QSL cards and logging
| QSL cards and logging | |
|---|---|
| QSL | A confirmation that a contact took place; from the Q-code for "I acknowledge" |
| Paper QSL | A postcard sent direct or through a QSL bureau |
| Electronic QSL | Logbook of the World (LoTW), eQSL, QRZ Logbook, Club Log |
| Logging | No longer required by US rules, but everyone does it |
| Standard log format | ADIF (.adi files), accepted by every program and service |
| Popular logging software | N1MM Logger+, Log4OM, ACLog, HRD Logbook, Ham2K Portable Logger |
Logging is keeping a record of your contacts: who, when, what frequency and mode, and the signal reports exchanged. A QSL is a confirmation of a contact from the other station, traditionally a postcard and now mostly an electronic record. Together they are how hams keep their history and how awards such as Worked All States and DXCC are earned, since an award needs each contact confirmed by the other side.
Logging
The US stopped requiring amateurs to keep a log in the 1980s, but the habit never faded. A log settles arguments, tracks progress toward awards, and protects you if someone claims interference. Each entry records the date and time in UTC, the band or frequency, the mode, the other station's call sign, and the reports sent and received, plus whatever you like: name, location, grid square, park reference.
Paper logbooks still have their fans, especially for portable operating. Software does the rest of the work: it looks up the station you're working, fills in the country and state, tracks what you've confirmed, uploads to the online services and produces award applications. Contest loggers such as N1MM Logger+ are built for speed; general loggers such as Log4OM and ACLog are built for the long haul; phone apps handle Parks on the Air activations. All of them exchange data in ADIF, a plain-text format, so you can move your log between programs without losing anything.
QSL cards
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A paper QSL card carries the two call signs, the date and time, band, mode and report, and often a picture of the station, the town or the operator's dog. Cards go direct by post, usually with return postage, or through the QSL bureau, a volunteer system that bundles cards by country and forwards them in bulk for pennies apiece, taking months but costing little. Collecting cards from rare places has been part of the hobby since the 1920s, and many shacks have a wall of them.
Electronic confirmation
Most confirmations now happen online, within hours of a contact:
- Logbook of the World (LoTW) is the ARRL's system. Both stations upload their logs, the system matches them, and a match is a confirmation accepted for ARRL awards. Uploads are digitally signed, which is why it takes a little setting up.
- eQSL exchanges electronic cards with pictures and supports its own awards.
- QRZ Logbook confirms contacts between QRZ.com users and is the easiest to start with.
- Club Log analyzes uploaded logs and hosts the logs of many DXpeditions, whose callers can search them to check they are in the log. Its OQRS (Online QSL Request Service) lets a caller request a paper card from a station that offers it, either direct, paid online, or through the bureau, without mailing a card first.
Most logging software uploads to all of them automatically. For FT8 operators, who may make hundreds of contacts a week, this is the only practical way to confirm them.
Awards
Confirmed contacts feed the hobby's awards: Worked All States for all 50 US states, Worked All Continents, DXCC for 100 or more of the 340 recognized countries and entities, VUCC for grid squares on VHF, and endless others from clubs and programs. None require anything but patience and a log.