ok so i just got my technician back in march and ive been making contacts here and there and people keep mentioning LoTW and eQSL and i honestly have no idea which one i should be using or if i need all of them or what. someone sent me a physical QSL card in the mail last week which was super cool actually, didnt expect that. but then another guy was like 'did you upload to LoTW yet' and i had no idea what he was talking about.

so from what i can gather LoTW is run by the ARRL and its for confirming contacts for awards like DXCC? and eQSL is a different thing thats free and more casual? but do i need both? and where do paper cards fit in anymore, is that just a nostalgia thing at this point or do some awards still require physical cards?

sorry if this is a dumb question, theres just a lot going on and nobody really explained any of this during my licensing class

not a dumb question at all, this stuff confused me for years honestly. so the short version is — LoTW is what you want if you're chasing DXCC or WAS through the ARRL, because those awards require LoTW confirmations (or physical cards sent to the ARRL but nobody really does that anymore). eQSL is a completely separate system, its not affiliated with ARRL, and while its fun and some awards accept it, the big prestigious ones dont. you can use both, theres no rule against it.

paper cards are absolutely still a thing and some people love them, myself included. there are awards that still accept or even require physical QSLs, and honestly getting a nice card in the mail from some rare DX station never gets old. a lot of dx-peditions will confirm via LoTW AND send paper cards if you send them a self addressed envelope with return postage (usually via the bureau or direct).

my advice: get yourself set up on LoTW first since thats the most important for awards. the process is a little annoying because you have to get a certificate from the ARRL but its worth it. then maybe sign up for eQSL too since its easy and free. and dont stop collecting paper cards, theyre the best part of the hobby in my opinion

yeah what he said. i'll just add that i was in the same boat when i started and i kind of ignored LoTW for like the first year which i regret now because i lost all those early confirmations. even if youre not chasing awards right now just log everything and upload to LoTW regularly, future you will thank you. the setup is a pain once but after that its pretty much automatic if you use WSJT-X or most of the popular logging software, it can upload for you.

eQSL i use mostly for the digital modes contacts, a lot of ft8 guys use it. but honestly for anything serious LoTW is the one.