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I’ve created this unofficial user guide for ARRL’s Logbook of The World to supplement the help available
from the LoTW site.
It is an incomplete
work-in-progress.
Feedback and additional
content is very welcome.
Quick links
- Why should I bother with Logbook of The World (LoTW)?
- Joining LoTW
- Using LoTW - some Hinson tips
- Checking/correcting your CQ and ITU zones and locator in LoTW
-
Applying for DXCC or WAS awards using LoTW
- Backup your digital certificate
- “Official” help on LoTW
- A wishlist for LoTW enhancements
Why should I bother with Logbook of The World (LoTW)?
If you are a serious DXer, you know how frustrating it can be waiting for QSLs to arrive to confirm
each new country. Whether you send QSLs and $$ direct or just hope for cards to arrive via the
worldwide QSL bureaux, collecting confirmations is tedious.
Then, once you’ve got your little stack of QSL cards and you wish to apply for awards such as
DXCC or WAS, you still need to get them checked and verified by the relevant organization. This
normally means collating the records and sending the paperwork, plus those valuable cards,
through the post or taking them to a DX convention to be verified.
Quite simply, LoTW makes the whole process
quicker, easier and
safer.
With LoTW, you upload your log to the LoTW site where it is entered into a database system that
cross-matches QSO details against other uploaded logs, generating QSLs that do not need to be
further verified. QSLs for matching QSOs come through within days or weeks, normally, depending
on how often those you have contacted upload their logs to LoTW. The system also tracks DXCC
and WAS awards (only those two at present, unfortunately) and, when you are ready to claim
your awards, handles the application paperwork electronically for you. There is no need to send
your valuable QSL cards in the post, unless you wish to claim additional award credits for QSOs
that you have not yet confirmed in LoTW anyway.
By the way, there is absolutely nothing stopping you exchanging postcard QSLs as well as using
LoTW. Many of us like to collect and show off cards from exotic foreign places. I encourage all LoTW users to respond to incoming paper QSLs even if they have also QSLd via LoTW as a
courtesy.
Back to quick links
Joining LoTW
The process to join LoTW is a little complicated because it is a secure system. It uses digital
certificates to authenticate submitted logs and prevent people uploading false or fraudulent logs for
others (authenticated users are trusted to submit accurate logs for themselves!). So the first
stage is to obtain your digital certificate from ARRL.
Obtain your digital certificate from ARRL
First you need to download and install the TrustedQSL (tQSL) programs from here. There are two
associated programs:
tQSL.exe
is the program you will use to digitally sign your logs, and
tQSLcert.exe
is the program used to manage (including apply for) your digital certificates.
Using tQSLcert, you now generate an electronic
digital certificate request
which is saved as a
.tq5 file. This involves entering basic information such as your name and callsign and creating a file
that you will submit to ARRL. They then check the details. US hams’ details are verified using the
FCC’s systems. Non-US hams have to submit a copy of their license by post to get it checked
against the certificate request. If everything is OK, ARRL sends you your digital certificate.
Now you load the digital certificate onto your system using tQSLcert again. The certificate is
checked against the certificate request and electronically verified, just in case anything got
corrupted on the way. If it all checks out, you can now start using the digital certificate to sign
your logs and upload them to LoTW.
Upload your first log to LoTW
These are the steps involved in uploading your log to LoTW:
-
Generate an ADIF output file
from your logging program containing the QSOs you want to
upload to LoTW (i.e. your whole log at the start. Subsequently, you will normally only send
new QSOs since the previous LoTW upload);
-
Electronically
sign the ADIF file using tQSL
. This generates a digital signature based on the
content of the ADIF file and your private key, allowing ARRL (or indeed others) to verify the
data using your public key on your digital certificate. The digital signature is appended to the
QSO data in the ADIF file and saved as a new .tq8 file;
-
Login to LoTW on the ARRL website;
-
Click the Upload
tab in LoTW;
-
Find and select the .tq8 file
you just created and wait for it to upload. This may take a few
minutes if you have thousands of QSOs to upload but is nearly instantaneous if you are only
uploading a few;
-
Check for new LoTW QSLs
using LoTW’s reporting tabs for QSOs or awards;
-
[Optional step but a worthwhile habit to form]
Backup your log!
Back to quick links
Using LoTW - some Hinson tips
-
Upload your log to LoTW as often as you can
, ideally at least once a month, preferably
once a week. If you are as active as I am and working hard to improve your DXCC scores,
you may like to upload your log daily and check your LoTW QSLs at the same time.
-
Keep an eye on the
QSO and QSL counts
(top right of most LoTW screens). As LoTW
usage spreads, the proportion of QSOs that are QSLd via LoTW is gradually increasing.
Currently just over one-in-four of my QSOs gets QSLd via LoTW. ZL7T’s log matched one-in
-three.
-
If you alter any logged QSOs (for example correcting broken callsigns when QSL cards arrive),
you need to
re-upload the changed QSO records to LoTW
. While you might be able to
extract the changed QSOs and just upload them, the easiest way is to periodically re-upload
your entire log since LoTW automatically ignores exact duplicates and only saves any changes
. However, please don’t do this too often (no more than, say, once or twice a year) as it
wastes computer power and slows the LoTW systems down a bit. Be nice.
-
Use the award status
table to check on your DXCC or WAS status, and the quick QSL report
to check which QSOs have been confirmed lately.
-
Work lots of contests
! Contest stations are more likely to upload their logs to LoTW than
most hams. Most big
DXpeditions
also use LoTW, although there is a tendency to wait
several months before uploading in order to encourage people to send a few extra $$$ with
their direct QSL requests.
-
Preferentially
contact other LoTW users
rather than non-users, given the choice. The LoTW
user list is helpful to identify them, especially if you integrate the data in your DXcluster or
logbook software (VE7CC’s cluster user program is ideal for this). This is not about being a
clique, simply that you are more likely to get a QSL and do so more quickly via LoTW than by
any other means.
-
If you are patiently awaiting a LoTW QSL that seems “overdue”, the DX may not have
uploaded his log in a while (if ever!) or it may have been a busted QSO. You can check the
last time someone uploaded their logs to LoTW on this page.
- You may need the security of a password to unlock access to the secret key on your LoTW
certificate, but then again you may not. If the risk of some reprobate sneaking onto your
machine and maliciously signing false logs in your name is low enough to be safely discounted,
then feel free to
remove the password function from tQSL
using the instructions here. If
you do this, you can upload log updates to LoTW from Logger32 with “just” 5 clicks following
the instructions on my Logger32 page using a “utility” entry to call tQSL with the appropriate
parameters.
-
If you need to download your entire log from LoTW as an emergency backup*, there are at
least five options:
-
Use LoTW’s QSO reports to find out all you can about the missing QSOs and re-enter
them manually into your logging program (tedious and error prone unless you are only
missing a few QSOs);
-
Capture (‘screen-scrape’) the text one-screen-at-a-time from LoTW’s reports: this is
also tedious and error prone, and is definitely not recommended;
-
Use the neat online LoTW log download utility by K1MU, without entering any specific
QSO criteria;
- Use this LoTW query page directly (it starts a full log download - thanks to G4LMW for
the tip);
- Use the ‘synchronise log with LoTW’ function in logging programs such as AClog (but not
yet Logger32, unfortunately).
* Treat this as a last resort: LoTW only stores the basic, minimal QSO details, approximately
2 Mb of ADIF file per 10,000 QSOs. It is MUCH better to make your own regular off-line log
backups, saving your ADIF file to, say, a CD or USB memory stick from time to time.
Back to quick links
Checking/correcting your CQ and ITU zone and locator in LoTW
It seems some hams are either in such a rush or so confused when they join and start using LoTW
that they either make leeetle mistakes with their zones and Maidenhead locators, or leave them
blank (in which case it seems that default values are used, which are not necessarily correct). If
the values are wrong, every LoTW update thereafter and hence any LoTW QSLs created carry the
wrong info until eventually someone notices and kindly lets them know.
So, here’s the process to check and if necessary correct the data:
-
First create and save an ADIF version of your log containing all QSOs from the location whose
zones/locator you want to correct. [In Logger32, this means going to "File" then "Export
Logs" then "Create ADIF (Adi) file". Navigate to a suitable directory and give the ADIF file a
name. Do not select "Partial log" as you almost certainly want the whole thing. I normally
select "Export full Country names" here as it lets me check and sometimes correct the DXCC
country allocations made by Logger32].
- Make offline backups of your log at this point, not because anything in the rest of this
procedure is particularly risky, but just in case. It is generally safest to make and store copies
of both the ADIF log (which may contain errors from the export process) and your logging
program’s proprietary format (which may contain additional info but is not so portable as the
ADIF). Be sure to store them safely offline on suitable storage media such as CD or USB
memory stick.
-
Run tQSL.exe
-
On the top line menu select "File" then "Sign existing ADIF or Cabrillo file".
-
Click once on a "location" to select it [note: here you are actually selecting the appropriate
digital certificate - if you manage more than one callsign in LoTW, each will have its own
"location" defined and you must use the appropriate ones to sign the relevant logs].
-
Click the "Edit" button.
-
Check and if necessary correct the information there, provided you actually know the correct
values! If not, look up your CQ zone, your ITU zone and your Maidenhead locator. [Some
LoTW users claim that, although they didn’t enter anything, random values appeared here.
I’m not convinced. Anyway,
please take the time to find and enter the correct values
for your QTH
, as this info will be sent via LoTW to all the people your QSO and is a pain to
correct later]
IF YOU DO NOT KNOW YOUR CQ OR ITU
ZONES, OR YOUR MAIDENHEAD LOCATOR,
PLEASE LEAVE THOSE FIELDS BLANK IN tQSL.
A blank or null entry doesn’t overwrite whatever value the other people you have contacted might have assumed and logged. A wrong entry may overwrite their correct data and is
unhelpful.
-
Click "Next".
-
Click "Finish".
-
[The "location" you just corrected should still be selected] Click "OK".
-
Find the ADIF file that you created in step 1 and click "Open".
-
Click "Save" [the signed log file will be saved with the same file name as the ADIF file but with
a .tq8 extension, in the same directory as the ADIF file by default].
-
Click "Yes" to confirm that you really want to sign your log [doh! Why else would you be
doing this? Dumb question!].
-
When prompted, enter your tQSL password [to unlock your private key and sign your log
with your digital certificate] and click "OK" to sign your log.
-
Login to the LoTW website and upload your signed log as usual. LoTW overwrites your
previously-uploaded data with the correct zones etc., unless any QSOs have already been
QSL’d in which case those records are locked.
-
[Optional] If you have more than one location and log to sign and upload, go back to step 1
and run through again for the other info.
[Thanks to Chris for helping prepare these instructions, and for correcting his info!]
Back to quick links
Applying for DXCC or WAS awards via LoTW
The LoTW system can automatically track your progress towards ARRL’s DX Century Club and
Worked All States awards but first you need to configure it by setting up your DXCC and/or WAS
accounts.
The DXCC rules allow you to accumulate QSLs from more than one personal callsign (for example
if you use a personal contest or vanity call but not a shared/club call), provided all QSOs are made
from the same DXCC country. Under WAS rules, all QSOs must be made from within 50 miles of
the same location: if you move more than 50 miles away, you have to re-start your WAS claims
from the new QTH. Configuring LoTW therefore involves telling the system where you operate
from.
When LoTW’s DXCC or WAS reports indicate that you have enough QSLs for an award, you
prepare and submit your application online, along with the fee for the award.
At ARRL HQ, the awards process through LoTW is much less labour-intensive and quicker than
manually checking written applications and QSL cards.
If you have additional paper QSLs to submit, you can send them to ARRL HQ (necessary for all
160m cards), take them to a ham convention if card-checkers will be present, or send them to
your nearest DXCC field checker (in my case that’s the Oceania field checker Lee, ZL2AL). In the
DXCC office at HQ, the verified DXCC confirmations from QSL cards are simply added to those
claimed via LoTW and appear in your DXCC records. [Note: this process takes a while - 4 months
in my case because I applied for the award at the end of the calendar year when many honor
rollers are doing their annual updates]. Be patient and get in touch with the DXCC office if the
process seems to have stalled for more than, say, 2 or 3 months.]
Back to quick links
Backup your LoTW private key, digital certificate and log!
Don’t neglect to take a backup of your LoTW certificate when it arrives using the
tQSLcert
program. Transfer the
.p12
file containing your private key,
plus the .tq6
file which is the
certificate, to another computer and/or to a suitable offline backup storage medium such as an
external hard drive, CD-ROM etc. and store it safely away from the main computer (not just loose
in the shack!). Both parts are needed
otherwise you will need to apply from scratch for a
replacement certificate.
Also be sure to
take regular offline backups of your log
. If your PC is hosed, you risk losing all
your logged QSOs except for those previously uploaded to LoTW (LoTW only stores the bare
minimum of QSO information - think of it as a last resort backup). Believe me, it’s a real pain when
it happens (those who worked Mellish Reef toward the end of a recent DXpedition know what I
mean!). Take backups of your log and save them to suitable offline media (such as a USB
memory stick, CD-ROM, 8” floppy diskette or stone tablet) that you keep safely away from the
PC (such that it will not also be lost if your PC catches fire, is stolen or just breaks down). Make
this a regular routine e.g. once a month, quarter or year depending on how active you are - once
every few hundred QSOs is another way. Note: these offline backups should be in addition to
more frequent online backups, where you save a copy of your log file to another directory on the
C: drive or another hard drive on your machine.
Back to quick links
LoTW users
Robert HB9BZA maintains a handy list of LoTW users compiled from “lotwreport.adi” files submitted
by those of us who like to help. The cluster user program by VE7CC uses the list, adding a “+” to
the comments field on spots for DX stations who use LoTW. If two or more wanted DX stations
are spotted, I give preference to those with the plusses because I’m more confident of getting a
QSL from them.
ARRL, unfortunately, does not release this information directly so it relies upon those lotwreport
files to identify who is QSLing via LotW. If you use LoTW, please send your lotwreport.adi files to
HB9BZA every so often (maybe every 500 to 1,000 LoTW QSLs) and help maintain the list.
If you send your lotwreport to Robert, he kindly responds by emailing you back with a list of any
new callsigns he’s added to the list e.g. my latest update confirmed that the following are LoTW
users: KA9A, KH6/AC0W, KZ2V, VK4/G3TXF, VK4BAA and ZL4CT.
Back to quick links
Getting help on Logbook of The World (LoTW)
The web page you are reading is “unofficial”, just a compilation of things I have found out while
using LoTW. Before you log-in to the LoTW system, there are a few “official” help files on the main
ARRL LoTW page, including:
Those are the definitive guides written and published by ARRL. In case of conflict with anything in
this user guide, the ARRL is probably right!
If you have other queries not answered in this FAQ or the ARRL files, you could try asking me but
you are likely to get a more accurate response from the nice people at ARRL HQ (e.g. try Bill
Moore NC1L for DXCC or WAS queries), or by joining the LoTW email reflector at Yahoo!.
Back to quick links
A LoTW wishlist
Here are some changes to LoTW I’d quite like ARRL to make:
-
Better online help
for users who have logged-in to LoTW. The current online help is useful
but is only available from the main LoTW page before you login to LoTW. Logged-in users are
left to flounder around helplessly, as it were. [ARRL is planning to redevelop the LoTW site
and have promised more help.]
-
More awards to claim
, in addition to DXCC and WAS. IOTA, for example, would be good
and there are many many more worldwide. ARRL would do us all a service by opening up the
system to integrate other awards, not least because it would encourage more people to join
and use LoTW.
Alternativel, how about LoTW generating
verified logs
that can be submitted to other
organizations for their awards? LoTW could generate and append its own digital signatures on
its output which other organizations could then verify before accepting them.
- A significant reduction in the award application fee
for awards that are verified
electronically. Since QSOs are cross-checked automatically by the system, the amount of
manual checking is minimized, so we ought to pay much less. This would encourage yet
more people to use LoTW. [I believe some of the DXCC fees are already reduced or waived
for LoTW updates.]
-
More marketing/publicity
and proactive support for LoTW from ARRL and ideally other ham
organizations. When enough hams are using LoTW, it will reach an “event horizon” where the
benefits of using it encourage practically all active hams to join up. We’re getting closer but
not quite there yet ...
-
More feedback on the status of award applications.
It would reduce the stress if we
knew that our DXCC or WAS applications were progressing e.g. moving slowly up the queue,
awaiting card confirmations, awaiting final checks or whatever. If the checking process is
largely automated, the status updates could presumably be generated automagically too...
Please contact me if there are other ideas you would like to add to the list, or to comment on my
suggestions.
Notwithstanding my little wish-list, I’d like to thank ARRL and the DXCC desk for making this facility
available to hams worldwide. I appreciate that PKI system on this scale must have been a
substantial investment and incurs ongoing maintenance and operational costs.
Thanks!
Back to quick links
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