[UK-CONTEST] LOTW and snail mail

[Phil Cooper]

Hi all,

I saw mention of the fact that someone was not going to use LOTW because
they needed a snail mail path to obtain the necessary certificate.

The only part of it that has to be done by snail mail is the submission of
your documents. You have to send a photocopy of your amateur radio licence,
plus another document that shows your name and address is the same as on
your licence. This could be a driving licence, a utility bill, or even your
passport details page.

You need to send that by mail to the ARRL simply to avoid the possibility of
email fraud. I appreciate that it sounds a little petty, but this is how
they want to operate it for now.
Once that has been done, the rest is all done electronically and without any
further need for snail mail.

To start with, download tqsl-106.exe from the LOTW page, run it, and submit
the tq5 file. Then post the photocopies of your documents and sit back and
wait.
You will then receive your certificate back via email.
If you operate portable, or regularly from another UK geographic area, then
you will need to request certificates for each variation of your callsign.

US stations don't have to send their paperwork to the ARRL, but they have
the snail mail path on the way back, as they will receive a postcard giving
them further instructions. Thus everyone has to go through a snail mail path
somewhere.

73 de Phil GU0SUP