so ive been licensed for about 8 months now and ive been trying to figure out the whole QSL confirmation thing and honestly its a bit overwhelming. like theres LoTW which is the ARRL thing, theres eQSL which seems like a totally different system, and then theres still actual physical cards going through the mail which apparently some people still do religiously.

right now i just have a basic log in WSJT-X and i upload to LoTW after contests or big sessions but i never really know if anyone is actually confirming back. i checked my account and i have like 12 confirmations out of maybe 300 QSOs which seems low? or is that normal for FT8 i honestly dont know.

also someone told me eQSL doesnt count for DXCC and that made me wonder why anyone bothers with it. do people use it just for fun or is there an award it actually counts for. and the physical card thing - do i need a QSL manager or can i just send direct to the other station. asking because i worked a VP9 last week and i kind of want a real card from that one.

the 12 out of 300 on LoTW for FT8 actually sounds pretty normal, maybe even a little low but not crazy. a lot of stations upload in batches so sometimes you have to wait weeks or even months before the other side confirms. i worked someone in Japan last spring and didnt see the LoTW confirmation until almost four months later. just let it accumulate, it adds up over time.

eQSL is kind of its own world honestly. it doesnt count for DXCC but there are some awards that do accept it, like the eQSL has their own award system and some state QSO party certificates and stuff like that will count eQSL confirmations. some people just like it because you can have a little graphic on the card and its kind of a nice memento even if its not official for the big awards. i use all three systems myself - LoTW for DXCC and WAS chasing, eQSL because i like the visual cards, and i still mail a few physical cards a year when i work somewhere really interesting.

for the VP9 contact - Bermuda is pretty straightforward, a lot of those ops have direct QSL info on QRZ. just look up the callsign on QRZ and it usually says how they want to receive cards and whether they need a SASE or an IRC or greenbacks or whatever. some DX stations use managers and QRZ will usually list that too. a dollar or two in the envelope often speeds things along on direct requests.

yeah i was confused by all this too when i started. the thing that finally made it click for me was just picking one system and starting there, i went with LoTW first because i was chasing WAS and it actually counts for that. once you get your certificate loaded and start uploading logs it kind of becomes automatic.

i will say though dont sleep on physical cards if theres a contact that means something to you. i got a card back from a station in Greenland last year and i have it pinned up right next to my radio. LoTW confirmation is great for the awards database but theres something about holding an actual card that LoTW just cant replicate lol