[LogPlus] ARRL Log Book

[Allen Sklar]

Hi Guys
Via The ARRL Letter.....
Allen Sklar, W7AS

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The ARRL Letter
Vol. 22, No. 20
May 16, 2003
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==>ARRL'S "LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD" ENTERS OPEN BETA-TESTING PHASE

The long-anticipated "Logbook of the World" (LoTW)--the ARRL's secure
electronic contact-confirmation system--is being opened for beta testing.
While a formal unveiling was set for the Hamvention DX Forum May 17, 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--without having to
first collect and submit hard-copy QSL cards.

Visit the ARRL Logbook of the World Web site <http://www.arrl.org/lotw> 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 lotw-test@arrl.org.

LoTW will accept authenticated data--either in Cabrillo or ADIF
format--directly from computerized logs via the Internet. Software
Development Manager Jon Bloom, KE3Z, 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 will be good only for the beta-test
period.

Bloom emphasized that every call sign would need a separate certificate.

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.

"We're not replacing the whole paper QSL scheme with Logbook of the
World," said Mills, who is also ARRL's Membership Services manager. "This
is really a system to offer credits for awards."