Club Log Online Service is free and easy to use. It lets me store my station log “in the cloud” and provides tools for analyzing my performance. 

Every ham should backup his or her station log. After all, you don’t want to lose this valuable information. Most logging programs, like Log4OM, do these backups automatically. You can save your backup log on another computer, a network drive, or an online service like Dropbox.

There are a number of online logging services used by ham radio operators. These services have three advantages. First, you maintain automatic backups. Your local logging program uploads its data to the online site. Second, if you change your local logging software, you can always download and import your online log. Third, you can share your personal or club logging with others around the world.

Club Log Online Service takes this a step further. This UK based service adds two more features. For one thing, it does extensive error checking of your contacts. For another, it allows you to obtain QSL cards from other hams through its service.

If you are interested, you can read this article about the history of Club Log. The service has been around for ten years, and has around 50,000 users. Registration is easy and you are up and running in a few minutes. You upload your log using the ADIF exchange format, which is widely supported.

Club Log Online Service – Tons of Features

Some of the Club Log Online Service features are “big data”. The service contains nearly half a billion log entries. When I uploaded my personal log, the service found some errors. Some were typographical. But the more interesting ones related to potentially fake callsigns for foreign hams, or recording a DXpedition outside of its legitimate dates. These were flagged for me to investigate further or make corrections.

Club Log Online Service provides some great tables to view my progress. For example, as shown above, there is a DXCC analysis showing what countries I have worked or confirmed and on which band. There are also charts that show progress over time.

Among its services is a customized DX Cluster report showing spots from countries I still need to work, and also a tool to evaluate propagation using VOACAP.

Lots of fun. I shall use Log4OM and Club Log Online Service for a few months and see how it goes. If my local club was registered (it’s not) I could also compare my performance against that of other members.