llog

A minimalist logging application for HAM radio operators, with a focus on outdoor operations. That include support for

1. SOTA Summits on the Air,
2. POTA Parks on the Air, and
3. WWFF World Wide Flora and Fauna operations.

I personally use this for everyday fixed station logging.

Motivation

Inspired by Ham2K for mobile devices, llog is designed for operators who carry a laptop to the summit — no smartphone required. Connect a GPS receiver, run GPSd, and llog will find your location automatically, identify the nearest SOTA/POTA/WWFF location, and let you log contacts with minimal effort.

I looked at other log softwares, they are good, but they were very complicated. Simply, you just can't afford a complex software, when you are at the top of the summit. What you need is a simple, very easy to use application.

All log data is stored in a local SQLite database. I usually keep all my logfiles in a git repository, so I can move around computers. llog is designed to work well with this user-case. The log file is kept where you want. This make it easy to integrate into your working order.

---

Features

• Automatic location detection via GPSd
• Nearest SOTA/POTA/WWFF identification and one-click reference insertion
• Splash screen on startup while the database initialises
• SQLite logging with a clean, queryable schema
• Duplicate QSO detection with visual warning
• QRZ lookup — click the Call button to open the browser
• FLDIGI integration via XML-RPC (Get button populates fields from FLDIGI)
• ADI, ADX, CSV export
• Auxiliary database rebuild from Edit menu
• GTK4 interface with resizable column view of logged contacts

---

Prerequisites

Build dependencies

libsqlite3-dev
libgtk-4-dev
libgps-dev
libhamlib-dev
libxml2-dev
libxmlrpc-core-c3-dev
libcurl4-openssl-dev

Runtime dependencies

gpsd
gpsd-tools
gpsd-clients
sqlitebrowser    (for Edit → Log database)
python3 + sqlite3 module

Internet connection

llog fetches the current SOTA/POTA/WWFF references when

1. running at the very first time,
2. invoked with th -s command line option, or
3. requested from the GUI.

---

Building and installing

mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)
sudo make install

---

Getting started

1. Launch llog. A splash screen is shown while the database initialises.
2. Create a new log file via File → New.
3. Set up your station via Edit → Log database — this opens sqlitebrowser. Add your station details, save, then reload via File → Reload.
4. If your SOTA summit reference database ever becomes stale, rebuild it via Edit → Rebuild aux database.

!!!CAUTION!!!

Launch llog before you go to the field. With the first run, it generates a database for static data. If you miss this step, you'll end up an empty mode list, and the summit references will also be missing.

You should explicitly request llog to update its database from time to time.

---

Logging a contact

Action	How
Get current UTC	Click the UTC button
Insert nearest SOTA summit	Click the Summit ref button
Look up a callsign on QRZ	Click the Call button
Import data from FLDIGI	Click the Get button
Save the contact	Click the Log button

Fields that are not cleared after logging (QRG, mode, power, summit ref) are intentionally kept so you don't have to re-enter them between contacts.

---

Command line options

Option	Description
-f <file>	Set the log database file
-s	Force rebuild the auxiliary (SOTA/POTA/WWFF) database on startup
-v	Print version and exit
-h	Print help and exit

---

License

Copyright (C) 2013–2026 Levente Kovacs — HA5OGL

Released under the GNU General Public License v3.

Patches and improvements are welcome.