ARRL’s Logbook of The World® (LoTW®) is the 2nd most popular benefit among members. It is also an extremely popular service internationally for non-members, as it is the primary means for providing confirmations for ARRL Awards, such as DXCC and Worked All States.

As a part of the ongoing modernization of the ARRL systems infrastructure, LoTW will be receiving major upgrades to the operating system it is running on, the relational database system it uses to store and access logbook and awards data, and server hosting, where it will be fully migrated to the cloud. These changes will, among other improvements, ensure LoTW performance needs can be better met based on user demand.

LoTW will be unavailable from June 27 to July 2, 2025, to complete these upgrades. We will bring LoTW back online if it is available sooner than July 2.

Logbook of The World can be found at lotw.arrl.org. More information about the popular service is available at www.arrl.org/logbook-of-the-world.

If you are a user of LoTW and not an ARRL member, please become a supporter of LoTW by making a $20 (or more) donation to the ARRL LoTW Fund or visit www.arrl.org/donate.

Very 73, and see you on the air!

David A. Minster, NA2AA
ARRL CEO

About Logbook of The World®

Logbook of The World® — LoTW® — is a web-accessed database and repository that enables you to submit electronic logs for amateur radio contacts (QSOs) and for confirmation (QSLs). Users can view submitted QSOs and resulting QSLs online. Radio amateurs can use LoTW to track their progress toward achievements and awards, such as The ARRL Worked All States Award, and amateur radio’s premier award, DXCC®, in which membership is achieved by confirming on-the-air contacts with 100 countries. LoTW was introduced by ARRL in 2003. Today, over 2.1 billion QSO records have been entered into the system.

On July 1, 2024, ARRL announced the return of the Logbook of The World QSO verification service in their ARRL System Services Disruption bulletin.

Effective 12:00pm ET / 16:00 UTC we will be returning Logbook of The World® (LoTW®) to service.

As work progressed on the network, some users encountered LoTW opening briefly during which some 6600 logs were uploaded. The logs were not processed until this weekend as we tested that the interfaces to LoTW were functioning properly.

We are taking steps to help manage what will likely be a huge influx of logs. We are requesting that if you have large uploads, perhaps from contests or from a DXpedition, please wait a week or two before uploading to give LoTW a chance to catch up. We have also implemented a process to reject logs with excessive duplicates. Please do not upload your entire log to ensure your contacts are in LoTW as they will be rejected. Lastly, please do not call ARRL Headquarters to report issues you are having with LoTW. You can contact support at LoTW-help@arrl.org.

Through the end of the year, you may experience planned times when LoTW will be unavailable. We have been using this time to evaluate operational and infrastructure improvements we would like to make to LoTW. Those times will be announced.

We appreciate your patience as we worked through the challenges keeping LoTW from returning to service. We know the importance of LoTW to our members, and to the tens of thousands of LoTW users who are not ARRL members. LoTW, just behind QST, is our second most popular ARRL benefit.¹

ARRL and CQ magazine have announced the launch, effective immediately, of Logbook of The World (LoTW) support for CQ’s Worked All Zones (WAZ) Award program. The goal of the project, under way since last year, has been to create the proper technical support system to enable radio amateurs to submit LoTW confirmations for WAZ credit, and that has been accomplished, CQ and ARRL said in a joint statement. LoTW already supports CQ’s WPX Award program.

“We are very pleased that participants in CQ’s WAZ award program will now be able to use their LoTW confirmations for award credit,” CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, said.“CQ WPX Award participants have found it very helpful, and we are sure it will be equally helpful for those pursuing WAZ and its many variations.” ¹

2018 brings a new year-long operating event for all Amateur Radio Operators regardless of location or license class: The ARRL International Grid Chase.

Announcing: The ARRL International Grid Chase! https://t.co/JxGGnCsXmh #ARRL #HamRadio pic.twitter.com/E1TQBEq8OX

— ARRL (@arrl) November 10, 2017

About the Chase

The objective of the ARRL International Grid Chase is simple: Work stations in as many grid squares as possible and upload your log data to ARRL’s Logbook of The World. If you are not currently registered with Logbook of The World, this is a good reason to get started. Go to https://lotw.arrl.org/lotw-help/getting-started/. Registration and uploading are free.

Every new grid square contact confirmed through Logbook of The World counts toward your monthly total, so you have an incentive to start the chase as soon as you ring in the New Year. [ 1 ]

Please visit the ARRL International Grid Chase 2018 page to learn about

• How the scoring will work
• Determining your grid square
• Tips for the chase
• 2018 International Grid Chase Rules

630 and 2200 Meter bands may be used

ARRL Contest Branch Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, has clarified that the new 630- and 2200-meter bands will be fair territory in the ARRL International Grid Chase.

US radio amateurs are advised, however, that the use of 630 and 2200 meters requires advance notification to the Utilities Technology Council (UTC), formerly the Utilities Telecom Council, of their intention to operate on one or both bands. If UTC does not respond within 30 days or specifically denies access, these stations may commence operation there. [ 2 ]

Please see the November 16, 2017, ARRL Letter for a review of important technical notes concerning operation in the 630 and 2200 Meter bands.

References

[ 1 ] “http://www.arrl.org/international-grid-chase-2018", ARRL The national association for Amateur Radio, retrieved December 19 2017, http://www.arrl.org/aigc2018.

[ 2 ] “The ARRL Letter”, ARRL The national association for Amateur Radio, retrieved December 19 2017, http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter?issue=2017-11-16#toc02.

Participants in CQ magazine’s Worked All Zone (WAZ) award program will soon be able to use the Logbook of the World (LoTW) system of ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio, to apply for the WAZ award and its endorsements, both ARRL and CQ announced on December 14.

Amateur Radio operators will be able to use LoTW logs to generate lists of confirmed contacts to be submitted for WAZ credit. Standard LoTW credit fees and separate CQ award fees will apply. [ 1 ]

About CQ WAZ

“Worked All Zones is the second-oldest active Amateur Radio award program, behind the International Amateur Radio Union’s Worked All Continents (WAC) award.” [ 2 ]

The CQ Worked All Zones (WAZ) Award and its variations are issued to any licensed amateur station presenting proof of contact with the appropriate number of CQ zones of the world. It is sponsored by CQ magazine. [ 3 ]

References

[ 1, 2 ] “Logbook of the World to Add Support for CQ WAZ Award”, ARRL The national association for Amateur Radio, last modified December 14 2017, http://www.arrl.org/news/logbook-of-the-world-to-add-support-for-cq-waz-award.

[ 3 ] “CQ WAZ Awards – Official Rules”, CQ Amateur Radio, Retrieved December 18 2017, http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/cq_awards/cq_waz_awards/index_cq_waz_award.html.