…K3NG said that DXCC requires spending several weeks, months, or even years.
The LoTW system, operated by ARRL, has been down for a week. As many of my followers on WeChat know.
We share a common hobby: chasing rare callsigns. We consider ourselves DXCC hunters, and we almost daily use FT8 to track callsigns from various rare regions, then upload them to LoTW to match with the other person's QSO record. If a match is found, we can obtain an authenticated QSL record. These QSL records can be used to apply for various awards, including the DX Century Club award.(DXCC)It has the highest gold content among them.
DXCC
To earn a DXCC credit, you must obtain a QSL card from a new country or region. This originated from an article published by Clinton B. DeSoto, then ARRL Secretary Assistant, in the QST magazine in 1935. The original list of DX entities used for certification at that time only included less than 150 countries and regions, but today it has grown to 340, with many more removed. This gives a total of 340 points for DXCC.
The first step to obtaining a DXCC award is earning 100 points. Over time, with consistent effort, you can accumulate the necessary points. Notably, in 2018, the emergence of FT8, a digital communication mode with low signal-to-noise ratio but high reliability, allowed some individuals to achieve DXCC 100 within just seven days.
The DXCC program has also produced various awards: DXCC 100, 150, 200, 250, 275, 300. Reaching 300 is the highest level, so you can apply for each additional 5 points until reaching 340.
JA3OOK's DXCC 340 Award certificate
Can't achieve a Grand Slam? No problem. If you obtain DXCC 100 in each of the five segments, you can also apply for a 5BDXCC award.
N6KZ and his 5BDXCC award. He completed 8BDXCC (https://www.nadxa.com/)
Of course, these certificates all require payment and do not include shipping. If you want to save money, you can apply for one certificate and then purchase different stage stickers to add on. In addition to the point-based stickers, there are also QRP stickers, WARC band stickers... Basically, they will satisfy your sense of self-identity.
…K3NG said that ARRL is just a book seller, but in reality, it's also a seller of awards.
When I first started using LoTW, I only had one FT-817, and I managed to achieve DXCC grade with QRP. However, after a while, QRP became too difficult, so I switched to operating remotely from someone else's station, which allowed me to reach DXCC grade 100. Today, I am using an FTDX10 with a 20-meter high and 20-meter long horizontal dipole antenna, and I have achieved DXCC grade 178, along with 4BDXCC. Eventually, QRP became too difficult, and I was pushing the limits of the antenna. If I wanted to make further progress, I would need to install a Yagi on my roof.
The positive impact of LoTW
Before LoTW was introduced, to obtain various awards, including DXCC, you needed to send the QSL cards you received to ARRL as proof. In 2003, LoTW appeared. DXCC hunters could complete QSL certification on LoTW by uploading their log files from computers.
A key component of the entire process is the Trusted QSL software, which uses RSA asymmetric encryption technology. This resulted in a large number of encryption certificates, such as tq5, tq6, and p12, making it difficult to distinguish between them.
Initially, I thought it was just a way to prove that the radio station was legitimate. However, I gradually realized that its significance lies in verifying the authenticity of the radio station.
Because obtaining a TQSL encrypted certificate requires providing valid identification and a radio license, this eliminates the possibility of using pirate stations to fraudulently earn points. This is also why LoTW's DXCC point system has the highest authority.
Currently, many amateur radio certifications require the use of LoTW points. In addition to DXCC, there are also programs like VUCC (which encourages VHF/UHF communication) and WAS (which recognizes contacts with stations in all 50 U.S. states). There are also a few similar programs within China that use LoTW as their basis: the Mulan Weichang DX Club and the "Connect with All Provinces of China" program.(WAPC)Award certificate, Tonglian China School Amateur Radio Station(WCSA)Certificate.
My WAPC certificate
The LoTW predicament
Ultimately, LoTW is an older system designed in 2003, originally intended to allow ARRL members to confirm their communications with worldwide contacts.
…It seems like all the "foreign" NPCs are actually American players.
Despite the challenges posed by LoTW, it has persevered until today. In particular, when FT8 is heavily used, it not only leads to slower and more sporadic QSL confirmations, but also frequently results in periods of heavy congestion lasting several days or even weeks. However, as expected, another unexpected event occurred on May 16, 2024.
Before this outage on LoTW, the latest statistics available were from May 12th, with a total of 203,660 registered call signs. Comparing this to another set of statistics as of May 26, 2022, shows an increase of approximately 40,000 over two years. Furthermore, the number of QSO records for 2022 has already reached a staggering 1.5 billion… This is incredible!
LOTW statistics (May 26, 2022)
- QSO Record: 1,527,031,336
- QSL record: 329,084,756
- Number of users: 159,231
- Number of active certificates: 227,651
- Number of user file processing operations: 55,553,189
- QSL confirmation rate: 21.6%
I haven't studied the LoTW architecture, because it seems to be more complex than comparing any two people's communication records. If the number of users increases significantly, and the communication logs also increase exponentially, the QSL matching calculations would become overwhelming. I hope that ARRL is not outsourcing this work to someone on the side of the road in Bangalore.
Reviews of LoTW
Today, LoTW remains (and has always been) the most rigorous online QSL system in the world. It provides credibility for competitions and awards. Based on LoTW, the points earned become more meaningful.
Points are an important part of the amateur radio culture, and a key reason why many people have stuck with it for years. Today, they even surpass things like exchanging cards, SSB chatter, CW, mmdvm, and even pulling people back into HF from UV. Regardless of the mode or equipment used, the final result that most people achieve is uploading to LoTW to earn points.
Some people say that FT8 has revived amateur radio, but we shouldn't ignore the fact that the DXCC-based point system is the fertile ground for its revival. FT8 is just a fast-growing vine. You rarely see people going through all the CQ calls on their screens, yet they don't bother to apply for DXCC status.
Now that LoTW is no longer available, what are we going to do in the future?
References
Mulan DX Amateur Radio Club and WAPC Awards
http://mulandxc.com
WCSA - Award for the China University Amateur Radio Club
https://www.wcsa.ac.cn/
The World's Logbook
https://www.arrl.org/logbook-of-the-world
DX Century Club
https://www.arrl.org/dxcc
How to Count Countries Worked: A New DX Scoring System
https://www.arrl.org/desoto
Trusted QSL project website
https://trustedqsl.sourceforge.net
Trusted QSL document
https://www.rickmurphy.net/trustedqsl.org/
LoTW statistics for HB9BZA
http://www.hb9bza.net/lotw-statistics
The original article was published on my WeChat public account, BG6LH.
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/_ZvOEYDpfHdA-SfIQywiNA
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