XMLog 6.00 LoTW Features

Version 6.00 has two major changes:

1)	Four new date fields have been added to log entries

2)	New "Import" menu items have been added to download and verify data from the ARRL LoTW site

New Log Fields

There are four new log fields, "LoTW Sent", "LoTW Rcvd", "eQSL Sent", and "eQSL Rcvd".

LoTW Sent: This field can be set manually or can optionally be set when using the “Import/Export ADIF File" menu item (see below).

LoTW Rcvd: This field can be set manually and is also set when using the “Import/Apply LoTW Data to Log" menu item (see below).

eQSL Sent, eQSL Rcvd: These fields can only be set manually.

The LoTW Sent Field
  
So, how should the “LoTW Sent” field be used?  Since setting this field does not affect any DXCC or WAS reports it isn’t really necessary that you set it - it is only useful if you want to track your LoTW submissions to the ARRL.

Typically the first step in making an LoTW submission to the ARRL is to select a subset of your log and then create an ADIF file using the "Import/Export ADIF File" menu item.  The resulting ADIF file is then submitted to the ARRL.  When you create this ADIF file you can choose one of two new options: "Set LoTW Sent Field to Current Date" or "Set eQSL Sent Field to Current Date".  Setting one of these two options will update the "LoTW Sent" (or “eQSL Sent”) field for all log entries that were included in the ADIF file.

The LoTW Rcvd Field
 
The "LoTW Rcvd” field can be set manually but is normally set by using the "Import/Apply LoTW Data to Log" menu item (see below).

The eQSL Fields

The "eQSL Sent" and "eQSL Rcvd" fields can only be set manually and their values do not affect any award tracking reports.  

Step 1: Downloading LoTW Data

The ARRL provides a web page that allows you to select records from the LoTW database and download them to your PC as an ADIF file.  You can use this feature to retrieve your LoTW data or you can use the XMLog "Import/ Download and Validate LoTW Data" menu item.  To use this menu item you must enter your LoTW user ID and password.  When you use XMLog to download LoTW data you can optionally provide a "posted since" date which restricts the downloaded entries to those that have been added to the ARRL LoTW database since the specified date - this feature allows you limit the retrieved records to those added since your previous download.

By default the downloaded ADIF files are saved in a folder named LoTW which is created in your XMLog install folder.  Typical files created by XMLog would be:

1)	 All-2007-12-21.adi - The file name will start with “All” if you downloaded with no "posted since" date specified. The date in the file name is the date the request was made.

2)	Since-2007-10-31.adi - The file name will start with “Since” if you provided a "posted since" date.  The date in the file name is the "posted since" date.

After the data has been successfully downloaded a report will be produced that compares the downloaded LoTW QSO info against info in your current log.  See the "Validating LoTW Data" section for details on this report.

Note: I have occasionally had problem with the “download in progress” indicator not being updated during the download, let me know if you experience this problem.

Step 2: Validating LoTW Data

The "Validate LoTW Data" report compares LoTW data in an ADIF file against the data already in your log.  This report is automatically produced if you use XMLog to download LoTW data using the "Import/Download and Validate LoTW Data" menu item.  Once you've downloaded the data you can use the "Import/Validate LoTW Data" menu item to produce another copy of the report (or to validate LoTW data that was downloaded using the ARRL LoTW web page).

Matching LoTW Records to Entries in Your Log

When XMLog searches your log for an entry matching a LoTW record it tries to match the Call, Date, Time, Band, and Mode.  Here's the strategy used for matching these fields:

1)	Call: The calls PJ4/W1AW and W1AW/PJ4, etc. are considered to be a match as well as the calls W1AW and W1AW/4, W1AW/MM, etc.

2)	Date/Time: XMLog looks for a match within a +/- ten minute range around the time given in the LoTW record.

3)	Frequency: Frequencies are matched on the basis of band, not exact frequency.

4)	Mode: Modes like PSK and PKS31 or SSB and USB are considered equivalent.  If no match can be found using this strategy any mode of the same "type" will be considered a match (The mode types are: CW, Phone, and Data).

Validation Problems

The validation report displays information for LoTW records having the following problems:

1)	Not in Log: The call/date/time/band/mode from a LoTW record is missing, is badly formatted, or doesn't match any QSO in your log.

2)	Bad Data: LoTW data other than the call/date/time/band/mode is badly formatted.

3)	Conflicting Values: The state/zone/country/etc. from a LoTW record does not match the value in your log (both values are displayed). 

I have found that it is not unusual for downloaded data to conflict with data in your log.  The most common discrepancies are "State" values.  I suspect that this is because some users select their entire log when submitting LoTW data to the ARRL and specify their current QTH - this causes older log entries from previous locations to be incorrect.  The second most common error seems to be for "Zone" values.  Zone problems can be caused in the same way as State errors or by confusing the ITU and CQ zone values when submitting LoTW data to the ARRL.

Step 3: Applying LoTW Data to Your Log

Before you apply LoTW data to your log you should first make a copy of the "Verify LoTW Data" report and decide how you want to handle records that were flagged as having some kind of problem.  Once you have a copy of this report you should:  

   1) Check any records that were flagged as having values conflicting with values in your log.  The "Apply LoTW Data to Log" operation will run more smoothly if you have already decided on how you want to handle any conflicts.  During the "Apply LoTW Data to Log" operation you will be asked how you want to treat each record containing conflicts; keep the current log value, replace the current value with the LoTW value, skip this "problem" record, or abort the operation.

   2) Check for records that were flagged as "Not in Log".  Since downloaded LoTW records are based on log entries you have previously submitted to LoTW this should not happen unless you have subsequently modified or deleted the log entry.  Try to determine if the problem was due to a bad call, date, time, or mode value in your log entry.  Make any appropriate corrections to your log and re-create the validation report to make sure the problem has been corrected.  Note that any LoTW records flagged as “Not in Log” during validation will not be applied to your log.  XMLog does not create new log entries based on LoTW records.

   3) Check for records that were flagged as having "Bad Data".  Again, the "Apply LoTW Data to Log" operation will run more smoothly if you have already decided upon the "correct" values.  During the "Apply LoTW Data to Log" operation you will be asked how you want to treat each record with bad data; edit the value in error, skip this "problem" record, or abort the operation..

Assuming you have checked the LoTW entries that were flagged as having problems and fixed any obvious errors in the log, how should the remaining conflicts be resolved?  For conflicting values there is a special dilemma; if your log has one value and LoTW has another which do you use?  You might have a “real” card on hand or there may be other reasons that you're sure the value in your log is correct, but, on the other hand the LoTW record might be good for a new state or country!

Here's a summary of what happens when you select the "Apply LoTW Data to Log" menu item:

   1) A prompt is displayed that requests the ADIF file name and allows you to set options.

   2) A prompt is displayed for each record having an error/conflict.  This prompt allows you to apply, edit, or ignore the data.

   3) A status report is displayed that includes the number of records applied, skipped, etc.

For each LoTW record applied to your log the “LoTW Rcvd” field will be set to the value from the LoTW record.  If the LoTW record does not contain a QSL Sent date the “LoTW Rcvd” field will be set to the current date.

Reports and LoTW

The reports produced by the “Awards/DXCC” and “Awards/WAS” menu items now provide an “Include LoTW Confirmations” option.  This option controls whether log entries that have the “LoTW Rcvd” date set are treated as confirmed QSOs (equivalent to having the “QSL Rcvd” field set).

The “Awards/DXCC Totals” and “Awards/WAS Totals” menu items now provide a “Show QSL card and LoTW Totals” option.  This option will display card and LoTW counts for each band and mode.  Note that the sum of these two values may be greater than the value in the “Confirmed” column since some countries (or states) may be confirmed by both QSL cards and by LoTW.

The “Awards/DXCC Checklist” and “Awards/WAS Checklist” menu items now provide a “Show Confirmation Sources” option.  This option will display and additional line for each country (or state) that indicates how each band or mode has been confirmed.  The flags used are “C” for confirmed by QSL card, “L” for LoTW and “E” for eQSL.