[BCVHFA] [DX-NEWS] "Logbook of the World" Enters Open Beta-Testing Phase (fwd)

Fri, 16 May 2003 13:56:54 +0000

Gordon,

This answers the question we discussed at breakfast last Saturday.  Looks as if 
it will happen.  Check the ARRL website for more info.

--
73,

Tom K8CZ
----------------------  Forwarded Message:  ---------------------
From:    "Bill Jackson" <[email protected]>
To:      "DXNews" <[email protected]>
Subject: [DX-NEWS] "Logbook of the World" Enters Open Beta-Testing Phase
Date:    Fri, 16 May 2003 06:06:49 -0500

"Logbook of the World" Enters Open Beta-Testing Phase

NEWINGTON, CT, May 15, 2003 -- The long-anticipated "Logbook of the World"
(LoTW) -- ARRL's secure electronic contact-confirmation system -- is being
opened for beta testing. While a formal unveiling is set for the Hamvention DX
Forum Saturday, May 17, in Dayton's Hara Arena, LoTW now is available to all who
wish to participate in the beta testing program, expected to last 60 days.

At the heart of the Logbook of the World concept is a huge repository of log
data provided by operators--from individual DXers and contesters to major
DXpeditions--and maintained by ARRL. Logbook of the World Project Leader Wayne
Mills, N7NG, says the system will benefit big and little guns alike by providing
quick QSO credit for awards offered by ARRL--and, it's hoped, those offered by
other organizations as well.

Once ready later this year, LoTW will provide a way for amateurs worldwide to
qualify for awards such as DXCC or WAS without having to first collect and
submit hard-copy QSL cards.

Visit the ARRL Logbook of the World Web site to learn more, download the
necessary software and take part in the beta testing effort. For the purposes of
the beta test, validated users are asked to submit log data for contacts made on
or after January 1, 1998. Once a certificate is issued, beta testers may e-mail
their log data to the LoTW database at [email protected].

LoTW wrapped up several weeks of alpha testing earlier this year. That limited
test run produced useful input from actual users that drove some changes in the
beta version now ready for testing. Alpha testing also revealed some bugs in the
software, and ARRL Web and Software Development Manager Jon Bloom, KE3Z, expects
a few more to turn up in the beta version.

LoTW will be designed to accept authenticated data--either in Cabrillo or ADIF
format--directly from computerized logs via the Internet. Bloom noted that
because the software still is under development, any data uploaded during the
beta-testing period will be erased before LoTW "goes live." Beta participants
will have to obtain new certification even if they've participated in earlier
LoTW testing. The beta certification, Bloom points out, will be good only for
the beta-test period because there will be no verification of the user's
identity.

Bloom also advised those who participated in any earlier LoTW testing to
uninstall the old version of the software and delete the directory containing
the old certificates--typically c:\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Application
Data\TrustedQSL for Windows 2000/XP users or c:\Windows\Application
Data\TrustedQSL for Windows 95/98/Me users. "Once that's done the new version of
the software can be installed," he said.

While strict user verification will not be an issue during beta testing, user
verification will be a major part of the security system in the final LoTW
product. "In the final version, there will be verification via the mailing
address in the FCC database for US users," Bloom explained. "So make sure your
address on file with the FCC is correct."

"Every call sign has to have a separate certificate," Bloom emphasized. "This is
true even if you've used a portable call sign from another country." For the
"live" version of LoTW, non-US licensees will need to submit license
documentation.

Bloom and Mills encouraged beta-test DXers and contesters to upload their log
files--the bigger the better--to test the robustness of the software as well as
to populate the database and create a more realistic environment. LoTW will find
and match contacts between stations based on the log data submitted by users,
and the results will appear on the Logbook of the World Web page.

Mills says LoTW does not mean the end of the QSLing tradition. Instead, he says,
it will provide an avenue for increased speed and accuracy for hams chasing
awards, as well as remove some chances for human error that can occur in the
traditional process.

"This is really a system to offer credits for awards," said Mills, who is also
ARRL's Membership Services manager. "We're not replacing the whole paper QSL
scheme with Logbook of the World." Mills did point out, however, that once it
goes live, LoTW will minimize opportunities for those who want to "game the
system" or otherwise cheat in an effort to obtain an operating award.

Registering and uploading electronic logs will cost nothing; the only time a
user will incur a charge is when applying accumulated contact credits toward an
award.

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