[CQ-Contest] ARRL and Open Logs - Time for the next step?

[Dick Green WC1M]

Right. I'd forgotten that TQSL strips data required by the contest sponsor.
Pete's proposal would require a TQSL mod, perhaps a special contest mode
that would leave all data intact. A contest-specific ADIF-to-Cabrillo
converter would be required at the contest sponsor end, too. But LoTW
wouldn't have to be expanded to hold larger records. The excess information
could be stripped off after upload and before being stored in the database.
More network bandwidth might be required (unless the sponsor was kind enough
to send the data to ARRL on DVD), but not more storage.

However, I'm not sure it's worth the trip. If the purpose is to use the
contest sponsor's "verification" of the QSO to eliminate busted calls, there
will be problems due to the mismatch between what LoTW accepts for a valid
QSO and what the contest sponsor accepts (as illustrated by my example
below.) If the purpose is to stimulate greater use of LoTW, I doubt it will
be effective. Log subsmission isn't the main barrier to more widespread use
of LoTW. It's the registration process (I should know... :-) I'm hopeful
this will be made easier in the future, without sacrificing security.

73, Dick WC1M

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Joe Subich, W4TV [mailto:w4tv at subich.com]
> Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 9:17 PM
> To: wc1m at msn.com; 'Pete Smith'; cq-contest at contesting.com
> Subject: RE: [CQ-Contest] ARRL and Open Logs - Time for the next step?
> 
> 
> > Not so. There's no need for the contest sponsor to sign the log.
> >
> > The contester would simply use TQSL to sign the log with
> > his/her LoTW private key before uploading it to the contest
> > robot. A copy of the signed log can then be sent to LoTW,
> > either before or after checking. Since the log is compressed,
> > the contest sponsor would need a copy of the LoTW
> > decompression code, but there's no security risk in ARRL
> > disclosing that.
> 
> Not quite, the data in the LotW upload is not the same as that in
> the Cabrillo file required by the contest sponsor.  tQSL extracts
> the necessary data (call, band/frequency/mode/start time) from the
> cabrillo, converts the required data to ADIF and then signs and
> compresses the intermediate ADIF data create the *.tq8 file.  It
> does not produce a "signed" and compressed copy of the input file.
> Even if contest sponsors could decompress the tq8 they would be
> missing QSO data (specifically exchange, multiplier and header data).
> 
> The only way for contest sponsors to get the data they require is
> to have their specific CBR/LOG file.  In order to meld the two,
> LotW would need to be expanded to hold larger records and the
> contest software would need to convert to an ADIF format.
> 
> 73,
> 
>    ... Joe, W4TV
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com
> > [mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Dick
> > Green WC1M
> > Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 7:19 PM
> > To: 'Joe Subich, W4TV'; 'Pete Smith'; cq-contest at contesting.com
> > Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] ARRL and Open Logs - Time for the next
> step?
> >
> >
> > > If contest sponsors were to upload contest logs to LotW, they (the
> > > contest sponsor) would need their own "private key" and the system
> > > would need to be modified to validate either the individual
> station
> > > private key or the private key of any number of possible contest
> > > sponsors.
> >
> > Not so. There's no need for the contest sponsor to sign the log.
> >
> > The contester would simply use TQSL to sign the log with
> > his/her LoTW private key before uploading it to the contest
> > robot. A copy of the signed log can then be sent to LoTW,
> > either before or after checking. Since the log is compressed,
> > the contest sponsor would need a copy of the LoTW
> > decompression code, but there's no security risk in ARRL
> > disclosing that.
> >
> > Pete didn't say so explicitly, but he may have been thinking
> > that only QSOs confirmed by the log checker would be
> > forwarded to LoTW. This is feasible because TQSL signs each
> > and every log entry, not just the entire log submission. We
> > deliberately designed it that way so that each individual QSO
> > would be verifiable, even if it became separated or
> > disconnected from other QSOs in the uploaded log.
> >
> > However, I'm not sure it buys anything to upload partial logs
> > with only confirmed QSOs to LoTW. LoTW won't issue a QSL for
> > a busted call, so it doesn't matter if the QSOs are confirmed
> > by the contest sponsor or not. Also, it's possible for the
> > log checker to disallow QSOs that are perfectly legitimate
> > for LoTW (e.g., QSOs made during an off-time or outside contest
> > hours.)
> >
> > 73, Dick WC1M
> >
> >
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