[OKDXA] TQSL Updates

[Peter Laws N5UWY]

I have several matched QSOs with WA9AFM/5 that don't have full station
locations (no zones, no grid).  Is this what TQSL now flags?

On Thu, Apr 16, 2020 at 12:31 PM Thomas Webb <tmwebb at cox.net> wrote:
>
> Jeff,
>      I was one of the first to experience problems with TQSL v2.5.2.  Bart Jahnke, W9JJ with the
> LOTW help desk handled by job ticket and sent me the following:
>
> "You can revert back to an earlier TQSL - here are the links.  Uninstall the current version,
> install the older one - then reload certificate and station location.  Sorry for the extra
> challenges.
>
> Here are links to older TQSL versions:
>
> For TQSL 2.4.7 download http://www.arrl.org/files/file/LoTW%20Instructions/tqsl-2.4.7.msi
>
> For TQSL 2.5.1 download http://www.arrl.org/files/file/LoTW%20Instructions/tqsl-2.5.1.msi"
>
> Bart gave me access to TQSL v2.5.3-rc5 which I downloaded; it is working fine.  I venture v2.5.3
> will be on the street shortly.
>
> Tom Webb, WA9AFM/5
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: okdxa-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:okdxa-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Jeff Martin
> Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2020 11:20 AM
> To: 'Oklahoma DX Association'
> Subject: [OKDXA] TQSL Updates
>
> Update from ARRL regarding the recent TQSL Update and LoTW uploads:
> 73, Jeff - K5WE
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
> Greater LoTW Database Accuracy is the Goal of TQSL Update(s) 04/16/2020 The recently released TQSL
> version 2.5.2 application for uploading logs to Logbook of The World (LoTW) tightens requirements
> for data consistency, with the goal of improving the integrity of the LoTW database. Starting with
> TQSL version 2.5.2, discrepancies in submitted logs now are flagged, especially when it comes to the
> Amateur Data Interchange Format (ADIF) files frequently uploaded to LoTW. This has prompted
> questions and concerns, however, when the system fails to accept a user's uploaded contact or log.
>
> ADIF exists precisely to help ensure the accuracy of "data interchange"
> among amateur radio applications - different logging programs, for example.
> TQSL uses ADIF file data for cross-checks that help to keep inaccurate or incomplete information
> from contaminating the LoTW database, and that's where some user issues have arisen. For example,
> the OPERATOR field, which should be a call sign, sometimes shows up as a name. Occasionally,
> operators have reversed their ITU and CQ zones. Another issue is in the MY_STATE field, which should
> show a US Postal Service two-letter state abbreviation.
> Anything else is a problem.
>
> "The value of the checks added to TQSL is that it lets operators know when the data they're handling
> in their computer-based logs is correct," said TQSL Developer Rick Murphy, K1MU. "Just as most hams
> would not knowingly send out a QSL card with the wrong details, it's important to make sure that
> when a ham submits a log to LoTW that the content of that log accurately captures the details. It
> also prevents operators from uploading logs that contain incorrect information."
>
> Some help is on the way. Murphy soon will release TQSL version 2.5.3, which, among other things,
> skips over the OPERATOR field check. "We have found that some of the checking performed for TQSL
> 2.5.2 was incomplete in some cases - for example, allowing incorrect zone information to pass, and
> overly strict in other cases - for example, the STATION_OWNER tag," Murphy said. "We've taken
> feedback from users and made great strides in improving the way logs are checked to ensure that
> checking is more complete while not raising false alarms."
>
> The problem is not always with the user. The initial implementation of cross-checks in TQSL 2.5.2
> revealed that not all logging applications conform to the ADIF standard, which is maintained and
> voted on by the 22-member ADIF group, which includes ARRL. TQSL 2.5.2 has offered support for
> operations from several locations, as well as the ability to detect uploads that contain incorrect
> location data, and the field used for checking location has been in the ADIF standard since 2004.
>
> Some commenters have suggested that ARRL has not defined the ADIF fields appropriately, but this
> represents a misunderstanding of how the ADIF standard is developed and maintained. Logging
> applications are obliged to follow the standard, if they generate files that claim to be ADIF
> compatible.
>
> "Operators have a right to insist that the logging applications they use conform to the standards
> agreed upon by the ADIF collective," said Greg Widin, K0GW, the chair of the ARRL LoTW Committee.
> "Those who find that their logger is out of conformance should demand an update, or, if the logger
> is unsupported or the developer is unwilling to update, should investigate switching to an
> application that is a cooperative member of the universe of amateur radio logging applications."
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> OKDXA mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/okdxa
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:OKDXA at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> OKDXA mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/okdxa
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:OKDXA at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html



-- 
Peter Laws | N5UWY | plaws plaws net | Travel by Train!