What changed
Logging and QSLs — edited Aug 31, 2026 by Unknown editor
This is the first recorded version, so every line is shown as added. Note: Imported from content/wiki
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The FCC has not required amateurs to keep a log since 1983. Almost everyone does anyway: a log is how
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you claim awards, prove you were not the station somebody is complaining about, and remember whether
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you have already worked the operator calling you.
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## Logging software
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- **Cross-platform and free:** N3FJP's suite (Windows), Log4OM (Windows), CQRLOG (Linux), MacLoggerDX
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(macOS), and the logbooks built into WSJT-X and other mode software.
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- **Cloud logbooks:** QRZ.com's logbook, Club Log, HRDLog. Convenient, and they compute award progress
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for you.
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- **Contest loggers** are a separate category — N1MM+, N3FJP, SkookumLogger — because they need dupe
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checking, rate meters and Cabrillo export. See [contesting](/wiki/operating/contesting).
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Whatever you use, make sure it exports **ADIF**. That is the interchange format for amateur logs, and
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it is your guarantee of getting your data out again. Back up the log file somewhere off the shack
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computer.
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## What to record
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Date and time in **UTC**, frequency or band, mode, the other station's callsign, and the signal
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reports exchanged. Everything else — name, location, grid square, rig, notes — is optional and makes
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the log much more useful later. See [grid squares and time](/wiki/operating/grid-squares-and-time).
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## Electronic confirmation
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- **Logbook of The World (LoTW)** is the ARRL's system and the one that counts for DXCC, WAS and WAZ.
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It requires a one-time identity verification and a digital certificate installed through the TQSL
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program; after that you upload signed logs and matches appear automatically. It is the single most
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useful account a new operator can set up.
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- **eQSL.cc** is instant and easier to join, offers its own awards, and is accepted by some award
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programs but not by DXCC.
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- **QRZ and Club Log** match contacts between members and track award progress, and both can feed
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LoTW.
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## Paper QSL cards
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A physical card is still a pleasure to receive, and for many operators it is the point.
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- **Direct** — send your card with a self-addressed envelope. For overseas mail, enclose return
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postage; International Reply Coupons are no longer sold in the United States, so most operators send
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a US dollar or two. Never send cash where the post is unreliable.
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- **Bureaus** — the ARRL outgoing QSL service forwards cards in bulk for a fee, and incoming cards
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reach you through your call-area bureau. Slow (often a year or more) and inexpensive.
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- **QSL managers** — many DX stations and expeditions use one; check QRZ.com or Club Log for the
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correct route before mailing anything.
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- **OQRS** (online QSL request service) — request a card, or a bureau card, and pay postage online.
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Increasingly the normal route for expeditions.
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Design your own card with your callsign large enough to read at arm's length, your grid square, and
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room for the contact details. Clubs often print a batch together, which is cheaper and makes a good
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project ahead of events like [Club Week](https://usnara.org/programs/club-week) — during which you
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should expect to send and answer a lot of cards.