An update…
Recently I have been converted to HRD, and have imported my Excel log into HRD (a quick bit of VBA generated the ADIF to upload)
I’ve also started creating a seperate eQSL account for each /P activation, with an eQSL card with a picture of the location (thanks to F6HBI for the idea)
Having started doing that, I’m slightly disapoointed by the return rate, even amongst those who do have eQSL accounts (which is probably less than 20% of chasers)
Andrew
M6ADB
In reply to M6ADB:
The problem with eQSL is they advertise that they have mega amounts of members but in reality, there are many inactive accounts, I check the callsign and it will tell you recent or non activity…or just take the poor return.
Bobby
I’ve been using eQSL for logs from my home, but I’ve not added any /P or /M logs yet. As far as I can tell, eQSL seems to want a distinct account for each callsign+location combination. There’s been talk of simplifying the system, but as it stands an active SOTA activator could end up with lots of accounts, and that’d quickly get confusing.
I’ve also tried using LotW. It requires a distinct key for each callsign, but handles location information a bit more simply. It’s a lot less easy to correct errors on, though, and so far I seem to be running at about twenty QSO logs for every one that turns up as a confirmed QSL, wheras on eQSL it’s nearer ten to one.
In reply to M6LEP:
I have one separate eQSL /P sub-account for all my /P operations, and add details of where I am as a comment. Although I praise those who go to the effort of having separate sub-accounts for each activation with an individual picture, it seems an awful lot of work for the low expected number of SOTA eQSLs.
As to eQSL in general I have used it for some years, along with LOTW. Return rate is around 10% (for my general QSOs 5,642 eQSLs from 53,500 QSOs). My Cleeve Hill activation last month has so far brought 3 eQSLs, and I don’t expect many more. In SOTA we tend to work mainly other SOTA chasers and not that many of those will be big DX chasers or contest ops and a relatively small number will be on eQSL. I have not bothered setting up /P accounts at LOTW - but those same 53.5k QSOs have resulted in 8,657 LOTW confirmations, so it is clearly more widely used.
By the way I still keep a paper shack log, notebook for activations, all entered post-event into XMLog.
73 Dave G3YMC
In reply to M6ADB:
I’ve also started creating a seperate eQSL account for each /P
activation, with an eQSL card with a picture of the location (thanks
to F6HBI for the idea)
How does that work, in terms of incoming eQSLs? I mean, incoming confirmations will just be addressed to M6ADB/P, so how will they know which of your many /P accounts to go to?
Having started doing that, I’m slightly disapoointed by the return
rate, even amongst those who do have eQSL accounts (which is probably
less than 20% of chasers)
I’m afraid I am one of the offenders in that respect! I have had a G3NYY eQSL account for years, and I do try to keep it reasonably up to date. However, it never occurred to me to start a G3NYY/P eQSL account … until one day last week I received an email (I think from you, Andrew!!) telling me that an eQSL had arrived addressed to G3NYY/P, and it had been added to the 450 other eQSLs awaiting a response from G3NYY/P!!! <sob!)
I suppose I’ll have to try and do something about it, but I don’t relish having to manually add the QTH details to every one of the 451 outgoing eQSLs. 
73
Walt (G3NYY/P)
In reply to G3NYY:
You have to specify the period that a particular account is valid for when you set it up - and if you do several activations a day that is down to the hour and minute. Having done that the eQSL system works out the correct QSL layout from both the call and the time.
You don’t of course have to answer all those 450 eQSLs ‘one by one’, just upload your complete ADIF log for all the QSOs and job is done - and if you are clever, you can add the remarks information in the ADIF.
73 Dave G3YMC
In reply to G3YMC:
You have to specify the period that a particular account is valid for
when you set it up - and if you do several activations a day that is
down to the hour and minute. Having done that the eQSL system works
out the correct QSL layout from both the call and the time.
Oh, yes … I can see that now.
You don’t of course have to answer all those 450 eQSLs ‘one by one’,
just upload your complete ADIF log for all the QSOs and job is done -
and if you are clever, you can add the remarks information in the
ADIF.
I use only paper logging, both at my home station and /P. However, over the past year or so, I have uploaded all my SOTA activations manually to the SOTAWatch database, one QSO at a time. Can I download a complete ADIF log from there? That still doesn’t address the problem of inserting the QTH details on every eQSL. It is further complicated by the fact that some of the activations were done as GW3NYY/P.
I don’t think I can be bothered with all this …
73,
Walt (G3NYY)
In reply to G3YMC:
You have to specify the period that a particular account is valid for
Ah. Right… So let’s see how that works… 5 old QSOs from G/SE-005 on 18/7/2010 I hadn’t previously uploaded are now in the system…
In reply to G3NYY:
Can I download a complete ADIF log from (the SOTA database)?
I don’t know about ADIF but you can down load as a CSV… and I have created an EXCEL plugin that converts CSV to ADIF if you are interested.
Of course, you need to add the sig reports, which SOTA doesn’t record (or even allow to be uploaded) but eQSL requires
That still doesn’t address the problem
of inserting the QTH details on every eQSL. It is further complicated
by the fact that some of the activations were done as GW3NYY/P.
Creating Gx3NYY is not a prob, as each activation is assigned a callsign (not each QSL)…
For me, it was easy as I only had half-a-dozen or so activations to upload… those with lots more may find doing it in small batches to be easier
But in the end, it is for individuals to make the choice on their own… my comment about the return was not a dig at anyone; or perhaps at myself for setting unrealistic expectations?
Andrew
M6ADB
I don’t think I can be bothered with all this …
73,
Walt (G3NYY)
I have just been reading this thread and realised it is an age since I checked eQSL. I had already registered GW7AAV, G7AAV, GM7AAV, and GD7AAV but I never thought to register GW7AAV/P, G7AAV/P, GM7AAV/P, GD7AAV/P or GW7AAV/M, G7AAV/M, GM7AAV/M, GD7AAV/M. Checking the site reveals literally hundreds of cards to the various variations. It will take hours to register, sift through and reply to them all. I will never confirm unless I have checked in my log.
I use Winlog32 and when I first set up eQSL I had it automatically send out. This was unfortunate for my friends two of who complained. One had received 78 eQSLs from me and the other 96 in a month.
The system is somewhat flawed. Surely it is no big deal to program the system to recognise /P and /M calls and be able to be set it so as to not send repeat eQSLs to the same station for contacts on the same band when there has already been a confirmed contact.
73 Steve GW7AAV
In reply to GW7AAV:
It’s a nightmare, Steve. I have had a look at G3NYY/P and at the latest count there are now well over 500 “e-cards” waiting to be answered. I have not even ventured to check “GW3NYY/P”. If I spend all my time fiddling with this, I’ll have no time to do any more SOTA activations!
For G3NYY (fixed station), the only logs I can upload automatically are my PSK31 logs, because I use MixW which creates an ADIF log on the fly. However for other modes, my only records are in the form of paper logs, so there would be no alternative but to sit for days on end typing the info into a computer.
It’s going to be a case of “forget it”, I’m afraid. If anyone wants a G3NYY/P confirmation, they will just have to send me a conventional paper QSL direct or via the bureau.
73,
Walt (G3NYY)
In reply to G3NYY:
Fast Log Entry - http://www.df3cb.com/fle/index.html - is an excellent way of entering old paper logs and turning them into ADIF. Made easy work of getting 30k of G3YMC logbooks into my logging program and subsequently up to LOTW and eQSL. Once you have them electronicised it is a doddle to keep up with eQSL.
You may also find useful the little application I wrote - eqsladif - which you will find at http://www.davesergeant.com/bbcbasic.htm which allows you to easily produce an adif from your eqsl inbox.
73 Dave G3YMC
In reply to G3YMC:
Thanks for the info, Dave.
I must confess, though, that I don’t think I’m sufficiently interested in QSLs to be motivated to do all this!
73,
Walt (G3NYY)
In reply to G1INK:
Don
t look now Walt - but youve got 28 qsl`s waiting on QRZ.com
I didn’t even know it was possible to receive QSLs on QRZ.com!
Anyway, I’ve completely screwed up eQSL now, because I mis-typed my email address when I was trying to register G3NYY/P and I can neither log in nor re-register. So that’s the end of that!
Perhaps it’s just as well.
73,
Walt (G3NYY)
In reply to G3NYY:
I didn’t even know it was possible to receive QSLs on QRZ.com!
It’s getting a bit like Pokemon; too many places. There’s no way anyone’s going to cover them all…
QRZ.com has the dubious advantage of requiring folks to pay before they can see more than a dozen log entries, or upload logs in any way other than one-by-one form entry, so its uptake is likely to be rather less, so for now at least, it’s one not to worry about…
In reply to G3NYY:
You shouldn’t need to set up a totally different account Walt, do it as a SUB account from http://www.eqsl.cc/qslcard/MyAccounts.cfm which is very quick and easy and keeps all your other settings. Otherwise an email to them should sort out your little error.
I agree about QRZ.COM, cannot see the point of it. There is also Club Log http://www.clublog.org which has some uses. All gets a bit confusing…
73 Dave G3YMC
In reply to G3YMC:
Otherwise an email to them should sort out your little error.
Ha ha! I tried that. It said there are already 220 emails in the queue and I should expect several days delay in getting a reply.
You shouldn’t need to set up a totally different account Walt, do it as a SUB
account from My Accounts - eQSL.cc
I can’t get into that either. It tells me it conflicts with an existing G3NYY/P log !
I’ve already spent more than enough time on this.
73,
Walt (G3NYY)
In reply to G3NYY:
I can’t get into that either. It tells me it conflicts with an
existing G3NYY/P log !
You’ve probably got the dates set to from forever to forever
Andrew
In reply to M6LEP:
It’s getting a bit like Pokemon; too many places. There’s no way
anyone’s going to cover them all…
I bet that comment is lost on 90% of us on here.
Got to get 'em all!
Steve GW7AAV
