[OKDXA] TQSL Updates

Thu Apr 16 16:21:57 EDT 2020

Not sure. This most recent bug in TQSL impacted my ability to upload the entire file, not just a
single QSO.  According to my LOTW profile, all the zones and grid are present. Hopefully, the folks
in Newington will smite the ground with their staff and v2.5.3 will make things right with the
world.

TMW

-----Original Message-----
From: okdxa-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:okdxa-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Peter Laws
N5UWY
Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2020 1:53 PM
To: Oklahoma DX Association
Subject: Re: [OKDXA] TQSL Updates

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."
>
>
>
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--
Peter Laws | N5UWY | plaws plaws net | Travel by Train!