The Evolution of QSL Cards in Ham Radio Community
The evolution of QSL cards in the ham radio community is explored, from the traditional courtesy of exchanging QSL cards to the modern Logbook of the World (LoTW). The shift from free postcards made in junior high school print shops to the current costs associated with overseas airmail and return postage is highlighted. The challenges of ensuring accuracy in the FCC database for LoTW verification and the efforts to prevent cheating in award validations are discussed.
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Presentation Transcript
WHY? HOW? WHO CARES? Bud Semon, N7CW
IN THE OLD DAYS The final courtesy of a QSO is a QSL - The ARRL Operating Manual for Radio Amateurs
ALSO IN THE OLD DAYS Postcard rate Made in Junior High School Print Shop, for free
THESE DAYS $1.20 of overseas Airmail $100 for 1000 cards
THESE DAYS You must pay for return postage typically $3
THESE DAYS DXCC (100 countries) could cost: Your nice QSL cards: Your postage: Return Postage: Total: $10 $120 $300 $520 Maybe you would rather put that toward a new radio?
Logbook of the World (LoTW) LoTW is a database that compares your log to the logs of all the other stations that have entered their QSOs The ultimate goal is to verify contacts for awards like DXCC, WAS, VUCC, etc Given that awards are by definition competitive and hams are human, someone will try to cheat
Logbook of the World (LoTW) The ARRL devoted lots of brainpower to make it very hard to cheat By making it hard to cheat, you make it somewhat painful for everyone to use On the other hand, it is absolutely free until you want to apply for an award ARRL membership is NOT a requirement
Logbook of the World (LoTW) First, your name and address must be correct in the FCC database You are flirting with a fine from the FCC if your information is out of date Second, it s a computer database. You need to know which end of the mouse to click. All the following steps must be done on the same computer.
Logbook of the World (LoTW) Third, re-read the second requirement. It is possible to enter your QSOs manually, but you will spend so much time doing data entry, you won t work anyone on the air You will eventually need a logging program All logging programs generate the files necessary to export data to LoTW with almost no effort
Logbook of the World (LoTW) LoTW opened for business in 2003, so the instructions have been refined and are now pretty clear Whether you have a logging program or a paper log filled with QSOs, let s get started In the spirit of RTFM, go here : http://www.arrl.org/quick-start
Logbook of the World (LoTW) Download and read the Overview and Tutorial Next, you need to download a program called Trusted QSL or TQSL. On the same web page, click on Quick Start TQSL Don t be put off by the fancy language about encryption keys. Just follow the instructions CAREFULLY!
Logbook of the World (LoTW) I recommend not using a password it will become a pain later When you have submitted the data to LoTW, then get on the air and work some people. ARRL will send you a remnant of the dark ages a postcard with a password on it. This is why your FCC database information must be correct. They mail the postcard to your FCC address
Logbook of the World (LoTW) When you receive the postcard, go here: https://lotw.arrl.org/lotw/password Enter your callsign and the password from the postcard These instructions are also at http://www.arrl.org/quick-start-tqsl under Authenticate your location Now, get on the air and work some more people until you get an email from the ARRL
Logbook of the World (LoTW) When you receive the email, it will have 2 very important pieces of information: An attachment labeled YourCallsign.TQ6 A password for your LoTW account First, save the TQ6 attachment and make sure you know where you saved it! If you have used the default file locations, you should be able to double-click on the TQ6 file and it will open TQSL.
Logbook of the World (LoTW) Click through the process. At the end, you should see a screen sort-of like this:
Logbook of the World (LoTW) If double-clicking doesn t work, go here: http://www.arrl.org/quick-start-tqsl and click on Accept your callsign certificate (TQ6 file) and follow the instructions carefully! You should end up with that little gold medallion next to your call
Logbook of the World (LoTW) With TQSL open, select Station Location from the Menu (not the tab). Then select Add Station Location. Fill in the boxes. Select your callsign from the dropdown menu It will fill in the country In Prescott, your grid square is DM34, your ITU zone is 6 and your CQ zone is 3. You don t have an IOTA ID leave it blank. Click Next. Select AZ from the dropdown menu and select Yavapai from the dropdown menu (in that order). Select Next. Consider your Station Location Name carefully. If you plan on operating from different locations, whether Grid Squares, counties, etc. you may want to include a location in the name, e.g. N7CW-DM34. If you will never operate from somewhere else, pick whatever you want. Select Finish.
Logbook of the World (LoTW) Now you can go to: https://p1k.arrl.org/lotwuser/default and enter your callsign and the password from the email (not the postcard) You are now inside LoTW. But it s not interesting because you don t have any QSLs.
Logbook of the World (LoTW) LoTW requires your QSO data to be entered in a specific format Log files are called ADIF files and have .adi as the file extension, e.g. n7cw.adi If you are a dinosaur and still logging on paper, TQSL provides a way to manually convert your logs into an ADIF file Each QSO must be typed into the computer using TQSL This is a major PITA
Logbook of the World (LoTW) ONE AT A TIME!
Logbook of the World (LoTW) Assuming you can t stand to type your log into LoTW one QSO at a time and you obtain a logging program Each logging program is different enough that I can t cover them here But every program generates a ADIF file that you can sign (with TQSL) and send to LoTW TQSL does an excellent job of checking your log for typos and goofy errors
Logbook of the World (LoTW) There are 80,000 hams adding QSOs to LoTW There are 700,000,000 QSOs in LoTW which have generated 114,000,000 QSLs. Do the math on the postage! If you have worked anyone on any band other that 2 M FM, there are QSOs in LoTW waiting to be matched with yours
Logbook of the World (LoTW) Here is a QSL report
Logbook of the World (LoTW) Here is the QSO detail The grid square, county, zones, etc. are actually tracked by some people
Logbook of the World (LoTW) Here is part of my WAS award report Clicking on the band (e.g. 160 M) will show a list of each state and the station worked in that state
Logbook of the World (LoTW) You can download the entire log and put it back in your logging program This is not a recommended way to back up your log, but some people do it You can download the QSOs that have been confirmed so your logging program can track your awards Since you WILL make mistakes, LoTW will correct them for you, based on what the other station input for his county, grid square, state, etc.
Logbook of the World (LoTW) Of course, other people will make mistakes also and getting them to fix their errors is another PITA So make sure your data is PERFECK! If you submit paper QSLs for an award, that award can be linked to your LoTW awards and tracked within LoTW
Logbook of the World (LoTW) What is the biggest advantage of using LoTW? You get to spend more time on the radio and less time doing paperwork! A second minor advantage is the big bucks you will save on postage QUESTIONS?
