Rejected QSOs and securing proof of QSOs

"QSO? I have no stinking record of your QSO!"

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I really go out of my way to insure that people who QSO with me have accurate records of the exchange from my end

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And so when I make the effort to keep those records and then see that my QSO confirmations are rejected because the other operator claims no record of the exchange, whose fault is it? I've updated my QRZ page to make it plainly clear to all that the minute I log a QSO, I will request a confirmation if possible.

The other thing I do is to sync up my QRZ log to LoTW. It at least gives me two ways to keep accurate logs. I've realized as of the two latest QSO rejections that I need to save my actual QSOs in PSK31 to text files and then use common string scanning tools to search the QSO records so I have proof if a rejection comes in. I use Ham Radio Deluxe with their PSK31 software "DM780" and it provides a means of storing the QSO and so I'll be doing that from now on. To save the QSO text for a session of working PSK31 (or whatever mode you are in if operating in digital modes like I often do), see below for the circled icon:

The only issue with saving these logs isn't that they are in RTF format  (why not just text? - HRD does some strange things indeed!) but that the default storage location under a hidden directory as shown below:

I was tempted to change the storage location via the storage section under "Options" in DM780, but I decided against it since plenty of other portions of HRD use that location. So I opted to create the directory "SavedQSOs" in place at the default location HRD uses and will save all my QSO sessions under that new folder.

This said, the next trick is to easily get to those QSOs again if needed. To do so, go to the folder "SavedQSOs" you just created and right click and look for "Include in Library" and then select "Create New Library". Once done your folder will easily be reachable by you as noted below:

 

Now the trick is to search for strings in the RTF files. In my own case, RTF files are already automatically indexed in Windows 10, but I wanted to insure that the folder was indexed since it was in the AppData folder to start. When I typed "Indexing Options" at the Cortana search bar (Also reachable from Control Panel), I was treated to the following display:

Note the new Library was automatically included in the included locations and note how the Appdata folders are excluded. In this case, our explicit add of the SavedQSOs overrides the exclude even though that data is under AppData.

Now to find the string "PTT" in the blank example file I saved from DM780:

And you can see the matched file. Opening the file reveals the string match:

So this means you can now search on a call sign for records of a digital QSO exchange to prove your case if you get a disputed digital QSO confirmation.

I hope this helps others and appreciate any comments and observations others may have.

73! -- Jon