[SFDXA] Greater LoTW Database Accuracy is the Goal of TQSL Update(s)

[Bill]

Greater LoTW Database Accuracy is the Goal of TQSL Update(s)
04/16/2020
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The recently released /TQSL/ version 2.5.2 application for uploading 
logs to Logbook of The World (*LoTW* 
<http://www.arrl.org/logbook-of-the-world>) 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* <http://www.adif.org/>) 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.”


http://www.arrl.org/news/greater-lotw-database-accuracy-is-the-goal-of-tqsl-update-s