so ive been licensed for about 8 months now and im starting to work more contacts and people keep asking me if im on LoTW or eQSL and i honestly dont even fully understand the difference between all of them. i know QSL cards are the physical cards you mail or send through a bureau but then theres LoTW which is the ARRL thing and then eQSL which seems like its separate and some people act like its not as legit? idk

basically im trying to figure out if i need to sign up for all three or if one is good enough. im not chasing any awards right now just trying to be a good operator and confirm contacts properly. also the LoTW setup looked really complicated with the certificates and stuff, is it actually hard to get going or am i overthinking it

you're definitely not overthinking it, the LoTW setup does look intimidating at first but once you get through the certificate request process it really just kind of runs in the background. the hardest part honestly is waiting for the postcard from ARRL to verify your address, took about a week for mine. after that TQSL (the software you use to upload logs) becomes pretty routine.

as for whether you need all three — it depends on what you want. LoTW is the gold standard for DXCC and most major awards so if you ever go down that road you'll want it. eQSL is more casual and a lot of operators use it especially in Europe, the confirmations come fast and its free. physical cards are kind of their own thing, some people love em and collect them, others dont bother. i personally do LoTW for everything and send paper cards for any rare DX i work, just feels right to have something tangible from a tough contact.

short answer: get on LoTW first, add eQSL if you want, and send paper cards when it feels special.

yeah i had the same question when i started lol. eQSL confirmed my first ever contact within like 20 minutes which was pretty cool for a new ham. LoTW took me a little longer to set up but im glad i did it. i think some of the older ops look down on eQSL a bit but for just getting started and seeing confirmations come in its great for motivation honestly