[OKDXA] Logbook/World

[Jerry Chouinard]

The LoTW works nicely.  I put a few thousands Qs up there just to see it work.
No hitches on obtaining a certificate and uploading logs.  The records were
available almost immediately and I had a few "QSLs" already in the system.

K5YAA

At 02:56 PM 5/16/03 -0500, you wrote:
>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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