*************** The ARRL Letter Vol. 22, No. 39 October 3, 2003 ***************
==>ARRL "LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD" IS OFF LIKE A ROCKET
Logbook of the World" (LoTW) <http://www.arrl.org/lotw>--the League's new QSL-cardless awards and contact credit system--has proven to be a huge hit with the amateur community. Since opening September 15, LoTW has acquired more than 2200 registered participants. Another 2400 or so applications are pending, and the QSO database of 4900 uploaded logs had topped 8 million contacts at week's end.
"Certainly the number of Qs that we've gotten is well above what we expected at this point," said ARRL Membership Services Manager Wayne Mills, N7NG, who has been sharing duties with Assistant to the CEO David Patton, NN1N, as point man for LoTW. ARRL Web and Software Development Department Manager Jon Bloom, KE3Z, has been handling software development and updating for LoTW.
LoTW is open to all, and applying for a digital certificate is the first step toward taking advantage of the system. The digital certificate authenticates the user's identity.
ARRL will maintain the ballooning repository of log data from casual operators, DXers, contesters and major DXpeditions. LoTW will be able to provide quick QSO credit for awards programs by identifying contact matches within submitted log data. There have been 51,000 such matches to date. Registered participants then will be able to apply LoTW-confirmed QSO credits toward ARRL awards, such as DXCC, WAS and VUCC.
Work continues on the last major LoTW component--the Web pages to apply LoTW confirmations toward ARRL-sponsored awards. Mills expects that LoTW also will one day provide contact credits for non-ARRL programs. "Major award sponsors have expressed interest in using LoTW records, and details are pending," he said.
The key to the ultimate success of LoTW is for users to upload as much log data as possible. The more contacts in the database, the better the chances of a QSO match.
LoTW eventually will be able to search users' DXCC records and find new credits automatically. The program also will provide full viewing of users' DXCC records, automatically alert users to new awards achieved and offer comprehensive support for many other awards.
Mills cautioned new users that LoTW permits just one digital certificate request per call sign. He advised that once users apply for a certificate, they should not attempt to alter it or create another request. Any errors, he points out, can be corrected later. For US users, the first certificate has to be for a current call sign that's in the FCC database. After you get the certificate, you can request additional certificates for formerly held call signs.
While the digital certificate is free, LoTW will charge on a per-credit basis to apply credits toward awards. "Logbook of the World is an alternative to collecting QSL cards by mail," Mills said. Fees <http://www.arrl.org/lotw/fees> range from 25 cents for a single credit to 15 cents per credit in lots of 500. Users may purchase credits in advance, but LoTW fees do not also cover award fees.
"It turns out that this is a much cheaper way to collect credits for DXCC," Mills asserted. "Overall, we are very happy with the progress and user acceptance."
This week, EchoLink <http://www.echolink.org> announced that it would accept ARRL's LoTW's digital certificates to authenticate new users as an alternative to providing a copy of their amateur license.
News and announcements will be posted to the Logbook of the World Web site <http://www.arrl.org/lotw/>.
=========================================================== The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American Radio Relay League--The National Association For Amateur Radio--225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259; <http://www.arrl.org>. Jim Haynie, W5JBP, President.
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-- Jim Reisert AD1C, 7 Charlemont Court, North Chelmsford, MA 01863 USA +978-251-9933, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, http://www.ad1c.com PGP Fingerprint: D8E2 3D78 339F A7F1 8C13 1193 B5D1 4FB6 79D1 70DC
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