so ive been licensed about 8 months now and i have a pretty decent pile of contacts in my log but i havent really done anything about confirming them yet. i know i should probably get on LoTW at least but the whole certificate thing confuses me a bit and i keep putting it off. my elmer mentioned eQSL too which seems simpler but he kind of shrugged when i asked if it was worth using.

i did get a few paper QSL cards in the mail which was honestly really cool, felt way more real than just a line in the logbook. i want to send some out too but i havent designed one yet and i dont really know the process for mailing international ones - do you just put a stamp on it or is there some bureau thing i should be using?

basically wondering what most people actually use these days. do you bother with all three or just pick one? and is LoTW really necessary if im not chasing DXCC or anything serious right now?

honestly all three serve a slightly different purpose so it depends what you want. LoTW is the big one if you ever plan on going for DXCC or any ARRL awards - the credits just accumulate in your account over time and its great because you dont have to store a bunch of paper. the setup is a bit annoying the first time around but once you get your certificate sorted it's pretty painless, you just upload your ADIF after each session and forget about it.

eQSL is more casual and a lot of people use it, it counts for some awards but not DXCC. i use it mostly because some DX stations upload there and it's a nice quick confirmation. and yeah paper cards are just fun, theres no other word for it. for domestic stuff i just mail them direct with a regular stamp and a self addressed stamped envelope inside if i want a return card. for DX you can use the ARRL outgoing bureau which is cheap, you batch up cards and they route them to the right country bureau. incoming is even easier, you sign up with your local club usually and they forward whatever arrives. dont give up on paper cards, getting one from somewhere weird in the pile of bills is still a good feeling after years of doing this.

im in almost the exact same boat as you, been licensed about a year and finally got LoTW set up like two months ago. the certificate stuff - what you do is request it through the ARRL and they mail you a paper with a code, then you go through the TQSL software setup. took me an afternoon but wasnt as bad as i expected. already got like 30 confirmations sitting there which is cool even if im not doing anything with them yet.

havent tried eQSL much tbh. paper cards i send when someone sends me one first mostly, feels rude not to reply lol