[OKDXA] Logbook/World

[Dave]

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.