Conformity

Typically, I am a non-conformist. Many societal norms irritate the hell out of me. I don’t go to funerals, I don’t really go to weddings unless the couple is extremely close to me. I don’t like parties. I am introverted. Normal social situations put me in an awkward situation. I get it. I know the routine.

In amateur radio, especially the modern era, there are some things that we all need to conform to, such as confirming QSOs. I get that a lot of younger hams don’t want to do paper cards. I am also 100% paperless. But with the ARRL’s Log Book of the World (LoTW) or at the very least, QRZ.com’s log book, it’s extremely easy to send confirmations to other hams and for other hams to receive said confirmations. Confirming calls is a thing and it’s a thing that most hams look for. There’s different reasons. Particularly for me is that I want to confirm I’ve had a conversation with someone in a particular country, that’s really why I am in this hobby, DX. Also, it would be nice to Work-All-States on each HF band (WAS) and getting the confirmation from those stations is key to getting WAS.

There are remote DX stations that absolutely refuse to electronically log. One station in particular doesn’t do it, simply because it “doesn’t interest them”. Ok, fine. It doesn’t interest them and normally, that should be reason enough. Except it isn’t.

We’re a community. If I participate in Field Day with my local club, I am going to carry my own weight and bring something to the table. If I work DX on phone, I am going to conform to the DX Code of Conduct, because that’s what the community in general expects of the participants. If I participate in the ARRL’s DX International Phone contest, be it all-in or just dabbling with a few contacts, I am going to submit my log for others to checklog against. If a DXer is working a split, I too will work that split (or go unheard).

Folks should be logging through one of the easy to do methods online. QRZ, while it won’t give out DXCC credits through LoTW unless you setup TQSL, create your key and import it into QRZ, is one form of electronic logging that will give others a confirmation of a QSO. Not perfect, but it’s better than nothing.

I also understand that LoTW can be confusing on how to get it setup and working, especially TQSL. There’s a variety of how-to’s available, including YouTube videos explaining it step-by-step.

Please, consider switching to an electronic logging method, utilizing QRZ and/or LoTW and get those confirmations out there to vast majority of ham radio operators that already log electronically. And FYI, it’s the majority of stations logging electronically. I have above a 75% confirmation rate on QRZ, most of which also confirm via LoTW.