okay so i just got my technician like 6 weeks ago and ive been making contacts on 2m and also got on HF a couple times with my elmer's help. people keep asking me about QSL cards and LoTW and eQSL and honestly im a little overwhelmed trying to figure out what all of it means and which one i actually need to bother with.

from what i understand LoTW is run by the ARRL and its like the official one for awards like DXCC? and eQSL is a different thing that more people use casually? and then paper cards are still a thing people send through the bureau or direct mail? i just dont want to miss out on confirming contacts that might matter later but also i dont want to spend a ton of money sending cards everywhere right now.

do most people do all three or just pick one? is there a reason to set up LoTW even if im not chasing awards yet?

welcome to the hobby, and yeah this stuff is genuinely confusing at first so don't feel bad about it. short answer is you probably want LoTW set up sooner rather than later even if awards seem far off right now. the reason is that the contacts you're making right now get logged in LoTW and confirmed by the other station — but only if both of you have uploaded. if you wait two years to set it up you'll have lost all those confirmations unless the other guy kept his logs too. getting the TQSL certificate sorted is a bit of a pain the first time but once it's done it's basically automatic.

eQSL is way easier to set up and a lot of people do use it, but it's not accepted for DXCC or most of the ARRL awards so keep that in mind. it's good for some other awards and some people just like the digital card aspect of it. paper cards are still a thing and honestly there's something nice about getting one in the mail from some dx station. the bureau through ARRL is cheap but slow, direct mail is faster but you're paying postage plus the IRC thing gets complicated for international.

if i had to prioritize i'd say get LoTW going first, then eQSL is easy enough to add, and start doing paper cards when you work somewhere interesting or someone specifically requests one.

so anyway i put off setting up LoTW for almost a year when i first got licensed and i really regretted it. had a bunch of contacts with stations i never worked again and none of them counted when i finally did apply for DXCC. just get the certificate request done, mail it in or do it at a hamfest if you can find someone who can sign it in person which is easier. the ARRL page walks you through it even though the instructions look scary.

one thing nobody told me — eQSL has two tiers basically, the free accounts and the authenticity guaranteed or AG status, and for the contacts to count for certain awards you need the AG thing. its not expensive but its worth knowing upfront. most serious DX guys will upload to LoTW though so thats really the one to focus on.