ok so ive been licensed for about 8 months now and ive been making contacts pretty regularly, mostly on 40m and some 20m when the band cooperates. people keep mentioning LoTW and eQSL and i see QSL cards mentioned constantly in the groups im in but honestly i still dont fully understand what the difference is or if i need to be using all of them.

from what i can tell LoTW is the ARRL thing and its more official and eQSL is a separate website and then paper cards are just... mailed? through the bureau or directly? i tried signing up for LoTW a while back and got confused by the certificate process and kind of gave up on it. is it actually worth the hassle or do most people just use eQSL now since its easier to sign up for

also do i need to send a QSL card every time someone sends me one or is that just a courtesy thing, i dont want to be rude about it but i also wasnt sure if there was like an unwritten rule

the short answer is you dont have to use all three but a lot of people do because different awards and different operators prefer different methods. LoTW is definitely the most trusted one for things like DXCC confirmations, the TQSL software is a bit clunky but once you get it set up it kind of just runs in the background. if you got stuck on the certificate part just email the ARRL and they walk you through it, took me maybe 20 minutes once i actually did it

eQSL is way easier to get started with and plenty of people use it, just know that not all eQSL cards count for ARRL awards unless theyre authenticated members. paper cards are honestly still fun and a lot of the older ops really appreciate getting a physical card in the mail, i still send them when someone specifically requests one or when its a memorable contact

as for the etiquette thing — the old rule was always QSL 100% but realistically most people dont expect a paper reply unless you asked for one or they specifically sent you one with a note. uploading to LoTW is kind of the modern way of fulfilling that obligation in most peoples eyes

yeah i was in the same boat when i started and honestly LoTW is worth the setup pain if you ever want to chase DXCC. i put it off for like a year and then when i finally sat down and did it it wasnt as bad as i thought, there are some good youtube walkthroughs that made the certificate part click for me

i personally use all three just because why not, uploading an ADIF file to eQSL takes like two minutes and some people only check there. paper cards i mostly just keep from the ones i receive, i do send them out occasionally especially for first contacts with certain countries or if someones bureau card shows up in my mailbox, feels wrong not to reply to a physical card