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.

Upload sitting still pending / awards lagging? POTA upload & batch windows — batch-window expectations (~03Z–11Z community report), keep the ADIF, retry / helpdesk without rebuilding ingest.

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.

6. Paper QSL cards and the bureau

POTA, SOTA and WWFF never need a QSL card. They judge your uploaded log. Paper cards matter for DX awards, for entities that don't use LoTW, and because many hams like collecting them. Fees and procedures below were checked as of Oct 2026. getontheair.app is independent and not affiliated with ARRL or Club Log.

When LoTW is enough. ARRL awards such as DXCC, WAS, VUCC and Triple Play accept LoTW confirmations. If the other station uploads to LoTW, you don't need their card for those awards. See the Awards ladder for which award takes which confirmation.

Sending: the ARRL Outgoing QSL Service

The ARRL Outgoing QSL Service ships members' DX cards to foreign bureaus. It's for ARRL members, and you include proof of membership. Fees as of Oct 2026:

• Pay by check or money order to "The ARRL Outgoing QSL Service," with your call sign on the check. No postage stamps or IRCs. The bureau doesn't keep money on account.
• Sort cards alphabetically by country prefix. Don't separate them with clips, rubber bands or slips.
• The ARRL page cites IARU Region 2's suggested card size of 3.5 by 5.5 inches. Very large, very small or flimsy cards slow down the volunteers.
• Some countries have no bureau. ARRL lists them on the same page.
• Send only DX cards. Never send US-to-US cards through the bureau system.

Receiving: your call-area incoming bureau

DX cards for you arrive at the incoming QSL bureau for your call area, run by volunteers.

• Keep 5 by 7.5 inch or 6 by 9 inch self-addressed stamped envelopes (SASEs), or a money credit, on file. Print your call sign in the upper left corner.
• Some bureaus take money credits only, no SASEs. As of Oct 2026, ARRL lists the W1 and W2 bureaus that way. Check yours first.
• Operating portable doesn't change your bureau. NU0X/1 still uses the W0 bureau.
• Tell the bureau when you change your call sign or address.
• Be patient. ARRL notes that many cards from overseas bureaus are more than a year old when they arrive.

Your own cards

• Put on the card: your call sign, the other station's call sign, date and time in UTC, band or frequency, mode, signal report, and "TNX QSO" or "PSE QSL."
• For POTA, add your park reference. Hunters like it, but it isn't required for any award.
• If you don't send paper cards, say so on your QRZ page.

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

Which awards to chase once the files flow (WAC, WAS, America250 WAS through Dec 31, 2026, Triple Play, VUCC, DXCC, grids, counties): Awards ladder.

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.
• Paper QSL: check LoTW first, then OQRS, direct or bureau. Bureau SASEs or money credit on file.