[CQ-Contest] LOTW Participation

[DL8MBS]

 From a "little pistol in DX (=non-US)" point of view the relation 
between expense and reward is not yet too promising. How many do really 
like to send copies of official documents like driver licence or 
passport via mail? For me this is disproportionate for a hobby tool and 
a simple NO (having already lost a bunch of cards on this route). 
Additional fiddling with just another software may be bearable, but for 
what outcome: gathering points for a still not too big number of awards 
(quote from the FAQ: "To be determined. All ARRL-sponsored/administered 
awards, including DXCC, WAS, VUCC, and WAC will be among the first to 
receive support from LoTW"). Even for the ham-subgroup of award-hunters 
not too promising IMHO (don´t know whether LOTW is i.e. ready for 
county-hunters, not to mention the mass of non-US-awards).
Worldwide success affords easier access worldwide and including more 
awards worldwide. Are another 10 years enough to have some international 
cooperation in existance to collect RDA, counties or DOKs via a 
LOTW-like system?

But besides gaining points for awards: with such systems the majority 
(?) of hams will not vanish who like QSL-cards to have something more 
than 599 and an award-point from another station. Biiig guns may 
understandably suffer from the hills of cards but in the majority of us 
(rate-building!) mostly S&P-"Joe-vertical"-contesters are too many who 
prefer cards to electronic point confirmations.

Thanks for reading and best 73, Chris

(still collecting those extremely rare QSLs with cartoon motives to be 
gathered at www.dl8mbs.de)