LoTW Certificate Renewal – Makes eMoney Look Easy

Received an email from Logbook of the World (LoTW) that one of my certificates is set to expire.

Of course there is a finite timeframe to renew – something like eight days.

So like a good team player I clicked on the renewal link to find the chaos & mess that had confronted & frustrated me when first setting up LoTW is magnified at renewal with masses more silliness:

In order to renew your certificate, just follow these easy steps:

1. Run the TQSLCert program and ensure it is the latest version. Some earlier versions will not work! Use the TQSLCert “Help” menu’s “About” selection to check the version. It should say “TQSLCert V 1.11” (followed by other letters and numbers). If you do not have the latest version, download and install it before proceeding.
2. In TQSLCert, highlight the certificate to be renewed by clicking on it.
3. On the Menu bar, click on “Certificate,” and then select “Renew Certificate” in the box. Click “Next.”
4. On the “Generate Certificate Request” page, fill out the date boxes. You should use the same start and end dates that you had on your old cert unless it was incorrect. For current callsigns, leave the end date blank. This will give you a full one-year term. Click “Next.”
5. Enter your address information and email address on the next two pages and proceed.
6. On the next page, you are given the opportunity to enter a password to protect your private key. You do not need to do this, but it is recommended. If you do elect to enter a password, keep in mind that the password is case sensitive. Note that you must be able to enter this password when signing a log or using your certificate for any other purpose. If you can not recall your password, you will need to obtain a new certificate.
7. At this point, you will be prompted to indicate where you wish to save your certificate request. Remember where you save it, as you will need to find it in order to email it or upload it to Logbook.
8. Submit your renewal request. You can either send the renewal request as an email attachment to lotw-logs@arrl.org or upload it via the Upload File area on The Logbook Web site.
9. When your renewal request is complete, you will see an additional line on your TQSLCert program screen. This will look the same as your existing certificate except that it will have a red circle/bar over the seal. This is your renewal request. When your renewal .tq6 file is returned and loaded, the red circle/bar will go away as will the original certificate, leaving only your renewed certificate.

As always, understand that any request (with red circle/bar) contains a unique private key. If this request/key is not present when the .tq6 file is returned, you will not be able to load it. Do not delete or attempt to modify any request once you have submitted it to Logbook.

Renewing a certificate is an almost automatic process. Renewals are automatically approved, but they must be signed by ARRL in the same manner as all other requests. Certificate signing will be done within hours during normal working hours.

IMPORTANT! Once you have renewed your certificate and loaded the new .tq6 file, save your certificate into a .p12 file using the TQSLCert “Certificate” menu’s “Save” command. Copy the saved .p12 file to an off-line medium (floppy disk, CD-R or other permanent storage) for safekeeping. Then, if you have loaded your original certificate into any other computers, you must also load that .p12 file (not the .tq6 file!) into each of the other computers using TQSLCert.

“Just follow these easy steps”- really??!!  What a load of codswallup!

I guess renewal is suited to someone with time on their hand, and a disposition to put up with the LoTW “dance on the head of a pin” silliness.

I can do eMoney so much easier than fussing with LoTW – I can check my 401K, move between funds, go check my banking, manage by checking, credit cards, bills and even buy a new $3400 transceiver on-line with not even a ruffled feather – each with at most a couple sets of password/ID numbers – but come to LoTW ……

Is LoTW a “soaring eagle” or some sort of “lumbering albatross” ?

From the user interface end, it sure comes off as a turkey.

I’ve a lot to do with family the next few days, visiting, a pair of Halloween Parties with costumes already rented, a bit of traveling, of course work, and more of the pre-winter chores to get done.  There is a local club board meeting and a couple evening rehearsals for various music groups to squeeze in.

Then on top the ARRL LoTW assumes I can be ordered to do a nonsensical computer exercise by a deadline that when you step back really doesn’t matter?  I’m not even certain by the deadline I can find the needed old certificates because of the clumsy system and my use of several computers.

I am sure someone will comment that the renewal might be done in about the time it has taken to write this short piece, but I would quickly point out that I “wanted to do some writing” and not some obscure & obsolete validation process renewal with my time.

I’d cancel a credit card account that had such consumer unfriendly time demands.

Guess I’ve answered my own question on whether to ignore the LoTW renewals.  

Perhaps if enough of us ignore this sort of time-wasting the ARRL will update LoTW or write a whole new LoTW II?

I’ve written about the LoTW kludge before at:

More thoughts on LoTW – Perhaps LoTW-II?

Fort Knox & Easy Rider – Two On-Line QSL options – LoTW & eQSL

73

Steve
K9ZW