okay so i just got my technician license about two months ago and ive been making contacts on 2m mostly but starting to get into HF now and everyone keeps talking about QSL cards and LoTW and eQSL and honestly its a bit overwhelming. like i know the basic idea is confirming a contact happened but i dont really get why there are so many different systems or which one i should bother with.

i signed up for LoTW through the ARRL but the whole certificate thing took forever and i still havent actually uploaded anything. and then somebody at my local club said eQSL doesnt really count for DXCC which confused me even more. do people still actually mail physical cards? seems like a lot of effort but i also kind of like the idea of getting something in the mail. just not sure where to start or if im overthinking this

you're definitely not overthinking it, it IS kind of a mess honestly. the short version is that LoTW is the one that matters most if you're ever chasing DXCC or other ARRL awards — eQSL is nice but the ARRL doesn't accept it for their main awards, so a lot of serious DXers treat it as basically just a nice digital souvenir. that said plenty of people use both.

physical cards are still very much a thing and a lot of operators genuinely love them, especially older timers. some rare DX stations will only confirm via paper QSL through the bureau or direct. the bureau system through ARRL is pretty cheap if you're patient, direct mail costs you a dollar or two per card when you factor in postage and the return envelope. i'd say get comfortable with LoTW first since that's the one doing the heavy lifting for awards, then worry about the rest later. once you get your certificate uploaded it's actually pretty painless to log and upload contacts.

yeah i was in the exact same boat like a year ago lol. what finally made it click for me was realizing you dont have to pick just one — most people use all three to some degree. i upload to LoTW for the awards stuff and i also do eQSL because a lot of people confirm there really fast and its kind of satisfying to see those come in. and then for certain contacts, like if i work somebody rare or just have a really good QSO, i'll send a physical card because theres something cool about it.

the LoTW certificate thing is annoying at first but once its set up you basically just export your log from whatever software youre using and upload it, takes like two minutes. dont give up on it