Field Day 2024 has come and gone.
I did manage to contact 2 of my 4 10m missing states for Worked All State, AR and NC. It'll remain to be seen, once LoTW
* is back operational, whether they will count or not.
Did rather good for me this year:
Here's my yearly contacts, all FT8 digital, since I've been back on airL
2021 5
2022 25
2023 5
2024 15
Wow. Just Wow
* LoTW
FYI: Logbook of The World. ARRL (like NRA but for hams) has an online logbook. You upload your contacts in the blind. You can only query and see what you've uploaded, nobody else's data. If the other station uploads a matching contact then you get credit for the radio contact, called a QSL. It also tracks your progress towards awards such as Worked All States and DX Century Club (100 foreign contacts). With digital uploading is done automagically so it's no hassle. Voice and code contacts require entering the data manually.
<RANT>
Problem is ARRL got hit with a cyber attack middle May and LoTW has been down since then. It has a lot of dependencies so it will be the last system they restore. They claim the data is backed up, safe and secure. While I have my contacts info backed up, if any data is lost, not only would I have to reupload them but so would all my contact hams. Some people will opt out of the system over this outage. I've no beef with doing what it takes to get the system back up, however, their PR crisis management is some of the worst I've ever seen. What was obvious to most all hams, that they'd been attacked, wasn't admitted to for 2 weeks. Then it's been like pulling teeth to get any information. While they have a plan they're keeping all the users in the dark. And the information is only coming out as a link (pull) on the home page spasmodically, instead of being in the weekly newletters (push). Statements like
..we have taken the precautionary measure of keeping the services offline until we can ensure the security and integrity of our networks.
are not helpful. What needs to be said are things like:
"We've identified the necessary steps and milestones needed to bring the system on-line. We've set a prelimnary target date of xx/xx/xx. This may change as we go through the each of processes with security consultants and law enforcement. There are nn steps needed to be accomplished and we have completed mmm of them so far."
And the info needs to be included in every regular newsletter each week. Keeping everyone in the dark about the progress is creating bad will and loosing participation.
</RANT>