I am working on uploading all of my SOTA activation contacts to eQSL and have a question for the other activators using this service. I really like being able to send out a summit specific QSL card and it is very nice to be able to share a bit of the summit with all of the chasers. I started out in SOTA doing this the old fashioned way with paper QSLs, but that got out of hand quickly once the activations started piling up.
As far as I can tell, you are allowed one QSL card design on eQSL.
Is there any way to make sure that someone receives your card before you update the design?
What if you have more than one activation in a day? Just use one card design for the day?
I believe eQSL has a solution to this problem in the works. Here is a quote from a recent question about operating from multiple locations.
“At present, this is not easy. If you want your eQSLs to be valid for eAwards, you must set up a new account for each QTH. The quickest way of doing this is the My Accounts screen. Simply add a new attached account and all QTH information will be copied over to the new account. Then modify what is different, and make sure to upload only the correct logs into each new account. We are working on a much better solution, so watch Site News if you are a County Hunter or other highly mobile station.”
Hi Pat,
in eQSL you have to create separate account for each QTH. If you activated two summits in one day, you will have to create two accounts - you define time span of account i.e start date/time, end date/time. So you will be able to have two QSL designs for that day.
I am keen user of eQSL with over 90 accounts (app. number of my SOTA activations so far) and I also design specific eQSL card for each activation.
In picture below is an example of three accounts in one day.
Have fun with eQSL card design!
Thanks everyone! I don’t know why I was hesitant to create attached accounts in eQSL!?! I am approaching 150 station locations in LOTW, so why not do basically the same thing on eQSL. I really do like the digital QSL card feature, so I will definitely start doing this for future activations.
Here’s the card from last weekend’s outing. 73, pat
People say it’s too complicated, it isn’t. what it is is secure. The EQSL system has flawed security. It’s not the system they have for authenticating accounts which is insecure (although it could be better) it’s the method of uploading QSO data.
The EQSL QSO upload uses https or similar, this is not really secure (despite what the online banking industry says). LotW uses a public/private key system for it’s uploads, assuming the user takes proper care of their private key this is secure. Which is why the ARRL use it and is why it’s valid for many award schemes.
Hello Colin,
Really, the https protocol is also based on a private public key pair system, on a session basis, and although it can be attacked (man in the middle and so), it would not be very probable to deploy such level of technology to achieve a pair of qsls for free
On the other side, the german DARC accepts the eqsls for all its awards, or also WAC…
The solution can be very simple: having both. Do you want qsls? have eqsl. Awards? lotw.
I have both and live quite happy (all my awards applied thru DARC using both LOTW and EQSL)
For me the real pain is having to pay 85$ for an ARRL WPX or DXCC! Just at the same 2€ level of SOTA Certificates, JA!!!
73 and good sota’ing
Mikel
About eQSL I’d like to say the following:
Indeed it is a great thing if it is well done. I mean, if the right information is not written down, eQSL doesn’t mean nothing. The same with paper QSLs or even LoTw. It might confirm the QSO and that’s all.
For many of us that are avid chasers or paper chasers, the award information is crucial. And it is easy to put it in your eQSLs.
As I’ve read, you may open an account for each activation and use different QSL designs or pictures. That is awesome.
But you may also change only the references according to your activations. For that you need to use the ADIF field QSLMSG and at the bottom of your card, where usually we wish 73, the references uploaded will be shown.
I’ve received a lot of eQSL cards, from many activations, but unfortunately without what I was expecting for: the award’s information
Yes but it is only designed to protect against certain very specific threats - eavesdropping on the traffic and some man-in-the-middle attacks. It does not magically make the entire site and the application protocols it uses secure.
I have chosen to implement both solutions in my case. I had put off uploading logs to QRZ and eQSL because of the issues being discussed for some time. But, I have had an increasing number of requests for confirmation via these methods so I needed to find a solution that I could live with. I have added a script to my log processing routine that adds a line such as:
W4G/NG-002 - Rabun Bald | EM84IX | Rabun County, GA
to both the ADIF COMMENT and QSLMSG fields in the ADIF files exported from my logging app. That will get the information displayed in the correct place on both QRZ and eQSL.
And I have started using the attached account feature on eQSL to set up separate locations and QSL cards unique for each summit (which also has the location info on them). That alone is worth the price of admission to eQSL for me.
Not a perfect solution, but it is workable and fits my needs at the moment.
i suppose it does not really work the way you would like it to work, but there may be others who can tell you exactly how it works. The reason i answer your mail is that i found my solution with GLOBALQSL.COM - there you can upload your card for every acitvation you want - just indicate for every activation a different callsign - e.g. HB9CBR/FR-033, HB9CBR/ZG-001 and so on.
This of course is something you have to pay for. 1000 QSL cards cost you aprox. 100 US$. Then you can upload the file and they make the distribution.
Thanks for the reply Bruno and I will check out GLOBALQSL. But, I have to admit that I am very happy with my setup with eQSL now. You do have to pay to have the ability to design you own digital QSL card, but it is well worth it to me.
Hi Pat
and thanks for your reply. I am also using EQSL and haven t thought that it would work the same way as globalqsl with different accounts - so i guess i will also give it a try with my next operations - special card for every operation as i already do with globalqsl.
