Posts Tagged ‘LoTW’
A nice surprise
May 15th, 2013 | 
Author: was in the mail when I got home from work – an envelope from the ARRL. I had recently updated my LOTW log and sent in an application for a bunch of DXCC entities that I had worked. That application put me over the 150 DXCC entities worked mark, so the League sent me a little “DXCC 150” sticker for my basic certificate. I am surmising that you can get an endorsement stickers for multiples of 50 DXCC entities worked, ie 150, 200, 250, 300 and finally 320 and then Honor Roll, I guess.
This submission brought me up to 151 confirmed. I actually have 3 or 4 more in the log with stations that do not use LOTW, so I will have to get their confirmations the old fashioned way.
In addition to those 3 or 4 I just mentioned, you can add another, as I worked SX5KL in the Dodecanese Islands for another new DXCC entity worked. I actually worked him twice (yes, I know I’m a hog) once QRO and then about 90 minutes later QRP. The first time, he was about a 579 here – 90 minutes later, he was blasting through at 599+ and the pileup wasn’t very fierce. So I took the chance and got through the second time with 5 Watts and thanked him for listening to my QRP signal.
On an entirely different note, I’d like to take this opportunity to extend my best wishes for a very safe journey to all of you out there who are traveling toward FDIM and Hamvention. I hope the weather is great for you and that you all have a great time. I wish that I could be with you guys at FDIM, and finally meet face to face with so many of you that I have come to consider to be good friends.
To paraphrase W.C. Fields – “All things considered, I’d rather be in Dayton”.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!
The First List And Comments On LoTW
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| First List As Of 21 December 2012 |
Good afternoon from the shackadelic #hamr zone where I’m listening to PV8AA running rate during 2012 WPX CW earlier in the year. Currently, there is a swarm of stations on Paolo, PV8DX rate frequency, and he is efficiently executing our RadioSport adrenaline rush.
In the meantime, between my vicarious thrill of listening to Paolo, PV8DX an accomplished DXer and RadioSport operator at PV8AA; a significant load of LoTW credits were downloaded into my log. The Swains Island DXpedition confirmed on respective band slots in addition to 4O3A, D4C, and D3AA.
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| LoTW Queue Status As Of 21 December 2012 |
As of 21 December 2012 at 1301 UTC approximately (n = 26,301) individual logs are in the LoTW queue for processing then on 22 December 2012 at 0001 UTC approximately (n = 26,665) individual logs are awaiting processing with a 10 day, 14 hour, 40m, 16s backlog of credits yet processed.
I’m of the opinion that LoTW is one of the ARRL’s signature programs because all of our awards are based on its credit system. First, it was explained to me that current system hardware will be replaced in the very near future, explanation accepted. Then, an initiative to reinvigorate open sourcing of Trusted QSL, in order to improve functionality and efficiency.
The last communication to membership from the ARRL was 11 December 2012 and 10 business days have elapsed since the severe disruption of credit processing. Where are status updates that quantify progress? Where are we in regards to the open source project? Has any hardware arrived and from whom is membership purchasing the hardware from?
Frankly, this is unacceptable, organizations thrive on two way communication channels with almost daily updates to all those concerned especially if one of your signature programs is failing spectacularly. I’m losing confidence in the credibility of the system because of the lack of information. My question is, “What is going on?”
73 from the shackadelic near the beach.
LoTW Web Page Now Features Daily and Hourly Status Updates
However, when LoTW either crashes or delays processing for more than a day, then, what about the viability and resilience of traditional QSL cards?
There will be something to be said about an analog backup when chasing coveted awards like DXCC, 5BDXCC, or WPX first five hundred.
Think about analog?
Logbook of The World Web Page Now Features Daily and Hourly Status Updates: The ARRL has created a new informational page to issue daily status updates and information of interest to the Logbook of The World (LoTW) user community. These updates will include planned downtime and changes that will impact LoTW operations. In addition, LoTW’s processing queue is now updated hourly, telling how many logs and QSOs have been uploaded to the LoTW system and are awaiting processing. New hardware that will improve LoTW’s throughput is on order and is expected to be running in six to eight weeks.
Rick Murphy, K1MU, and Dave Bernstein, AA6YQ, have been charged with rebooting the Trusted QSL open source project. If you have demonstrably strong C++ development skills that you’re interested in applying toward improving LoTW’s usability and efficiency, please contact Bernstein via e-mail…
LHS Episode #048: Better Late Than Never
Linux in the Ham Shack took a bit of an unintended hiatus over the last month. We’re in the process of trying to catch back up to where we’re supposed to be. The current episode recording schedule has been posted and is accurate. We’re going to do a couple of broadcasts two weeks in a row and then the next three releases will be coming out in rapid succession so we’re back on track.
After the Dayton Hamvention, Southeast Linux Fest, Joplin ARC Hamfest and Ohio Linux Fest, things have slowed down a bit on the event front, but we’re just starting up again when it comes to the show. So please stay tuned, tell your friends about us, and make sure to pick up a shirt or a ball cap. These are high quality items, and the only way you can get them is online or when we’re at an event close to you. Also, check out the new BADGER WEAR! You can find a link to all of our merchandise at the top of this Web site. Have a good week, everyone, and thanks for listening!
73 de The LHS Guys
LHS Episode #045: Logbook of the World
Episode #043 of Linux in the Ham Shack almost didn’t exist. In the process of trying to edit the audio for the program, I managed to delete everything that I had recorded. By some miracle of coincidence, I actually remembered to record the entire episode at Ustream.TV. I almost never remember to do that but it happened this time. The audio was recovered from the live video stream and I put it back together. There are a couple of minor flaws and the quality might not be as good as normal but at least it exists. Since the edited version came out to over 100 minutes, I’d sure have hated to try and record this all over again. And that’s why this episode almost didn’t exist: Because if the audio had truly gone away, I would have thrown up my hands and said forget it. We’ll try again in two weeks.
But since we got lucky, you can now listen to us talk about our newest features and endeavors, our problems with the ARRL, the status of Logbook of the World, listener feedback, live chat room discussion, installing Linux Mint on an ancient laptop, ham radio software for [that other OS] and much, much more. And hey: Go buy a shirt. Please?
73 de The LHS Guys
