Setting up TrustedQSL for ARRL LOTW (Logbook of The World) on Ubuntu

After making my first batch of QSO's using FT8 mode with a number of DXCC entities thousands miles away (e.g. Fiji Islands, Japan, Canada, etc), it's a natural question about how to ensure my QSO log entries can be recognized by other HAMs. Fortunately there are a lot of experienced HAMs in this community to help. According to WU6P, there are a number of choices like LOTW, QRZ, eQSL, CubLog, etc. As a starting point, I decided to try out LOTW first. After that, I will try to get others mentioned above working. 

Step by Step Instructions

The ARRL LOTW Tutorial is a great starting point before anything is stared.

Install TrustedQSL software

One can follow the instructions on www.arrl.org/TQSL‐Download to download and install the free TrustedQSL software. I picked the shortcut by running the command "sudo apt install trustedqsl"

Starting TrustedQSL

When TrustedQSL is started for the first time, it will ask the user if a new certificate for the call sign shall be requested. Follow the instructions in the UI to send the request to ARRL server. The information required will be call sign to be used, the type of the certificate needed and the basic information associated with the call sign.

Requesting callsign certificate can be done after the software has been started from the menu "Callsign Certificate" > "Request New Callsign Certificate...".

After the request has been sent to ARRL, there will be an automated email response from ARRL stating that

Your certificate request has been accepted. As the next step in the verification process, a verification code will be printed on a postcard and sent to you via USPS. We will send you another e-mail once your postcard is on its way. If you do not receive that e-mail within 2 business days, please contact LoTW-help@arrl.org<mailto:LoTW-help@arrl.org> explaining the situation. Please DO NOT resubmit this request.
So I have to wait for the post card to arrive before I can do anything else to be able to upload my logs to LOTW.

5 Days Later...   

The post card from LOTW ARRL arrived. There is a code on top of the "Batch#= 20211108141612" line (which I think it's just a timestamp). On the back of the post card, there is instruction to continue registration at https://lotw.arrl.org/lotw/postcard. After entering my callsign and the code on that page, the log on page is displayed, like below. Basically I need to wait for another few days before I can actually setup my user name and password. So the wait begins again...

Another 2 Days Later...

The email from LOTW finally arrives. In the email, following important information are provided:
  • LOTW link that gives step by step instructions to start using the cert
  • LOTW user name and password
  • LOTW callsign certificate
Even though the instruction calls out to use the latest version of TrustedQSL software. My little bit older version (2.5.1 v.s. 2.5.9 at the time of operation) can still work fine with the cert.

One important notes is to use TrustedQSL to create a back up for all the stuff in the software, after the cert is loaded, so that other computers can have a same setup there. After that, it's done :) The overall process takes a while but technically it's not difficult, one just has to be patient to wait for everything to take its own pace.                                 

Extra Notes on eQSL.cc, ClubLog and QRZ

 As mentioned at the beginning of this post, these three are other popular online logging sites. Based on my limited FT8 QSO experiences, HAMs with any of these three usually will also have LOTW ready. However setting up logbook on those sites are much more straight forward on those site. As long as you have your call sign ready, you can simply sign up for a free account on any of the three websites. Here are something I would like to call out because I made some mistake:

  • Ensure the grid square matches what is used in really QSOs. I made a mistake on eQSL where I put CM86 instead of CM87 which caused invalid log entries there. I have to create a new attached account to modify that.
  • API KEY, which can be used in GridTracker to automatically upload call logs, for QRZ.com is available after a new logbook is created, under the logbook settings. However one shall have subscription to QRZ.com before the API key can be used for automatic log upload.
  • GridTracker supports all these three for automatic log entry upload. However it can only download from LOTW.

References

  • ARRL LoTW Quick Start: http://www.arrl.org/quick-start
  • ARRL LoTW Tutorial: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/LoTW%20Instructions/TQSL%202_0_x.pdf

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