N3FJP AC Log — complete how-to

Amateur Contact Log (AC Log) is the laptop / shack logger this guide assumes. Use it in a vehicle, a pavilion, or at home after Polo. It is awkward on a summit. It is excellent at CAT, dupe checks, LoTW, and a keyboard.

Buy / download: n3fjp.com Official POTA FAQ (four steps + POTAConfig.efl): n3fjp.com/faq.html — search “POTA” POTA’s own AC Log write-up (W0ZAP): docs.pota.app — Logging with N3FJP Layout discussion (.efl path): N3FJPSoftwareUsers groups.io

Watch:

• N3NWV: configure AC Log for POTA — the video N3FJP’s FAQ embeds for the layout
• N3FJP FAQ four-step demo clip
• Getting Started With Parks on the Air (N3NWV) — program, not AC Log
• N3FJP YouTube playlist

N3FJP’s own FAQ screenshots stay on n3fjp.com/faq.html (not an open license). We update from that FAQ’s current steps and shortcut list (retrieved 2026-08-31), not from the old ACLogGuide10.pdf — several Ctrl keys in that PDF are stale (Ctrl+E is Band Map now, not Edit Fields; Ctrl+O opens the in-app shortcut list).

What “Other fields” actually are

AC Log’s built-in columns are Call, Date, Time, Band, Mode, RST, Grid, State, and so on. Parks are not built-in.

Scott’s trick: Settings → Other Field Titles and Fill Behavior. The title you type is the ADIF tag. If you title Other2 MY_SIG_INFO, every export/import of that column is <MY_SIG_INFO:n>.

If you title it Park or My Park, POTA will not see a park. The award robots do not speak English labels.

Download: n3fjp-other-fields.txt

Four-step official POTA setup (N3FJP FAQ)

Do this once at home. Then save the layout.

1. Name the Other fields

Settings → Other Field Titles and Fill Behavior

Minimum (N3FJP FAQ / two-field):

Recommended (matches the POTA docs four-field idea; better P2P):

Fill = Previous record means the next QSO inherits your park. That is the whole point. Do not set Previous on SIG_INFO or every hunter inherits the last P2P park.

AC Log 7.0.10+: on the same Other-fields form, force uppercase on the park fields so us-1356 cannot sneak into an upload.

Settings → Setup: operator callsign, and this sitting’s grid (MY_GRIDSQUARE).

2-fer you are activating: put both parks in MY_SIG_INFO or MY_POTA_REF as a comma list if your AC Log version emits MY_POTA_REF. Confirm a test QSO export before the real activation.

Printable cheat sheet: n3fjp-other-fields.txt

Optional extra slots if you still have Other fields free: MY_POTA_REF / POTA_REF (ADIF 3.1.5+ list form, comma 2-fers). Confirm a test export before you trust them — not every AC Log vintage emits the new tags.

2. Load or build the screen layout

AC Log 7.0.4+ ships POTAConfig.efl.

1. Save your current layout first (you will cry otherwise).
2. Settings → Edit Fields Displayed, Position and Tab Order
3. Load a Saved Configuration → POTAConfig.efl

AC Log 7.0.4+ already has the file. Older: download from N3FJP (right-click save): n3fjp.com/downloads/POTAConfig.efl Default folder (Windows): C:\Users\<you>\Documents\Affirmatech\N3FJP Software\ACLog File → Show File Locations if that path moved. The stock file assumes 1920×1080; other resolutions need dragging afterward.

1. Make Grid Square visible (hunter). Make sure Time On is in the tab order.
2. UNCHECK Enable Repositioning All Fields on Main Form before you leave.

The POTA docs shout this for a reason. Leave it on and one drag wrecks the layout.

We do not redistribute N3FJP’s .efl. Load theirs. Our recipe of which fields to show is n3fjp-pota-layout-recipe.txt.

If AC Log asks about POTA defaults when loading a layout: No if you already named Other fields yourself (Yes can overwrite Other1/Other2 titles).

3. Fill Fields When Tabbing from Call

Settings → Fill Fields When Tabbing from Call — on.

You type the call, hit Tab, AC Log fills name/state/grid from the callbook (if lookup is on). That is how GRIDSQUARE gets into the shack log without typing it.

Lookup needs data. Settings → CallBook: QRZ XML or whatever you pay for. In a dead zone, turn lookup off so tabbing is instant; grids can be filled later with Edit → Fill Fields Determined by Call.

4. Date / time / dupe

• Settings → Date Options: date repeats from previous contact (you are not changing days mid-pileup).
• Time On: tab onto it so UTC stamps now, or let CAT/clock do it — pick one habit.
• Dupe checking on. Same call, same band, same mode, same activation = not a second POTA QSO.

Tab order that actually works in a pileup

A proven POTA order (W0ZAP / field practice):

1. Call
2. Time On (Tab stamps UTC)
3. RST Sent
4. RST Rcvd
5. SIG_INFO (only if they are P2P — otherwise skip)
6. Log Contact (button or keyboard equivalent)

With Previous-record on MY_SIG / MY_SIG_INFO, you never retype your park. Frequency/mode come from CAT.

Printable: n3fjp-keyboard-shortcuts.txt

Current FAQ keys that matter in a POTA truck (full list is on n3fjp.com/faq.html; in-app: Ctrl+O):

SSB rig fine-tune with interface on: Ctrl+Left/Right ±500 Hz, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right ±150 Hz, Ctrl+Up/Down ±50 Hz, Ctrl+Shift+Up/Down ±10 Hz.

Field-rate habits:

• Keep hands on the keyboard. Mouse-logging a pileup is how you lose callers.
• Tab, not click, between Call → Time → RST → Log.
• If CAT is following the radio, do not also type frequency.
• Uncheck Enable Repositioning so you cannot drag a field with a sweaty finger.

Gridsquare in AC Log

Importing Polo’s Full ADIF usually already has both grids. Importing Polo’s POTA ADIF usually has neither. See ADIF fields.

After a no-lookup sitting: select the QSOs → Edit → Fill Fields Determined by Call (wording varies slightly by version). That backfills from the callbook you have configured, not from POTA.

CAT / rig interface

Settings → Rig Interface

1. Radio family (Icom / Yaesu / Elecraft / …).
2. COM port (Windows Device Manager; IC-705 is often a Silicon Labs or Icom USB serial).
3. Baud: match the radio. IC-705 CI-V often 19200 or AUTO. FT-891 CAT 38400.
4. Icom CI-V address must match the radio menu (IC-705 is commonly A4h, IC-7100 88h — confirm on your firmware).
5. Enable polling so frequency and mode follow.

When polling lies (USB cable wiggle, Bluetooth sleep), set band/mode in AC Log manually for that QSO. A 20 m pile logged as 2 m is a gift to nobody.

See Icom and Yaesu for the radio-side menus.

Import Polo into AC Log

1. In Polo, export Full ADIF, not the POTA file.
2. AC Log: File → Import.
3. Open a QSO. Confirm Other fields mapped: you should see POTA / US-1356 in the columns you titled MY_SIG / MY_SIG_INFO.
4. If those columns are empty, either Polo never had the activity, or AC Log Other titles do not match the ADIF tags (title them exactly).
5. Then File → Export ADIF for LoTW / QRZ / Recap.

Test file: sample-pota-qso.adi

Export from AC Log to POTA

POTA wants park tags. If Other titles are correct, the .adi already has them.

Common filename hunters expect: CALLSIGN@PARK-YYYYMMDD.adi Example: KB3CMT@US-1356-20260831.adi

One park per file unless you know the current multi-park upload rules. A 2-fer sitting is often two files (filter by MY_SIG_INFO) or one file with comma-separated MY_POTA_REF if you verified that path.

Do not treat AC Log as the POTA archive. The archive is pota.app My Log Uploads — self-upload, not email.

Club, 1×1, and guest operators

What hunters hear is STATION_CALLSIGN. Who sat at the mic is OPERATOR.

• Club or special-event call on the air: station field = club/1×1, operator field = the licensed op. Both need POTA accounts if both should get activator credit. Hunters log the call they heard.
• Passing the mic: each op keeps (and uploads) their own log.
• Guest using the control op’s call: credit stays with the control op; the guest does not get a POTA activation from that.

POTA’s own write-up: Logging made easy. Confirm current tags there before a multi-op weekend.

Dedicated N3FJP POTA / SOTA programs

N3FJP also ships purpose-built POTA and SOTA loggers. They can be simpler on a first weekend. AC Log wins if you already live there for LoTW and awards. This guide standardizes on AC Log so Other-field titles stay in one place.

Field vs shack layouts

Some operators save two .efl files (see the OnAllBands write-up):

• Field: huge Call box, ten QSO lines (a valid POTA activation), park fields in the tab order, no clutter.
• Management: more columns, lookup, QSL, LoTW status.

Load field layout in the truck. Load management at home. File → Show File Locations — some people keep .efl in a cloud folder so the laptop and the shack PC match.

Next: ADIF & grids · Shortcuts · Award uploads

Habits / gotchas / checklist (AC Log)

• Other titles are ADIF tags (MY_SIG_INFO, not “My Park”). Fill = Previous on your park only.
• POTAConfig.efl loaded; Enable Repositioning OFF. Save your old layout first.
• Settings → Setup grid = this sitting. Ctrl+S. TQSL is a separate object.
• Fill Fields When Tabbing from Call ON (or OFF in a dead zone). Dupe check ON.
• Tab order: Call → Time On → RST → SIG_INFO if P2P → Log. Hands on the keyboard.
• CAT: family, COM, baud, Icom address (7100 88h, 705 A4h, 7300 94h). If WSJT owns CAT, AC Log rig = none.
• Import Polo Full, not POTA export. Export filename CALL@US-1356-YYYYMMDD.adi.
• Club: STATION_CALLSIGN vs OPERATOR. Ctrl+O for current keys — the old PDF is stale.