*************** The ARRL Letter Vol. 23, No. 14 April 2, 2004 ***************
==>NUMBER OF LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD USERS CLIMBS
Logbook of The World (LoTW), ARRL's electronic awards credit system, is closing in on 40 million separate Amateur Radio contacts in its secure database, said ARRL Special Assistant to the CEO David Patton, NN1N.
"Right now there are 39.6 million QSOs entered into Logbook, with 1.18 million matched contacts," he said. There are 7000 distinct registered users of the system, holding 9000 authenticated certificates, Patton added. Users may have more than one registered certificate, reflecting operation from home, changing call signs, operations during DXpeditions, or portable station operation each sporting a separate call sign.
Patton, who helped create the concept for LoTW, noted that the number of LoTW users continues to swell. Some 600 US hams have begun the registration process, along with an additional 600 amateurs in other countries, from whom ARRL is awaiting authentication documents. "The learning curve for getting on the system has remained pretty steady," he said. "It's pretty straightforward after you've been using it a while. The key is taking your time and following the instructions."
One reason numbers are continuing to grow is that more and more computer logging programs are incorporating various levels of support for LoTW. "Most of the major logging programs have it, with more developers working to integrate support," Patton said. "These software developers have worked really hard to make this happen."
Also hard at work is ARRL Web and Software Development Manager Jon Bloom, KE3Z, who is working on programming the much-anticipated "DXCC awards module" for the QSO matching system. No rollout date had been set for the DXCC module, Patton said, but it is currently being tested.
The DXCC module will offer the user the ability to incorporate his/her DXCC records straight from the DXCC desk into an LoTW account. LoTW will be able to find needed credits automatically by comparing what's in the database against the DXCC records on hand at ARRL.
"This application for DXCC is what we envisioned for LoTW years ago," Patton said. "It will be really worth the users' wait and the time and effort that Jon has put into the system."
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