| VE7RE |
Rating:  |
2013-09-14 | |
| Total Crap |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I can not believe in this day and age the ARRL has chosen the most difficult awkward and cumbersome way possible to implement security in to a "a hem" logging program. Talk about having to jump through hoops. For what? I did not find it at all difficult to set up or use, It's just plain stupid and time consuming how they have gone about it. Furthermore after you get your certificate and use it for a while, it expires and you have to go through all this mess again. What a waste of time. In any event, I am done with it and will not waste another minute requesting another certificate that they don't respond to. Good grief what a load of crap! |
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| VE3TMT |
Rating:  |
2013-07-14 | |
| Love it |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've been a LOTW user for years and love it. I don't understand all the negative reviews about it being difficult to set up and use. I have had to request new certificates a couple of time, and they always responded quickly with my request. Upload the certificate file and ready to rock a& roll. I've got WAS, am applying for WAS RTTY and DXCC. I just wish the certificates didn't cost so much. I upload my logs from MixW and it's a snap.
If you take your time and follow the setup it is very easy. Perhaps you might want to take a computer course or two because I don't think the issue is with LOTW.
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Earlier 4-star review posted by VE3TMT on 2012-12-06
Just logged in to my LOTW account without issue. Showing a 55.7% return rate on my uploaded QSL's, not too bad. It was a bit of a pain in the butt getting it set up, but have had no problems in the coupes of years I have been using it. Got my WAS certificate very quickly and now have WAS RTTY but it costs too much for the credits to get the certificate. I think these should be available for download for a small flat fee.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by VE3TMT on 2012-04-01
I have been using LOTW for a few years. Previously I was using eQSL. I find LOTW more secure. It was a bit of a pain to have to mail documents to get set up, but once done, uploading logs is straight forward. I have about a 55% return rate on my uploaded QSO's, not too bad. I received my WAS certificate and would like to apply for my DXCC but this is where I don't like LOTW. Buying credits to get the certificate is very expensive. I believe it would cost me somewhere around $35 to get the paper. I find this part ridiculous. Anyway, nice to see my total rack up.
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Earlier 3-star review posted by VE3TMT on 2010-05-14
I've been on LOTW for a little while now, and received my WAS award. Was going to apply for the DXCC but they charge way too much. Close to a few other awards but doubt I will apply as it is too expensive to get them. Still undecided on this one.
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Earlier 0-star review posted by VE3TMT on 2007-04-15
After much reading and curiousity I decided to give LOTW a try. I have been using eQSL for years but not everyone uses this system. I went through the steps on the ARRL website, scanned my license and photo ID only to find out these documents have to be mailed to the ARRL if you are not a US citizen. Good grief! That is simply ridiculous, in this age with secure internet sites. I can do my banking online but apparently this isn't good enough for the ARRL. I'll stick with my old methods and mail cards direct to those that require them. While it may be great for US licensees, for DX their signup requirements is for the birds. Get with the program ARRL. |
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| K5SBR |
Rating: |
2013-07-10 | |
| Qualifying for Awards was never easier. |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| After only 54 years, I finally qualified for DXCC. Oh yes, I've got shoe-boxes full of QSL cards that I attempted several times to organize and get verified, but that was a project that just never got completed. For the new year, I vowed to computerize my logs (something that was just too much like work, given a career in IT). I quickly got bogged down in that project and discovered lost paper logs books from the early days (darn it). So I reversed the process and worked backwards. After only a few thousand QSO's, I decided to try LOTW. Somehow, I missed all the horrors so many people speak of, but I did find, like all things computer, it is necessary to follow the directions closely. Long story short, within a matter of minutes, I had earned DXCC, Mixed and CW, as well as WPX-CW. Wow, what a deal! It costs nothing until you use the credits toward an award, and then the cost makes even using the bureau's into a rich man's exercise. I really love uploading and watching the confirmation total rise over time as other folks do the same. As for security, those who complain either (a) have little regard for the value of the award, or (b) haven't been around the DX world long enough to remember an M.D. with a W9 call and others. My advice is not to wait, upload those logs. Now, about those shoe-boxes... |
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| NV8G |
Rating: |
2013-07-10 | |
| 4 years |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| In my opinion.... One of a fairly new ham.... LOTW is overly complicated and cumbersome. It's difficult at best to figure it out, get it all programmed correctly, and maybe get it to work. I pulled my hair out for hours trying to figure it out. I did eventually get it to work, but not without wondering why! Why does it need to be so unbelievably difficult? Like the guy above said, this isn't the CIA.... and it's not national security! So, I use EQSL. Very dependable, easy to use, and 99% accurate. There are APPs out there that simplify LOTW, but they should not be necessary in the first place. ARRL needs to fix this! Thank you. |
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| KA4KOE |
Rating: |
2013-07-10 | |
| I'll Second That Motion... |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| W0DLR sums up my feelings nicely. The program is not user friendly in the least...and I'm comfortable around confusers. I have enough frustrations in my life without adding more to the mix. |
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| W4TTZ |
Rating: |
2013-07-10 | |
| Not Bad |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have never had a problem using LOTW, my only complaint is it seems no one uses it or updates their logs to it. My actual success rate at getting a confirmed contact is less that 20%. I have much better success on EQSL. |
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| W0DLR |
Rating: |
2013-07-09 | |
| Worthless time consuming junk |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have worked with major accounting programs all my life, and this is the biggest pile of worthless time consuming crap I have ever seen. You would think this had something to do with the NSA or the Secret Service. It is a total waste of time to try to figure this junk out. Only the ARRL could come up with something so worthless.
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Earlier 0-star review posted by W0DLR on 2012-08-20
First time I tried to use it I never got this "Postcard" with the Secret information. These people at ARRL must have been on hand to help with the "Little Orphan Annie Secret Decoder Pin" used on Christmas Story.
Like everything they do, its secretive and as troublesome as can be. I wouldn't give ten cents for this piece of junk program.
Dave W0DLR |
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| N8FXH |
Rating: |
2013-06-14 | |
| Program fine. League Communication only average. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I finally got back on line with this program after a call to League HQ. No one from Newington let me know my requests for new certificates were declined because my software was out of date. Once I downloaded the latest software, it works as advertised.
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Earlier 0-star review posted by N8FXH on 2009-10-23
I quit using the LOTW about three years ago as radio time was limited now I have been trying for six months to get it reestablished and still not working. Program security and set up stink. The Awards are not worth the frustration spent.
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Earlier 0-star review posted by N8FXH on 2009-07-10
Used it when it first came out with good results but when I had to reload it after changing computers. it would not let me in. I followed the instructions on ARRL's Page and nada. Contacted League HQ four months ago and got no response. The program might be alright but the excessive security makes LoTW unusable! |
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| KU4UV |
Rating: |
2013-05-08 | |
| It's not bad, but could be much better |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I can understand how some people are having difficulty with LOTW, but here are some tips and suggestions. I have been using LOTW since shortly after it went online several years ago. I know a lot of folks complain about the postcard password system and that the system is too cumbersome. I think a lot of the complaints are maybe due more to impatience than anything. I am 38 years old, and far from being a computer expert. I am using AC Log for all of my digital QSL uploads.
AC Log gives the user the ability to upload contest logs and individual contacts to both eQSL and LOTW. You simply enter the path on your computer that contains the Trusted QSL software, along with your username and password, and the log takes it from there. I could maybe understand how the whole process might be a little cumbersome for someone unfamilar with how to use a computer, but the bottom line is, you gotta read and follow the directions folks. There are user groups for LOTW available online, and the ARRL is always a short e-mail or telephone call away for assitance should you run into trouble or have a question.
I do think that the ARRL needs to work out some of the bugs on their end though, such as the LOTW system being down quite so often. Eventually, the ARRL should hopefully have a better system in place or an new and improved update to LOTW. I don't think it is unreasonable to use a postcard password systems though. I hear a lot of complaints about this, but it didn't take longer than maybe a week for me to receive my password in the mail. LOTW is a lot better than waiting for several years for a DX station to confirm a contact. I fell if I can figure out the LOTW process, it can't be all that incredibly difficult. But once again, when all else fails, READ AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS!
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|
| KA2DDX |
Rating: |
2013-05-08 | |
| Poor |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I can understand ARRL wanting to have a system with integrity, etc......... BUT, this system is way too cumbersome to use. I have uploaded my logs to lotw twice now and no one at ARRL can verify they ever got them. Talk about a giant black hole.....
I won't use this mess until they get serious about doing it right.
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Earlier 0-star review posted by KA2DDX on 2007-04-23
It's been awhile since I tried to use this lousy piece of software. It makes you feel like an idiot. You're not the idiot, the software is bad. I'm in the computer field and have seen shareware better than this. If they cannot get it to work, it should be ditched. Period! |
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