Is Logbook of the World More Trouble Than It’s Worth?

November 25, 2009 by 20 Comments

Is it just me, or do you also think that Logbook of the World (LOTW) is more trouble than it’s worth?

Three years ago, I went through the bother of downloading the software, getting the certificates, etc. I used it for a while, uploading all of the QSOs that I’d logged since I got back on the air, and it was interesting to see the QSLs tote up.

Then, I switched to a Mac in my shack. I managed to get LOTW working, but sloughed off on uploading my contacts. It was a bit of a hassle to do it, and the law of diminishing returns kind of took over. By that I mean I wasn’t seeing the rush of new countries that I did when I first started uploading. This was only natural.

Then, my Mac crashed. I had backed up my computer log, but I’d forgotten to back up the LOTW certificates and the .p12 file (whatever the h*ll that is). It got to be such a pain that I just forgot about LOTW altogether.

About a week ago, though, I get an e-mail from the ARRL noting that my certificate was about to expire. After getting a second warning today, I thought I’d give it a whack. I downloaded the latest version the TQSL software, but I’d forgotten that I’d lost my certificates. I logged into the LOTW website, and right on the homepage, it says, “Looking for your certificate? Click Your Account in the menu above.” I did that and downloaded a certificate, but the TQSLCert program didn’t recognize it, so I couldn’t renew it.

So, it was back to step 1. I ran TQSLCert and told it to generate a new certificate request. It created a .tq5 file that I uploaded to the LOTW website. Unfortunately, upon doing so, I got the error message, “Sorry, but you can’t have two certificates whose dates overlap.” This makes sense, but it’s oh so frustrating. So, now I have to wait for someone at the ARRL to sort things out, so that I can start using LOTW again.

Apparently, I’m not alone. According to the LOTW website, the system has only 30,039 users, and many of those are DX stations, I’m sure. Of those 30k, I wonder how many are like me, and rarely use the thing?

I gotta believe that there’s an easier way to do this. All this security is well and good, but we are talking about amateur radio QSLs here, not corporate trade secrets or national defense. I’m a computer person, and if I’m having trouble with it, just think of all the problems that hams with less computer experience than me are having with it. Or, is it just me?

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UPDATE 11/30/09
Well, I’ve finally got it all straightened out. Shortly after I wrote this, someone at the ARRL actually did sort things out and sent me a new certificate, and I finally got around to installing it last night.

At first, I was having trouble saving the .p12 file and digitally signing an ADIF file. I even fired off an e-mail to the ARRL asking why my password didn’t work. As it turns out, this was my fault. Apparently, when I requested the new certificate, the caps lock was on, meaning that the alpha characters in the password were all caps. Once I figured that out, everything went smoothly.

I now have 8,928 LOTW QSOs and 1,160 QSLs. This includes 81 different DXCC entities. I haven’t run through my QSL collection yet, but I’d bet that I now have enough countries to get a DXCC certificate.

Filed Under: QSLs

Latest Pack of Cards From the Buro

November 16, 2009 by Leave a Comment

On Friday, I got the latest pack of QSL cards from the buro. Included were one each from Japan, Costa Rica, Ukraine, Portugal, and Germany; two from France, three from Italy, and four from Spain.

The Japanese card confirmed a QSO way back in 2003, but the most remarkable thing about it is that the card was from JA1NUT, a station whose callsign spells a word.

ja1nut-qsl

When I reported receiving this card on a 2m net last night, a couple of the other guys on the net also mentioned working him in the past. I looked up JA1NUT on QRZ.Com found that he has over 34,000 lookups, so he must be quite an active operator. And, oddly enough, I even heard him this morning on 40m, working a WB4 station. He was weak, but definitely in there.

The other notable QSL card was from HB9DRE. This is the first card for WA2HOM that I’ve received via the buro. I’m hoping there will be many more so that we can beef up our QSL card display at the museum.

Filed Under: QSLs Tagged With:

Yet More QSLs

October 21, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Here are two more that I’ve recently received:


K0MY QSL
K6RIM QSL

I’ve also recently worked am looking forward to the QSLs of :

  • W7FLY, the club station of the Boeing Amateur Radio Club, and
  • VA2AM, Rejean in Quebec.
Filed Under: QSLs Tagged With:

A Great Idea for QSLing

October 20, 2009 by Leave a Comment

On the HamRadioHelpGroup mailing list, someone asked, “How do I ask someone for a QSL card without sounding like I am begging for it.”

Mark, K5LXP, replied, “Send them one first. If you really want one back, send an SASE. If you really want one, include a few green stamps (dollars).

“What I do is send the QSL, a pre-addressed envelope and a stamp. It’s the op’s choice to use my stamp or one of their own. At least half the time they send me my stamp back. I always do. If someone’s willing to invest ~50 cents to get my QSL, I don’t have a problem returning the favor in kind.”

I hope you think this is as good an idea as I do.

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New QSL Cards for WA2HOM

September 27, 2009 by Leave a Comment

wa2hom_qsl_card

We finally got some new QSL cards for WA2HOM, our station at the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. Yesterday, Jim, K8ELR, and I spent a lot of our time there making out cards to send out via the ARRL’s Outgoing QSL Service. I’ve also signed us up for service via the Second District QSL Bureau.

We have actually worked quite a bit of DX lately. Jim has worked a lot of these stations on PSK31, and we’ve participated in some contests, which make working DX a bit easier. Yesterday, for example, we made a couple of contacts in the Scandinavian Activity Contest. This contest was very much like a regional QSO party here in the states. We worked stations in Finland, Norway, and a couple in Sweden.

With all this activity, we should be able to make our QSL card display a lot more interesting.

Filed Under: Hands-On Museum, QSLs Tagged With: ,

Hamfests Are Good for More Than Just Buying Stuff

September 16, 2009 by 1 Comment

Sunday, I attended the Findlay (OH) hamfest. It was a beautiful day, and there were plenty of sellers, and it was a lot of fun. I actually didn’t find that much to buy. I picked up a small, 50W dummy load with a BNC tap for $30, as well as a dual-band antenna for my VX-5.

The big fun, though, was talking to people. For example, I saw my friend, Mark, W8MP, who was there with his family (XYL Rose, KD8EGG; son Brian, KD8EEH; daughter, Roxanne, KD8GWT; and another son whose name I forget). Mark and I have an ongoing discussion on whose sub-hobby is crazier—county hunting (his) or collecting QSL cards from stations whose callsigns spell words (mine).

Mark just completed his first pass at working all counties, and now he’s off on one of the other crazy things that county hunters do. That’s nearly 4,000 QSL cards. I’m still under 150 QSLs with my little pastime.

Anyway, we were re-hashing this debate when K8OIL walked by. Mark stopped him and I explained what I do, and he graciously agreed to swap cards with me. Mark and I stood there and ragchewed for about a half hour, and in that short time, we also spotted:

  • KG8UP
  • KA9IVY
  • KM8AM
  • K8BAR, and
  • K8RAT

They all were very gracious and had interesting stories to tell. K8RAT, for example, told us that he chose his call because he’s a member of the “Radio Adventure Team.” He asked if I’d worked any other stations with callsigns that spell animal words. I mentioned that I’d blogged about this and swapped e-mail with W2ASS. He got a kick out of that (pun intended).

All in all, I spotted eight hams with callsigns that spell words. In addition to the ones above, I met KD8CUT and W8RUT. I’m not sure if face-to-face QSOs should count, but since I’m making the rules, I’m going to say that they do.

Filed Under: QSLs Tagged With:

Tired of QSLs Yet?

August 31, 2009 by 2 Comments

You guys are probably tired of looking at my QSL cards from stations whose callsigns spell words, but I’m not tired of posting them. Besides, here are two of the coolest I’ve received to date, from KA9ZAP and KD8ILL:


ka9zap_kd8ill

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Operating Notes: More QSOs With Stations Whose Callsigns Spell Words!

August 24, 2009 by Leave a Comment

In the last eight days, I’ve worked three more stations whose call signs spell words. What’s more these were all great QSOs:

  • KA9ZAP. Art mentioned that one of his first contacts was with VU2ZAP, but he hadn’t been “ZAPped” since then.
  • K3DEN. Denny was operating from from a senior center, using an IC-703 running 10 W into a Hustler antenna mounted on his car. He emailed me after our contact and said, “I thought you wouldn’t be able to hear me due to low power and and conditions.” He wasn’t very strong here, but I enjoy a relatively low ambient noise level here, so he was solid copy.
  • W2RIP. Despite his call, Ron lives in GA. During our 40-minute QSO, we discovered that we’d both been trained as EEs and lived in CA, first in Northern CA, then in Southern CA. Ron also mentioned that he’s had a lot of fun with his callsign.

All three QSLs are going to be great additions to my collection.

Filed Under: Operating, QSLs Tagged With: ,

Operating Notes

July 27, 2009 by 1 Comment

KD8LQF:
I’ve worked Arun twice this past week, once from home and once from the Hands-On Museum. What’s notable about these contacts? Well, for one thing, Arun is someone I’ve cyber-Elmered. He contacted me by e-mail about getting his Tech license, and after swapping a couple of e-mails, I found out that he passed the test on Saturday, July 11. This was a bit easier for him as he’d held a VU license in the past.

The second notable thing is that both contacts were CW contacts. Again, this was easier for him because he had learned code to get his VU license, but even so, it shows that some Techs do make use of their CW privileges on the low bands.

Arun lives here in Ann Arbor, and I’m sure I’ll meet him face-to-face soon. In fact, I’ve already signed him up to speak to our ham radio club in November.

More stations whose call signs spell words:
Tuesday, while waiting for my XYL, I turned up the volume on the rig and tuned around the phone bands. Who should I hear, but N3ELK! Now, I can say that I bagged an ELK.

Yesterday, on 40m CW, N4AX replied to my CQ. He was a real sharp operator, too!

Filed Under: Operating, QSLs Tagged With: ,

SONs, DADs, and Other Callsigns That Spell Words

June 17, 2009 by 3 Comments

In the last five days, I’ve worked a bunch of stations whose callsigns spell words:

  • On 6/12, I worked Roy, WA2SON. A day later, I heard WB4DAD calling CQ , but unfortunately, he couldn’t hear me. I have worked him before, though.
  • On 6/13, I worked Chano, EA8UP, in the Canary Islands. I actually worked him on SSB. He was calling CQ in Spanish, or “say koo.” He called several times with no reply, perhaps because the stations here in the U.S. didn’t realize he was calling CQ. I even talked a little Spanish with him before signing.
  • On 6/14, I worked Don, AA5AT. He becomes my third “AT,” joining AA4AT and N0AT.
  • Just now, I worked Steve, KF2AX. Steve was running QRP with an attic antenna. Even so, he was Q5 here.

Now, to get the QSL cards.

UPDATE – 6/20/09:
This afternoon, while waiting a few minutes for my wife, I turned on the rig. In those few minutes, I happened to contact KD8ILL, who was working the WV QSO Party!

Filed Under: QSLs Tagged With:
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