View Full Version : so ... i just unfavorably compared the LOTW signup to a colonoscopy
n6hcm
09-30-2014, 12:58 AM
am i wrong? for late 2014 the process seems ... arcane, user-unfriendly, overkill for the purpose at hand, ...
KC2UGV
09-30-2014, 06:44 AM
am i wrong? for late 2014 the process seems ... arcane, user-unfriendly, overkill for the purpose at hand, ...
Where did you do that?
I ask, because most forums where I've pointed out the needless complexity of the system, I get non-thought replies such as:
* It keeps them secure!
* You can't fake a QSO!
* It's the bestest evAR!!ENELVTYONE!
Sadly, most of the die-hards are unable to comprehend the basic principles of "security", and therefore, they are not able to see why the complex process to getting started is pointless, and un-needed. Some hams thinks QSO records are on par with bank transactions.
PA5COR
09-30-2014, 07:11 AM
I'm old skool
I make qso, you send card I send one back.
Done.
am i wrong? for late 2014 the process seems ... arcane, user-unfriendly, overkill for the purpose at hand, ...
You are not wrong, overkill it is. After all, we're just talking ham radio here.
And, besides, my colonoscopy was a lot easier. All I had to do was have an IV inserted, then lapse into unconsciousness until it was over.
kd6nig
09-30-2014, 10:25 AM
I'm old skool
I make qso, you send card I send one back.
Done.
Doing this honestly is about all the mailing I do nowadays. Except for the occasional birthday or anniversary card to family. I think I bought 20 stamps around the beginning of the year and I still have 5 left.
All of my bills except my rent are online now, and they don't even send out paper bills anymore in the name of being green. I only check my PO Box once a week nowadays, never much in it besides the weekly coupons and ads. And I walk my rent in because my property management isn't even a mile from the post office.
If it wasn't for those, the US Postal Service would probably...well, I doubt my 15 pieces of mail has made a difference :)
You are not wrong, overkill it is. After all, we're just talking ham radio here.
And, besides, my colonoscopy was a lot easier. All I had to do was have an IV inserted, then lapse into unconsciousness until it was over.
The procedure is cake. The prep, on the other hand...
The procedure is cake. The prep, on the other hand...
Yeah, good point. Drinking that gallon of polyethylene glycol laxative (and dealing with the results) was not the high point of my day.
Yeah, good point. Drinking that gallon of polyethylene glycol laxative (and dealing with the results) was not the high point of my day.
Especially since we all know just how full of shit you are. :neener: :rofl:
Especially since we all know just how full of shit you are. :neener: :rofl:
Not after I was done, I wasn't. Even my wife said so, "for a change."
N2ADV
09-30-2014, 08:13 PM
Needlessly "secure" for what it is. If someone really needs to "cheat" to get some kind of certificate he/she did not actually earn, they have problems that can only be solved by someone with a degree in that sort of psychology...
n6hcm
10-01-2014, 04:03 AM
Where did you do that?
on G+. i haven't looked back for replies since. pretty sure the butthurt has piled up.
am i wrong? for late 2014 the process seems ... arcane, user-unfriendly, overkill for the purpose at hand, ...
Interesting and timely post; I just received my postcard from the ARRL with my cryto-verification and I went online to the site and entered the code. Now, I wait for the "Certificate" and use the same computer (not this one) to enter the certificate into the program to unlock and vet my operation on their system.
Last night, my neighbor KD8TQY sent me a text message asking the same question.
.
Needlessly "secure" for what it is. If someone really needs to "cheat" to get some kind of certificate he/she did not actually earn, they have problems that can only be solved by someone with a degree in that sort of psychology...Probably, but it is what it is. After what, 15 years, what point is there in complaining about it?
What's sad is that things that really should be that secure, like our credit, banking, and finance records, aren't. The real issue there isn't that LotW is overly secure -- it's that the things that ought to be, ain't.
KG4NEL
10-01-2014, 10:30 AM
I'm old skool
I make qso, you send card I send one back.
Done.
This. I think it's one of the least-changed physical acts we have left of early 20th-century ham radio, and having a 3-ring binder full of cards to look at is a lot more rewarding as a history of one's participation in a hobby than an email that some guy in Waka Waka confirmed my 599.
I don't chase awards seriously enough to worry about populating a database.
KG4NEL
10-01-2014, 10:30 AM
There are hams on Google Plus? Who gnu?
KC2UGV
10-01-2014, 12:15 PM
Probably, but it is what it is. After what, 15 years, what point is there in complaining about it?
What's sad is that things that really should be that secure, like our credit, banking, and finance records, aren't. The real issue there isn't that LotW is overly secure -- it's that the things that ought to be, ain't.
They are that secure. They're just user-friendly, unlike LoTW. In fact, your banks are much more secure than LoTW.
Obscurity =/= security.
kd6nig
10-01-2014, 01:03 PM
Interesting and timely post; I just received my postcard from the ARRL with my cryto-verification and I went online to the site and entered the code. Now, I wait for the "Certificate" and use the same computer (not this one) to enter the certificate into the program to unlock and vet my operation on their system.
Last night, my neighbor KD8TQY sent me a text message asking the same question.
.
Check your email. I think it only took about 10 minutes to get my certificate via email once I submitted it.
wa6mhz
10-01-2014, 01:09 PM
Wish U could put in a plug after the test, but unfortunately, the Colonoscopy is NOT the end of the shit stream. I was on the POOT POOT seat for days after that.
NEVER AGAIN!!! I VOWED!!!
Wish U could put in a plug after the test, but unfortunately, the Colonoscopy is NOT the end of the shit stream. I was on the POOT POOT seat for days after that.
NEVER AGAIN!!! I VOWED!!!
That simply means you're more full of shit than Da Pope. As if any of us didn't know that already.....
That simply means you're more full of shit than Da Pope. As if any of us didn't know that already.....
I take offense at that. Nobody is as full of shit as me...
K7SGJ
10-01-2014, 07:19 PM
I take offense at that. Nobody is as full of shit as me...
Huh. It's been over four and a half hours, and no one, not a single soul, nada, zip, zero people have disputed the fine print. Go figure.......
Huh. It's been over four and a half hours, and no one, not a single sole, nada, zip, zero people have disputed the fine print. Go figure.......
Some things just cannot be disputed. That we like it better when the Godfather is in Minnesota, for instance.
K7SGJ
10-01-2014, 08:54 PM
Some things just cannot be disputed. That we like it better when the Godfather is in Minnesota, for instance.
Without question.
KF4ZGZ
10-02-2014, 07:47 AM
The constant trouble it is to use isn't worth it.
Then I changed computers ...... bye bye lotw.
Matt
The constant trouble it is to use isn't worth it.
Then I changed computers ...... bye bye lotw.
MattReally?
1. Extract current QSO's from my log
2. Convert dBase DBF file to ADIF
3. Copy over the house network from the shack computer to my work computer
4. Run TQSL 2.0 to encrypt and automatically upload
A couple of minutes, tops, twice a month (plus after major contests).
And if someone is using a program that integrates the ADIF functionality, or even the ability to automatically encrypt & upload to LotW (ACLog for one, which a friend uses), it's mere keystrokes.
Sorry Matt. Not buying it.
KF4ZGZ
10-06-2014, 06:51 PM
So .....
K7SGJ
10-06-2014, 07:00 PM
Buttons
W5BRM
10-06-2014, 08:09 PM
I find LOTW easy to use. Once you get it set up, only extra thing you have to do to upload is enter your PW into whatever software you are using. Thats all. Folks just aren't willing to put in the patience to wait a little bit for ARRL to send info manually. It's all just the "instant gratification I WANT IT NOW" attitude that drives most of the dislike. There is a degree of technical knowhow you gotta have but hey, we're hams! right? just my $0.02
I find LOTW easy to use. Once you get it set up, only extra thing you have to do to upload is enter your PW into whatever software you are using.
^^^
This!
I currently use HRD (and have been for several years) and after I finish a QSO and it is in the log, all I have to do is highlight that entry and and select the option to upload it to LoTW. Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy! Unless I am in a contest, I upload each contact immediately after it is made so my backlog is Ø, I don't understand why people say that they upload to LoTW once a month or something like that.
And you don't have to shell out a Benjie for software that automates (as much as possible) the process of uploading to LoTW. The is still the free version of HRD out there (but not supported by HRDSoftware, LLC) and other programs like DXLabs.
I have a handful of WAS and DXCC certificates all earned through LoTW. So what's the problem?
wa6mhz
10-07-2014, 08:39 AM
I have to transcribe ALL my contacts into XML LOGGER since I only PAPER LOG. I do have N1MM LOGGER for special contests, but other wise I want all contacts preserved on Paper. So today I hafta spend a couple hours typing all the data into the program and then converting the file into a LOTW compatible file, and then uploading it. I worked a whole page full of Centennial contacts last night. 4 guys on Facebook wanted my 100pts per band and mode, so we started out on 15, went to 17 and then 20M, doing SSB/CW and RTTY! LOT TO TRANSCRIBE!
KG4NEL
10-07-2014, 09:07 AM
I have to transcribe ALL my contacts into XML LOGGER since I only PAPER LOG. I do have N1MM LOGGER for special contests, but other wise I want all contacts preserved on Paper. So today I hafta spend a couple hours typing all the data into the program and then converting the file into a LOTW compatible file, and then uploading it. I worked a whole page full of Centennial contacts last night. 4 guys on Facebook wanted my 100pts per band and mode, so we started out on 15, went to 17 and then 20M, doing SSB/CW and RTTY! LOT TO TRANSCRIBE!
I wouldn't wish paper logging on my enemies...
wa6mhz
10-07-2014, 02:17 PM
I still have all my logs from my first contact in 1968! Very well maintained and guarded. If I do put a contact in a computer, I will transcribe it to paper. Computer hard drives die to easily! I remember one Field Day where they worked hard all Saturday afternoon logging contacts on a computer. When they went to save the file COMPUTER ERROR!!! ALL CONTACTS LOST!!!
kd6nig
10-07-2014, 02:20 PM
I still have all my logs from my first contact in 1968! Very well maintained and guarded. If I do put a contact in a computer, I will transcribe it to paper. Computer hard drives die to easily! I remember one Field Day where they worked hard all Saturday afternoon logging contacts on a computer. When they went to save the file COMPUTER ERROR!!! ALL CONTACTS LOST!!!
I have N1MM+, but have the data directory set to a folder in Dropbox.
Every time I add a contact, its saved locally and on there.
Never know when something will go, for sure. I heard a group of guys talking on a repeater on Friday who had laptops networked for logging, and I guess the program they were using would save a copy on each networked computer as well. Sounded smart.
KG4NEL
10-12-2014, 06:44 PM
I still have all my logs from my first contact in 1968! Very well maintained and guarded. If I do put a contact in a computer, I will transcribe it to paper. Computer hard drives die to easily! I remember one Field Day where they worked hard all Saturday afternoon logging contacts on a computer. When they went to save the file COMPUTER ERROR!!! ALL CONTACTS LOST!!!
With the price of flash memory falling more than the NFL's public opinion ratings, there's really no excuse not to back everything up that's digital. DB is a good idea too, but call me a Luddite for preferring a physical copy that I control, preferably off-site somewhere :)
Even old-fashioned platter drives are dirt cheap.
I am a paper log/paper card kind of guy, myself. I think i just like the old school feel of that. I am never trying to make a big, nostalgic "bah humbug!" point about some good old days or anything (i believe every day is a potential 'good old day'), i just enjoy keeping paper logs and getting postcards in the mail. Its fun, thats all. :)
I did try the Tqsl key, etc, etc...but i always seem to let my membership at the league lapse because i simply dont care enough to keep it. I do, however, want to back up 30 years of logs to a program, then transfer them to an external drive, but the problem is manually entering....30 years worth of qso's! I suppose LOTW is a great idea, but i also ran into difficulty when trying to get it started. I know its easy for most savvy folks, but i am more internet savvy than tech savvy when it comes to computers.
...but i am more internet savvy than tech savvy when it comes to computers.
Porn doesn't count!
Porn doesn't count!
Says who??
Porn doesn't count!
It most certainly does! :lol:
Well, at the urging of a friend, I downloaded a new LoTW certificate from the web site and submitted my log file--right at the very moment that the ARRL was having a DoS attack on the LoTW server. Just my luck, eh? I did finally get it to upload and I have to admit is wasn't as big a PITA as I remembered it being the last time. So, I guess I'll upload my logs from time to time. Not that anyone really cares about having proof of Yet Another Six-Land QSO.
KG4NEL
10-20-2014, 09:46 PM
ARRL's Facebook feed has lately been more of "This Is What's Broke At Newington".
K7SGJ
10-20-2014, 10:01 PM
Well, at the urging of a friend, I downloaded a new LoTW certificate from the web site and submitted my log file--right at the very moment that the ARRL was having a DoS attack on the LoTW server. Just my luck, eh? I did finally get it to upload and I have to admit is wasn't as big a PITA as I remembered it being the last time. So, I guess I'll upload my logs from time to time. Not that anyone really cares about having proof of Yet Another Six-Land QSO.
But......but......but....I do. I treasure all the QSOs you and I have had. Just think, only one more and we'll have.........two.
ARRL's Facebook feed has lately been more of "This Is What's Broke At Newington".
You mean it's not all kiss ass and genuflecting?
http://mustbethistalltoride.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/inconceivable.jpg
But......but......but....I do. I treasure all the QSOs you and I have had. Just think, only one more and we'll have.........two.
Why haven't we had more? After all, we could practically stand on our respective roofs and work each other with 2m HTs.
KA9MOT
10-21-2014, 12:12 PM
And, besides, my colonoscopy was a lot easier. All I had to do was have an IV inserted, then lapse into unconsciousness until it was over.
Mine too! I was violated and didn't even know it!
K7SGJ
10-21-2014, 09:43 PM
Why haven't we had more? After all, we could practically stand on our respective roofs and work each other with 2m HTs.
I don't know. I guess I need to throw something together while the den/radio room/electronic repair shop/clock shop/sewing room is in progress. I kind of had to put that room on hold mid tear down, and do the laundry room (almost done) and master bath. (a clusterfuck in progress) I had taken the radio gear apart but maybe I'll put up one of the HF rigs for some SSB, with a laptop for Digital, and for Adam, a wee bit of CW.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.