[Dx4win] LOTW Submission Problems

[Dave Perry]

I for one agree with Dick.  DX4WIN should allow the user to submit both via Lotw and via a field checker or ARRL HQ without having to delete the Lotw submissions in Excel.  Over the past year I have submitted over 350 via Lotw and almost 1,000 via cards -- some to HQ and most via a local card checker.  It has been very time consuming to export and then delete the Lotw submissions.  DX4WIN should do the following:

1.    Allow the user to specify what type of submission he would like to make:  1). Lotw only, 2). Cards only, or 3). Both.  It should also ask the user what to do in the case of a DXCC credit that is confirmed both by card and Lotw.  I would normally like to always submit via Lotw, but there may be times when I am making a card only submission and decide to include the card.  Making this decision a user choice would cover all of the bases.

2.    Allow the user to specify if he is sending cards to ARRL HQ or to a field checker.  If a field checker, then the program should only include QSOs that meet the 10 year rule and no 160 meter credits since those have to be sent to the HQ.

(A selection box needs to come up when the user selects Reports/DXCC/Submission to allow the user to make these selections before the report is run.)

3.    Depending on the selections above, the program should print a preliminary DXCC Record that only includes the card submissions as the ARRL requires -- not the Lotw submissions.  It would be nice to have a second Lotw Selection report also produced listing the Lotw submissions (if one is doing a combined submission).  But this report would only be used for reference and cross-checking with the online Lotw submission listing.

4.    The user should then be able to review the preliminary DXCC Record and do the following:

        a.  Place a check mark indicating that the card is present  (I always seem to have several that I cannot locate at the moment)

        b.  Indicate any cards that contain multiple QSOs for DXCC credit

This preliminary DXCC record can be saved until finalized.  This allows the user to continue to look for cards for several days if necessary.

5.    The program should then allow the user to generate a final DXCC Record that deletes any entries that are not marked as present and that moves all of the multiple card DXCC credits to the bottom as the ARRL requires.

Having both the final DXCC record and the Lotw submission record in hand (in the case of a combined submission) would make it an easy task actually completing the online submission via Lotw.  The user would know the exact number of cards credits that are being sent to HQ or a card checker and would be able to compare the online Lotw submissions with the printed report from DX4WIN.  The program should also auto-complete the DXCC Award Application that is also required when card credits are involved.  All of the above is actually already implemented and available within DXBase.  I prefer DX4WIN in every other respect, and I think DX4WIN could do an even better job of making the submission process as efficient and painless as possible.

Before all you honor roll guys blast me for suggesting something that isn't needed, you need to remember that many of us still have to make very large submissions.  I just made a combined submission two days ago with 3 Lotw credits and 182 card credits that I took to my local card checker.  I had to delete about 10 card credits that were prior to 1995 as well.  I did all of this in Excel, but it would be so easy for DX4WIN to implement the simple process as described above.  From my point of view, this is the only major weakness of DX4WIN.  I love DX4WIN except for the lack of this one major function.

I might add that DX4WIN should also automatically enforce the date rules for CW credits.  I still have a number of CW QSOs prior to 1975 that I have to list as RTTY so that DX4WIN will not try to submit for a mode credit every time I try to do a submission.  I cannot mark them as invalid for DXCC because they were used for DXCC mixed credit.  It would be so easy to implement the CW date rules -- DXBase already does this as well.

Okay, blast away.  Tell me I am nuts, off my rocker, etc.  Let me have it!   I know that most of you guys are already honor roll everything and 3,000 on the Challenge.  So you never send in more than a handful of cards -- and never get anything confirmed via Lotw -- so you ask "why all the fuss."  Well, I have only 300 confirmed mixed and CW and only about 1150 confirmed toward the Challenge.  As I result, I get lots of countries still confirmed via Lotw and I make big submissions -- 200 to 300 cards at a time -- so I need the power of DX4WIN to help me do that!  Is that an unreasonable request?

Okay, fire away!  The last time I suggested something, I really got flamed!

Dave,

N4QS


Dave Perry, N4QS
3600 Savoy Circle
Paducah, KY  42001
USA