[CQ-Contest] L.O.T.W.

[Bill Coleman]

On Jul 24, 2005, at 10:04 PM, Bill Turner wrote:

> "How much easier can it get?" you ask. Ok, here's how I envision it:
>
> 1. Go to LoTW website.
> 2. Enter your user id and password.
> 3. Upload ADIF file.
> 4. Log out.

This is pretty much the sequence that LotW users use. Except we don't  
upload a raw ADIF file, but instead sign the file to create a .tq8  
file and then send that.

> How's that for easier? Or do you really prefer the morass  
> of .tq5, .tq8 and
> .p12 files?

I haven't needed to fool with a .tq5 in nearly a year. My p12 files  
are pretty well managed by themselves.

> And what about the nonsense of every single QSO being digitally
> signed? Think about that one for a minute. If I have made an error  
> of some
> kind, every QSO gets digitally signed with the wrong information. What
> would be the difference from just uploading an ADIF file which I  
> certify to
> be correct just by the act of logging in?

Does your logging program record where your station is when you made  
the QSO? Most don't. Part of the signing process is to state what  
location your QSOs are from. This information just plain is NOT in  
Cabrillo, and I seriously doubt most programs that generate ADIF  
files correct for it, either.

The Signing insures two things -- first, that the information is  
complete and comes from a known source. Second, it ensures that the  
file hasn't been altered since the source sent it.

> The important point of all this is that we are missing QSLs from  
> stations
> who took one look at LoTW and gave up because it is unnecessarily
> complex.

They gave up too easily. For US / Canadian stations, the process  
isn't that hard. For DX, it's more involved -- and the ARRL could  
certainly streamline this by working with other trusted organizations.

>   How many more states/countries/provinces would you have confirmed
> right now if LoTW were user-friendly like it should be?

What *I* want to know is -- why is it that all the HQ stations I  
worked in the IARU contest haven't confirmed my QSOs in LotW? Not  
even W1AW/5...



Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
             -- Wilbur Wright, 1901