Logging & Uploads

OrbitDeck keeps a satellite QSO log on device and uploads it — signed for LoTW right on your iPhone or iPad, and to a self-hosted Cloudlog/Wavelog — with ADIF import/export. Pass audio recordings live alongside the log.

Overview

Turn on Settings → (Log screen) → Log settings → Enable logging to show a Log QSO card on Home and populate the Log screen. Every contact is stored on device as JSON; uploads mark each QSO so it is never sent twice.

Quick-log on Home

The Home Log QSO card is prefilled from the selected satellite, the current transponder (uplink/downlink and mode) and your station grid. Type the other station's call (and optionally their grid and RST), tap Log QSO, and it's saved — ready to upload later.

The Log screen

The Log screen (Operating Tools) lists your contacts and pass recordings. From the … menu you can add or edit a QSO, import or export ADIF, and upload to LoTW or Cloudlog. Each QSO shows small L / C badges once it has been sent to LoTW / Cloudlog.

What's logged

Full parity with CardSat's satellite log: worked call, satellite, mode, uplink and downlink frequencies, RST sent/received, the worked station's grid (multiple grids for a rover, VUCC), your call and grid, time (UTC) and notes. Satellite names are normalized to the correct LoTW SAT_NAME automatically (e.g. an in-app name like FOX-1B (AO-91) logs as AO-91).

LoTW upload (signed on device)

OrbitDeck signs a standard .tq8 entirely on your device — no computer, no TQSL round-trip:

  1. In TQSL on a computer, export your callsign certificate to a .p12 file (with a passphrase).
  2. In OrbitDeck, Log settings → Import .p12 certificate, enter the passphrase. The certificate stays on your device; the passphrase is stored in the iOS Keychain.
  3. Fill in your station location (grid, DXCC, zones, and US state/county or a non-US subdivision as applicable).
  4. Tap Upload to LoTW. OrbitDeck signs each QSO (RSA over SHA-1, as LoTW requires), gzips the batch, and posts it — the whole log in one pass.
The signature format (field order, normalization and dates) matches TQSL's LoTW V2.0 specification exactly; anything else makes LoTW silently drop the QSO. Getting a certificate in the first place still requires ARRL's one-time postcard enrollment via TQSL — that can't happen on device.

Cloudlog / Wavelog

Enter your instance URL, station profile ID and a read-write API key (kept in the Keychain), then Upload to Cloudlog. OrbitDeck posts the un-sent QSOs as ADIF in one request. A self-hosted Cloudlog can be configured to forward to LoTW server-side as an alternative to on-device signing.

ADIF import/export

Export your whole log as ADIF (share to any app), or import an .adi file to merge contacts in. Exports use the satellite ADIF conventions (PROP_MODE=SAT, uplink→FREQ/BAND, downlink→FREQ_RX/BAND_RX, VUCC grids).

Pass recordings

With an audio interface connected (see Digital Modes), the Home Pass recording card records the received audio to a compressed AAC .m4a tagged with the satellite and time; clips appear on the Log screen with playback and share.

Permissions & privacy

The log and your certificate stay on your device. Uploading sends your QSOs to LoTW (ARRL) or your Cloudlog instance only when you tap upload; credentials are stored in the iOS Keychain. See the privacy policy.