How to Sign Tqsl File to Upload

Annotation: The screen shots need updating for DX4WIN 8/9, merely the flow is the same. All of the exporting and importing is now done through the QSO Window: LoTW menu.

Note: I updated some of the text for DX4WIN viii on eleven January 2011. I however could do a better job here.
NOTE: I updated some of the text for DX4WIN 9 on twenty June 2020.

This note gives a step-by-pace guide for working with ARRL's Logbook of the Earth (LoTW). This guide assumes the post-obit:

TrustedQSL software from ARRL has been installed
Document has been loaded
Station locations have been setup in TQSL programme

ARRL members who are logged into the ARRL web site may want to download and read this article written by H. Ward Argent, N0AX that appeared in QST September 2005:

The LOGBOOK of The World - 75 Million QSOs Tin't Be Wrong!

The round trip procedure (DX4WIN -> ARRL -> DX4WIN) involves these steps:

Check your QSOs
Identifying the DX4WIN QSOs to upload
Exporting the QSOs from DX4WIN
Signing the exported log
Uploading the signed log to ARRL
Downloading the confirmations from ARRL
Importing the confirmations into DX4WIN

The steps are described in more detail below.

Check Your QSOs

A common mistake is to log a QSO with the manner "PSK". This is Not a valid ADIF manner for export. If you meant "PSK31", do an F8 search for "PSK" in the Mode field, and change it to "PSK31". So relieve your log.

DX4WIN viii: You lot tin can NOT select PSK as a style, and so this is a non-issue.

Identifying the DX4WIN QSOs to upload

DX4WIN will only upload QSOs for which the "Upload" flag is set up to "Y". If you can't run into this field, use F5 a couple of times to expand your QSO window.

At that place are two methods of marking QSOs for upload. The nigh convenient is found in your DX4WIN QSO preferences. In the Characterization box, select "Upl" or "Lab+Upl":

upload preferences

DX4WIN eight: The Label box has three check boxes. Cheque the LoTW box.

This will automatically set the upload flag for every QSO you log from now on (select the "Lab+Upl" option if yous want QSOs to be marked for a QSL characterization). Make certain to save the change when exiting the Setup Parameters window (File -> Save Changes and Exit).

If you want to upload QSOs for which the upload flag is non already set (or go back and prepare the upload flags for all old QSOs), you can do this through the Labels carte du jour in the QSO window. Cull Labels -> Set up Upload Flags:

Set Upload Flags

DX4WIN 8/9: From the LoTW carte du jour, select "Set LoTW Upload Flag"

This will gear up the upload flag for all QSOs in the current filter option. If a QSO's Upload Date is already set, that QSO will not be marked for upload again.

Exporting the QSOs from DX4WIN

Subsequently identifying the QSOs to be exported, you can consign them using the Labels carte du jour in the QSO window. Choose Labels -> Consign for LoTW:

Export for LoTW

DX4WIN 8/9: From the LoTW card, select "Export to LoTW" (before eight.05, it's called "Export for LoTW")

The "Select the ADIF file to write to" window will appear. Requite the file a meaningful name that you will remember. Since you may be doing this on a regular basis (to consign your newest QSOs), yous may want to include the export date in the file name, i.e. lotw_2061201.adi. DX4WIN will save the marked QSOs in the file you lot specify:

ADIF to Write

You lot may become a popular-up window if you have a filter active. Select Yes to export using the current filter, No to consign without using the filter, or Cancel to arrest the export procedure.

Afterwards exporting the QSOs, DX4WIN will clear the upload flags and set the upload date for the exported QSOs. You may get a alert nearly a filter selection not being active, it's OK to proceed.

Signing the exported log

Starting time the TQSL program and go to File -> Sign existing ADIF or Cabrillo file:

Sign ADIF

Choice the station location that was used when making the QSOs to be signed, then click on OK:

Station Location

Now navigate to your DX4WIN save directory, where you saved the LoTW ADIF file, and click on the file name (in this case, lotw_20061210.ADI):

Select ADIF

Click the "Open" button, and yous volition get some other dialog box to save the signed (.TQ8) file. A file name should already be filled in, and should lucifer the proper noun of the .ADI file y'all selected:

TQ8 name

Click the "Save" button. You will be prompted to Confirm signing using the log and Station Name you provided:

Confirm

Click the "Yes" button. Next, you volition get a dialog box prompting for the QSO Date Range:

Date Range

Only leave this blank, unless you desire to sign only part of your exported log. Click the "Ok" button to proceed.

You will get a popular-up box showing the signing progress. When all the QSOs take been signed, TQSL will display the name of the input and output files and tell you how many QSOs were signed:

TQSL done

It's possible that an error occurred while signing the log. The TQSL program does some basic checks for bad callsigns, bad modes and other things. If an mistake occurs, you will have a option to keep or stop. If yous have a systematic error (like the PSK/PSK31 problem described earlier), it might be amend to cease and fix all these errors in your log. If you expect but a few errors, and so just continue (ignoring all errors) and fix them one-past-i.

In either case, you need to export your log again and sign the newly-exported file. The easiest fashion to do this is using an F8 search for today's date in the "Upload Date" field, then using QSO -> Multiple QSO Operations -> Gear up Upload Date, change the date to "blank". Then you will demand to set up the Upload flags over again, using Labels -> Set Upload Flags. Finally, consign the log using Lables -> Export for LoTW equally described above.

Once you have an mistake-gratis, signed log, y'all tin can get out the TQSL programme using File -> Exit. Your log has been signed and is ready to upload to ARRL.

Uploading the signed log to ARRL

Log into your LoTW business relationship on the ARRL web site using this URL:

https://p1k.arrl.org/lotwuser/default

Click in the box almost the top of the LoTW web site that says "Upload File". In the "File to Upload" box, click on the Browse button and navigate to your DX4WIN SAVE directory (i.east. C:\Program Files\DX4W702\SAVE). Observe the name of the signed .TQ8 file and double-click on it. Then click on the "Upload file" button.

The QSOs will be uploaded to and queued upward on the ARRL server. New confirmations may non exist available right abroad. It sometimes it takes minutes, other times hours, depending on how many logs are awaiting for upload.

Downloading the confirmations from ARRL

After yous are satisfied that all confirmations have been candy, you can download the confirmations from the server. Click in the box virtually the acme of the LoTW web site that says "Your QSOs". Side by side, click on the box on the left that says "Download Report". The following page should appear:

Download Report

The box "Show QSLs received since" volition commonly have the date you LAST downloaded the LoTW study. In other words, by default, you are merely downloading new confirmations, not all confirmations. Call back this is the date that confirmations were received (the date that 2nd of the ii logs containing the QSO was uploaded), it has nothing to do with when the QSOs actually took place. Yous can change the engagement if necessary.

There is a check box next to "Include QSL detail". If you lot want your logbook fields like country, county, IOTA, etc. populated with data from your LoTW confirmations, check this box. Note that some people take Non filled in their LoTW certificates correctly, CQ and ITU zones may be swapped, etc.

Finally, select the callsign in the "Your Call Sign" box. People who have multiple certificates will have multiple callsigns listed here.

Then, click on the "Download report" push button to download the ADIF file. You will exist prompted for the location to salvage the file. Information technology'due south easiest to navigate to your DX4WIN SAVE directory (i.e. C:\Program Files\DX4W702\Relieve) and relieve the file there. The default name is lotwreport.adi

The lotwreport.adi file contains simply QSOs which lucifer in the system. If you have uploaded QSOs that are no confirmed, and then they volition not exist included in the report file.

Importing the confirmations into DX4WIN

Important for DX4WIN 7 users: Earlier importing the ADIF LoTW report, in your QSO Preferences (File -> Preferences -> QSO tab), make sure that "Confirmed QSOs" in the bottom-left corner is not set up to "Upload conf". Otherwise, DX4WIN will not ready the "Upl Cnf" field in the logbook. This is non an issue for DX4WIN8.

Import the LoTW report file the same way y'all would import any ADIF log. File -> Import/Export. When the Import/Export Filters window comes up, ADIF should be selected automatically. In that window, cull File -> Import:

Import LoTW for DX4WIN7

When the "Specify file for import" window appears, double-click on the file named lotwreport.adi (unless you lot changed the proper name when you downloaded the file from the ARRL web site). A pop-upward will announced, "Options for indistinguishable QSOs". Apply the down-arrow to select, "Imported QSO sets Upload Confirmed flag":

Duplicate QSO Options

Once the option is selected, type ENTER to update your log. DX4WIN volition inform y'all how many QSOs were confirmed. Finally, use File -> Exit to close the Import/Get out Filters window.

DX4WIN 8: From the LoTW menu, select "Import from LoTW" (before viii.05, it's called "Import for LoTW")
DX4WIN 9: from the LoTW card, select "Ostend LoTW using ADIF file"

Import from LoTW

If you included QSO detail with your LoTW report download, diverse fields in your logbook may accept been updated. To see these changes, use F8 to search your log, enter LOTW into the blank "Notes for this QSO" field, and then ENTER:

Search Notes

DX4WIN eight/9: Search for the discussion "Import" in the "Notes for this QSO field" instead of LOTW.

You can movement through your log using Folio Upwardly/Down to encounter the changes.

Preparing a DXCC submission

First, run across ARRL DXCC web page FAQ well-nigh submitting a hybrid application. There is no straightforward style to prepare a DX4WIN submission report when both QSL cards and LoTW credits are submitted. This is considering you may have both a QSL and a LotW confirmation for the same QSO, and DX4WIN doesn't know which ane you would like to submit.

If the number of LoTW confirmations is relatively small, you lot tin do a regular DXCC submission report, then salvage it to a .CSV file (past right-clicking on the report window). Open that .CSV file in Excel (or some other spreadsheet program), and delete the QSOs that will be submitted through LoTW.

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Source: http://dx4win.ad1c.us/appnotes/lotw.html