[CQ-Contest] LoTW (again!)

[Donald Field]

I apologise for returning once again to the hackneyed subject of LoTW, but I do think there are several aspects which are of direct import to the contesting community. One of the recurring themes of recent discussions is that LoTW removes the need for paper QSLs, which will gradually disappear. Indeed, at least one DX-located contester has now said he will start uploading his logs to LoTW and will no longer offer paper QSLs. It seems to me that he and others like him have "lost the plot". There is a sort of arrogance in assuming that the only reason amateurs want QSL cards is to apply for DXCC awards. I believe the data shows that about 7,000 to 8,000 amateurs (mainly US) are active in the DXCC program, whereas the evidence from major expeditions such as D68C suggests that many times this number not only chase DX but actively seek QSL cards to confirm their contacts. Admittedly, several other major awards programs, including the RSGB's Islands on the Air, have indicated that they will work closely with LoTW in due course, but this doesn't alter the fact that many DXers collect QSLs very much as a keepsake, rather than for award chasing. If anything, it's quite the opposite. Many UK amateurs have told me the reason they don't apply for DXCC is that they don't want to risk losing their hard-won and much-coveted QSL cards in the international mail. And this isn't a hypothetical worry - there have been several instances of packages of QSLs going missing en route to ARRL HQ, presumably because some petty thief in a mailroom somewhere has assumed that the package might contain something valuable. In-country checking of cards, introduced in recent years, has gone some way to allaying these fears, but there remain restrictions on what can be checked. LoTW has the potential of reducing those fears even more. In other words, amateurs will use LoTW and its facility for gaining DXCC credits electronically, not as a replacement for QSL cards, but very much as a complement to QSL cards so they keep those prized cards safe and sound in their shacks.

There is another aspect which is relevant. As, for several years, QSL manager for G0KPW/M6T, the current European multi-multi record holder in CQWW Phone, I have noticed how often we received cards from W stations and others, saying something like "first G on 40" or "first European station on 80". Astonishing at first sight, but there aren't too many UK stations using a full-size 3-element on 40, or a 4-square on 80 and those that do tend to use them for chasing DX in their own right, not working strings of Ws. The people seeking these cards, once again, are not necessarily wanting them purely to apply for DXCC (if at all) but want a keepsake of this unique achievement (they were no doubt running 100 watts to an indoor loop or something similar).

So, to rework an old phrase, I rather suspect the death of the QSL card is greatly exaggerated. Not good news for contesters maybe, as it really can be a chore and an unwanted expense, but something to bear in mind. As contesters, we need to understand that the mindset of the DXer is rather different to ours, and to act accordingly if we are to hope that those DXers will also show up to give us the extra points that can move our score up a few places.

73 Don G3XTT

g3xtt at lineone.net