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AF5CC

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TQSL question
« on: March 08, 2023, 08:22:13 AM »

I will ask this here since many of us use LOTW for QSLing.  Once I load a callsign certificate into TQSL, is there a need to keep that certificate on the harddrive of my computer?

73 John AF5CC
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WO7R

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Re: TQSL question
« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2023, 08:34:32 AM »

The cert management in LOTW is frankly a bit strange.

What you really want to do is use TQSL to save it.

TQSL->Callsign Certificates->click on your certificate->Save the Callsign Certificate for <your call>

This gives you a file with the suffix .P12 and it can be used on your current computer if you need it and any other computer you own.

The .TQ8 file you get from the ARRL seems to be tied to your original computer, but the .P12 form of it can and should go anywhere, including if you upgrade or change computers.

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AF5CC

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Re: TQSL question
« Reply #2 on: March 08, 2023, 08:39:41 AM »

Hi Larry,

Thanks for the information.  SO if I save the P.12 form, I don't need to save the TQ8 file I downloaded from an email the ARRL sent me?

73 John AF5CC
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W2IRT

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Re: TQSL question
« Reply #3 on: March 08, 2023, 08:42:09 AM »

Thanks for the information.  SO if I save the P.12 form, I don't need to save the TQ8 file I downloaded from an email the ARRL sent me?


The .p12 file can be installed on any computer. The TQ8 file is only for the initial load of the certificate, and can be discarded once used. Save the .p12 file onto a cloud hard drive like Dropbox or Google Drive so if you suffer a system failure and have to do a bare metal system re-install your certificate will be ready for you as soon as you resync to that cloud service.
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K4HB

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Re: TQSL question
« Reply #4 on: March 08, 2023, 09:31:47 AM »

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N8NK

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Re: TQSL question
« Reply #5 on: March 08, 2023, 10:43:39 AM »

I have to agree with the posts above - and the LoTW system should make this clearly known when signing up for it. I've used my .p12 file on so many PCs I can't remember, and only had to obtain a new .TQ8 file when moving after a decade. When I did so, I immediately used TQSL to generate my new .p12 file for future use.
Chuck, N8NK
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K5PS

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Re: TQSL question
« Reply #6 on: March 08, 2023, 11:46:11 AM »

I also do the same; generate a .p12 file and store it in the cloud. Very easy to set up or recover a TQSL setup from that.
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AF5CC

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Re: TQSL question
« Reply #7 on: March 11, 2023, 11:33:40 AM »

Thanks for the information, I did save the certificates as .p12 files.  I don't really know how to use the cloud, but will put them on a USB drive for safety.  The office computer which I have TQSL on is probably 10 years old or more, and I did have to replace the power supply once, so it probably won't last too much longer.

I have a replacement computer already sitting in a box but this one just keeps working and the XYL and myself are familiar with WIndows 10.  Windows 11 did look a little different when I was testing out the replacement computer.

73 John AF5CC
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K4HB

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Re: TQSL question
« Reply #8 on: March 11, 2023, 01:04:51 PM »

Thanks for the information, I did save the certificates as .p12 files.  I don't really know how to use the cloud, but will put them on a USB drive for safety.

That will make things much easier if you need to set up TQSL again. As for a cloud, that's easy. You can get a free Dropbox account for up to 2GB of storage and synced up to 3 machines. So you can access your files with your desktop at home, or with your laptop wherever you are. With permissions, you can have someone send you a large file via Dropbox. It's really handy for backing up log files. Even if a person's house burns down, their logs are safe. Of course there's a lot of other things to worry about if someone's house burns down, but insurance can't replace those logs. A cloud can. There's instructions online about setting up Dropbox and using it, and there tutorials on YouTube.

https://www.dropbox.com/basic

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WO7R

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Re: TQSL question
« Reply #9 on: March 11, 2023, 01:31:34 PM »

Quote
As for a cloud, that's easy. You can get a free Dropbox account for up to 2GB of storage and synced up to 3 machines.

For small, important items, you don't even need that.

Your Google account (which just about everyone with an Android phone has and many who use Chrome have) has a built in "Drive" function that does what Dropbox does and for free also.  Good for about a GB of data before you have to pay.

It will work on every device you ever have.  Even a hotel lobby PC if you dare to trust that sort of thing.

Dropbox is just fine, but there's no need if configuration files or even personal logs are all one needs to save.  It's images that are going to put one past the various "free" limits on the cloud.
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W9IQ

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Re: TQSL question
« Reply #10 on: March 11, 2023, 01:50:19 PM »

Make certain to strong password protect your .p12 file before uploading it to the cloud.

- Glenn W9IQ
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- Glenn W9IQ

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