Logging and QSL confirmations

Why keep a log

A log is your record of who you worked, when, where and how well. The FCC does not require a routine station log for ordinary operating, but many amateurs keep one anyway: it helps you answer if the FCC ever asks about your station, it is the proof behind award credit, and it is the starting point for every confirmation described below.

What to record

At a minimum:

• Date and time in UTC, when the contact started
• The other station's call sign
• Frequency or band, and mode
• Signal reports sent and received (see Signal reports: RS, RST and the S-meter)
• Often also: name, location (QTH), your power and antenna, and notes ("tropo opening", "slow CW")

Use UTC rather than local time. Both operators then write the same time, which is what makes confirmation systems able to match contacts.

Confirming a contact (QSL)

A QSL confirms that a contact happened. Operators use QSLs to prove contacts for awards, or simply to collect them.

Method	How it works
Paper QSL card	A postcard with your call, the contact details and often a photo. Sent direct by mail (usually with a self-addressed stamped envelope), or through the QSL bureau system, which is slow but cheap. For rare DX, a QSL manager handles cards for the station.
Logbook of The World (LoTW)	An online system run by the ARRL. You sign and upload your log with a personal digital certificate; when the other operator uploads a matching contact, both are confirmed. It is widely accepted for awards.
eQSL	An online service where operators exchange electronic cards, with its own awards. Acceptance for the major award programs varies, so check the program's rules.

Two logs have to agree for a match: same call signs, band, mode and a time within a small tolerance. A sloppy time or a mistyped call is the main reason a contact fails to confirm.

ADIF: the log's common language

Logging programs differ, so they share data using ADIF, the Amateur Data Interchange Format. It is plain text: each field is its name, the length of its value, then the value, and one record is one contact. This is what you export from one program and import into another, and what you upload to LoTW (which wraps it in a signed file) or eQSL. Contest logs are submitted in a different format, Cabrillo.

Related

• Logging and contest softwareKeeping track and avoiding dupes.
• Awards and certificatesDXCC, WAS, WAC and more.
• DXingChasing distant stations.
• ContestingTimed competitions: rules, strategy and scoring.
• Call signs and what they meanPrefixes, numbers, suffixes and how a call is assigned.
• On-air etiquetteListening first, calling CQ, taking turns, and being a good neighbour on the band.
• Signal reports: RS, RST and the S-meterHow to tell someone how well you hear them, in numbers.