[KCDXC] Logbook of the World

[Mike ZooLoo]

>From ARRL Website...73, Jim (AA0MZ)

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2003/05/15/102/?nc=1

"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 lotw-test@arrl.org. 

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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