Topband: LOTW and Rising Postage Costs

[Jim Brown]

I want to again urge all topbanders to use LOTW if you possibly can 
do so. It takes a bit of effort to get started, but once you do, it 
can be painless, especially if you use one of the logging programs 
that supports it well. I'm sending a big stack of QSLs via the 
bureau -- there's no way that I can spare the cash to mail them, 
AND to include $3 in every envelope to pay for return postage. 

Since getting back on the air in 2003, I've been using DXKeeper, an 
excellent FREE program that does logging, keeps track of awards, 
and makes it VERY easy to upload logs to LOTW (and also very easy 
to download QSLs). Yesterday, a bit before sunrise, VK3EW called 
me, and we made a QSO. That's a new call in my log, so I suspect he 
may not have worked a lot of DX on 160 (or other bands). An hour 
later, I pushed a couple of buttons in DXKeeper and uploaded his 
QSO to LOTW, along with several others. If he's on LOTW, he's got a 
confirmed QSO!

Dave, AA6YQ recently won a well-deserved award from the ARRL for 
Technical Excellence for his work in developing DXKeeper, which is 
part of a suite of programs he calls DXLab. Other parts of the 
suite, all FREE, do radio control, propagation tracking, QSL rout 
checking, RTTY, rotor control, and will display azimuth and 
distance to any call (or prefix) that you enter. His suite also 
integrates with Ham Radio Deluxe, another excellent FREE suite of 
programs by HB9DRV. Dave has recently taken on the task of updating 
MMTTY. Although I've never used it, friends have told me that 
DX4Win is also excellent, but I don't know how well it works with 
LOTW. 

You don't necessarily have to have an internet connection to use 
LOTW. LOTW log files can be created by programs like DXKeeper, put 
on disks, and mailed to ARRL. A single disk with tens of thousands 
of QSOs can be mailed for 2-3 times the cost of a single card! I 
don't know about you, but I would FAR rather put my limited dollars 
into upgrading my rig and antennas than mailing QSL cards. 

BTW -- if you DO send cards, DXKeeper spits out QSL labels to fit 
nearly any labeling stock that you would buy for your computer 
printer. It can also print complete cards on pre-punched card stock 
or sheets that you cut into cards after printing. 

73,

Jim Brown K9YC