > amount of info on each QSO, > but at least it is possible to retrieve the basic QSO data if you have no > other choice. This has a > useful side effect of increasing usage of LoTW! I don't want to wander off topic here, but John was specific about contesting scenarios and I think we have him covered :) Also, does LOTW allow for "restoring" your log? I thought they once frowned upon that at one time. 73 Lee WW2DX > > 73 > Gary ZL2iFB > > PS This applies equally to Macs and PCs. And PDAs. Even paper logbooks are > both valuable and > flammable! > > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
