Award platform sync: POTA, SOTA, QRZ, LoTW, eQSL

Loggers are not award systems. Polo and AC Log export. The program sites judge. If the file is messy, run it through ADIF Doctor before any of those sites — 2-fers, missing MY_SIG_INFO, and POTA-vs-Full mixups are the usual blood.

Polo (field)                          AC Log (shack)
  POTA .adi  ----------------------+
  SOTA .adi  ------------------+   |
  WWFF .adi  --------------+   |   |
  Full .adi  -- import --> AC Log --+--> TQSL / QRZ / Recap
                           |       |
                           |       +--> pota.app (if Other tags are correct)
                           v
                    national WWFF mgr, sotadata

HAMRS is not part of this pipeline. If a file is ADIF, the destinations below still apply.

1. Parks on the Air — pota.app

• My Log Uploads (under your callsign menu). Activators self-upload. Do not email an area coordinator as the normal path. If a file must be replaced, use Request Help / helpdesk on that page.
• Hunters do not upload. Hunter stats come from activator logs.
• Filename hunters and you will recognize later: CALLSIGN@PARK-YYYYMMDD.adi

Example: KB3CMT@US-1356-20260831.adi — US-####, not old K- numbers.

• Polo: use the POTA export. One file per park on a 2-fer. Do not upload Full (private lookup data).
• AC Log: Other titles must be ADIF tags (MY_SIG_INFO, etc.). See N3FJP.
• Rules live on docs.pota.app. 10 QSOs in the UTC day, no terrestrial repeaters, inside the unit (confirm trail AZ on that site).
• Spots are pota.app, not pota.us. Community hangout is Discord + Facebook — see the social list on docs.pota.app. Do not chase a dead Slack.

2. Summits on the Air — sotadata.org.uk

• Upload Log. CSV or ADIF. Activator summit (MY_SOTA_REF / the SOTA template) must be the one you stood on.
• Polo: SOTA export.
• Power and vehicle rules are stricter than POTA. See program comparison.

3. WWFF — wwff.co

• Email .adi to the national log manager. US is not “upload to POTA and hope.”
• Polo WWFF export exists for this. 44 QSOs is a different sport; they may accumulate. Confirm your branch.

4. LoTW — lotw.arrl.org

1. TQSL installed, Call Sign Certificate current.
2. Station Location whose grid matches this sitting, not the basement. A park 200 km away is a new Location (or a portable you already built). State and county on that Location matter if you (or hunters) chase WAS.
3. Load the ADIF that has MY_GRIDSQUARE — Polo Full, or AC Log export after Setup grid is right.
4. Sign → upload.

Station Location vs the log (rovers and park ops). LoTW used to want a new Location for every grid. That still works: build KB3CMT US-1356 FN00aa and pick it when you sign. Newer TQSL can override the Location from ADIF fields (MY_GRIDSQUARE, MY_STATE, MY_CNTY, zones) if you enable Override Station Location with QTH details from your log in Log Handling preferences. That is a rover gift and a foot-gun: if Polo Full has the wrong grid, LoTW will believe it. Doctor’s LoTW split-by-grid export exists so you can still sign one file per pin the old way. Confirm current TQSL wording on lotw.arrl.org help.

If TQSL complains that the reported grid does not match the Location, believe it. Either pick the Location that matches this sitting, enable override and verify MY_GRIDSQUARE, or split the ADIF. Do not “ignore and continue” as a habit — WAS and VUCC hunters will inherit your basement.

LoTW does not care about MY_SIG_INFO. POTA does not care about your LoTW DXCC. Run both.

5. QRZ Logbook / eQSL

Import ADIF for the online book and hunter confirms. Not a substitute for POTA/SOTA. Do not upload Polo Full to a public mailbox if it still has names and addresses — that file was for you. If you do not send paper QSL, say so on the QRZ profile.

Recap Cards

Recap reads MY_GRIDSQUARE and GRIDSQUARE. Empty map = privacy-stripped POTA file, or a logger that never stored grids. Recap does not submit awards.

Close-out order: ADIF Doctor (merge WSJT + phone, explode 2-fers, stamp parks) → Full ADIF → Recap (“Open Recap with Full”). Do not point Recap at the POTA pack.

Test import: sample-pota-qso.adi

Habits / gotchas / checklist (awards)

• POTA: My Log Uploads on pota.app. Activator only. Filename CALL@US-####-YYYYMMDD.adi. Not email, not pota.us, not K-xxxx.
• SOTA: sotadata, MY_SOTA_REF, vehicle/power rules still true.
• WWFF: email the national / call-area manager (US: wwff.us/logs). 44 may accumulate. Hunters do not upload.
• LoTW: Location = this grid, or TQSL override from a Full ADIF you actually checked. State/county if you chase WAS.
• QRZ/eQSL: do not mail Polo Full (names/addresses) to a public inbox.
• Recap from Full after Doctor. Empty map = privacy-stripped POTA file.