Abstract:
The invention automatically generates a QSL card, a template previously loaded, when an electronic confirmation of the contact between two stations matches each other logbooks. The card can only be obtain in a print fashion via online printers previously registered, and the card can not be saved in any place outside the server before the confirmation between both stations. The QSL cards are coded with ID serial numbers and traceable through commercial printers and personal printers services to prevent any fraud. The invention provides a more robust QSO Confirmation System, taken advantages of the best technologies available today while maintaining a very important radio amateur tradition.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     There are two existing methods for a radio contact confirmation between two amateur radio stations (the term use is “QSL”—Can you acknowledge receipt?), the QSL card exchange traditionally by mail or QSL bureau (a group voluntary Amateur Radio Operators around the world, QSL Managers) and the electronic logbook match up in a database system. For example, Logbook of The World (LoTW), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) online system, make this electronic matching and confirm the contact. However, a QSL post card is not sent. Traditionally the QSL post card by mail service or QSL Bureau was the method of confirmation of a radio contact (QSO) between amateur stations. Sometimes, it takes years to receive a QSL card by mail or Bureau and in many occasions the stations have to send money to the other station to pay for the mailing process. 
     The QSL card is a very desirable item by most of the amateur radio operators around the world because it is a solid evidence of their achievements and thus, it has become an integral part of the hobby tradition. The QSL card is a piece of evidence that lasts for a lifetime, a piece of other country, other culture and a collectible item. 
     Alternatively, with the use of the electronic log match came the digital QSL postcard exchange (like eQSL.cc does online), wherein the users have the ability to send and receive a digital QSL card when a log match takes place. This digital QSL card can be downloaded and managed in a local computer of the users. However, this generates a problem of fraud and fake confirmations due to the advancement in digital manipulation now a day. For that reason, the ARRL and many other Radio Organizations does not recognize the eQSL system cards to be a valid confirmation method to obtain any award granted by these organizations. If the user wants to submit this cards for award purposes, the granting organizations have to print the cards and send it back to the sending station for signing and then submit it for awards. 
     Also, is a very common for simulating a QSO confirmation practice to obtain the accounts security username, passwords and certificates software. Thus, many stations around the world are hesitant to use any of these two systems because of the security issues, the lack of quality, complexity and poor offering in terms of choices. 
     Thus, what is needed is a simple yet secure QSL confirmation system that allows the exchange of confirmed and valid QSL cards between two users that allows printing and exchanging QSL cards while at the same time providing a fraud-free submission and certification system. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures showing illustrative embodiments of the invention, in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates the general operation of system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 1   a  illustrates a detailed operation of system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  shows the QSL authentication process of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  shows another illustration of the QSL authentication process of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates various labels and reports of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates various cards and labels formats of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a report template of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a Micro Manager window of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates the QSL management process of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates a top menu of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  illustrates a User Homepage Section screen of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  illustrates Manager Section screen layout of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 11   a  illustrates Submenu options of a top menu portion of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  illustrates the Print Setup window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 13  illustrates the menu options of the ShackWall window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  illustrates ShackWall Profile Section layout window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 15  illustrates ShackWall Display Section layout window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 16  illustrates ShackWall Operation Trend Section layout window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 17  illustrates ShackWall CQBoard Section layout window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 17   a  illustrates the messages and notes window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 18  illustrates the Desktop Section Main Menu layout window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 19  illustrates the Desktop Section Archive Tab layout window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 19   a  illustrates floating windows opened from the Desktop Section Archive Tab layout window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 20  illustrates the Desktop Section Activity Tab layout window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 21  illustrates the Desktop Section Logger Tab layout window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 21   a  illustrates various windows opened from the Desktop Section Logger Tab layout window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 22  illustrates the Desktop Section Awards Tab layout window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 23  illustrates the Desktop Section QSL Studio Tab layout window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 24  illustrates the ShackWall User Setup Section layout window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 24   a  illustrates windows opened from the ShackWall User Setup Section layout window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIGS. 25 and 25   a  illustrate the User Account Info Section layout window of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 26  illustrates the QSO Logs Input Module of the system architecture according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 27  illustrates the QSL Manager of the system architecture according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 28  illustrates the Messenger Engine of the system architecture according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 29  shows the flow of uploading and persisting QSO records within the Log Processing sub-system of the system architecture according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 30  shows the process for the QSO Record Matching Module sub-system of the system architecture according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 31  shows the actions performed in order to evoke status changes of the system architecture according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 32  shows the process for the QSL Network Printing Web Interface of the system architecture according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 33  shows the process for the Messenger and Calendar Engine of the system architecture according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     Throughout the figures, the same reference numbers and characters, unless otherwise stated, are used to denote like elements, components, portions or features of the illustrated embodiments. The subject invention will be described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying figures, in view of the illustrative embodiments. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The general operation of the invention will be explained with reference to  FIG. 1 . Both Station  1  and Station  2  have been previously registered with the eBabel system  2  and have valid accounts. Therefore, their respective electronic logbooks  1  detailing all their contacts and communications were uploaded to the System in ADIF (Amateur Data Interchange Format) format. The system performs a matching operation via a Matching Mechanism Module where Log records in the database are automatically compared looking for matching entries between two stations. The matching criteria by both participating stations to be searched and compared by the system are: 1) Stations call signs, 2) band (radio frequency), 3) operating mode, and 4) Date and Time (UTC) of the contact with a maximum of 30 minutes of difference between records. The matching process is transparent to both of the two stations concerning a QSO so that no log entry or confirmation status can be seen before the match takes place. Once the match is positive the QSL cards are generated automatically by the system and transferred and migrated to the Manager section of each user within the system. One important feature of the invention is that the user can extract the QSL card via the Internet directly to a network-connected printer. Additionally, the QSL card could be directed to a personal or commercial printer. 
     The QSL information provided by the system could be obtained in different formats such as but not limited to: 4″×6″ photo format, Avery™ Standard Label 8252, 8162, 5162 and a 8.5″×11″ Text Report Format sheet. In accordance with a novel feature of the invention, a confirmation code is provided in each QSL printed document (the same for both documents). Once the Confirmation code is provided to the user in the printed card, the Confirmation code must be submitted back to the system in order to authenticate the QSL exchange process. To avoid any fraudulent or illegitimate action the confirmation number is complemented with a four digits encrypted personal pin number previously set by the user. Thus, a user submits to the system the confirmation number along with the four digits encrypted personal pin number. After the system receives the information sent by the user the QSL confirmation is granted by the system and the QSL process ends by the confirmation of both stations. Now a digital QSL card could be downloaded to a computer and printed if desired. 
     In operation, each station uploads its respective eLog  1  to the eBabel System  2  and begins the QSL confirmation process using a User Interface that follows the directions described in  FIG. 1   a . Once the System matches the eLog  1  of both stations a confirmation code is generated and independently sent to print within a QSL card to a network-connected printer  4 . Both users then enter the confirmation code  5  into the system along with a Pin number  6 . Finally, the System  2  matches both confirmation codes  5  in a step defined by the reference number  3  and proceeds to confirm the QSL communication  7 . As previously mentioned,  FIG. 1   a  describes a preferred implementation of the User Interface for the method and system of the present invention. 
     The QSL authentication process of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference of  FIGS. 2 and 3 . As previously explained, both stations have validated accounts and the electronic logbooks  8  were uploaded to the System in ADIF format. Log records in the database are automatically compared looking for matching entries and when a match is found a first validation  9  is determined. Afterwards, the QSL cards are generated automatically by the system and migrated to the Manager section  10  of each user within the system. A card preview (thumbnail) is displayed in a Micro Manager Unit of the system where the QSL card will be managed  11  until final confirmation. If a Confirmation Code is not available the Micro Manager Unit will show the actual status of the different steps of the transaction until a Confirmation code is available and final confirmation is determined. The user extracts the card though the Internet  16  directly to a network-connected printer  12 , where a second validation occurs. At this point the QSL label will show a “PENDING” status. As previously explained, the same confirmation code  13  will be available in Both QSL printed document  14  sent to Station  1  and Station  2 . The Confirmation Code is then submitted  15  to the system in order to authenticate the QSL exchange process. A third validation occurs when a user submits the Confirmation Code along with a complimentary four digits encrypted personal pin number previously set by the user. The QSL confirmation is granted by the system and the QSL process ends by the confirmation of both stations. However, if one of the stations does not submit the Confirmation Code the Micro Manager Unit will show a “Waiting Confirmation” status until the other station finish the process. Once the QSL is finally confirmed by the system the Micro Manager Unit shows a “CONFIRMED” status  17 . The digital QSL card could be downloaded to a computer or re-printed showing this time the “CONFIRMED” status in the QSO label. 
       FIG. 3  also illustrates the invention from a System backend perspective. A user uploads the logs  18  to the system and once a first match is made the system proceeds to generate the QSL cards at  19  and send a QSL card to a manager section of each station at  20 . Once the card is received the user sends at step  21  the QSL card to print at a network-connected printer  21 . The printed QSL card  23  contains a confirmation which the user uploads to the system at step  24 . The system will provide confirmation that the card was in fact printed and the confirmation code uploaded at  25 . Once the system confirms at  26  that both stations generated and printed the cards and uploaded the confirmation code to the system a final confirmation is provided at step  27 . 
       FIGS. 4 ,  5  and  6  illustrate the various labels and reports that can be provided and printed by the system of the present invention. The QSL labels will show the specific band and mode where the communication took place along with a Recipient Call Sign ID. Other information is provided such as but not limited to: Date/UTS, RST and a Note or Message. In addition, the Confirmation code (if available) along with a barcode is provided. The status of the confirmation at the time of printing (i.e., PENDING, CONFIRMED or COURTESY) is also provided. A courtesy label is a label that is only provided as a courtesy and a QSL confirmation is not necessarily needed or requested. As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the labels can be printed on a preset label template and/or a predefined card layout including a QSL artwork or photo. The system also provides the user the ability to print a Text Report detailing any or all the QSL communication between a specific Recipient or Station. 
     The Micro Manager feature of the invention will be explained in conjunction with  FIGS. 7 and 8 . The Micro Manager GUI shows an Activate/Select button along with a visual identification of the sender&#39;s Call Sign, Country and QSO detail information such as: QSO date, Mode and Band. A Card thumbnail is available and visible to the user via a Preview window. The GUI also provides visual indication of the step or status of the Confirmation process such as a progress bar. A MENU is provided to the user for performing several related actions such as Print, Add to Favorites, Save and Delete. Once a user access the Micro Manager area the first step is to select/activate the Micro Manager. Once selected, the MENU is available. In order to obtain the QSL card and start the Confirmation process the user must print the card. If the user is not interested in the card, the user could simply delete it via the appropriate option in the MENU. If desired, the card is set and ready to print. The execute/send button is active as indicated by a bright green color. The Micro Manager will show the “Printing” status while the printing process is complete. Once the Card is printed and the “Printed” status is visible the Confirmation Code must be submitted in order to confirm the QSL process. Once the code is enter the execute/send button turns active and the “Confirming” status is visible while the system accepts the code. If the other station does not submit the code the Micro Manager will show the “Waiting Confirmation” status until the other station submits the code along with its pin number. When both stations submit the Confirmation Code the “Confirmed” status is granted and the “Save” and “Add to Favorites” options on the MENU are available. 
     The system, its web interface and GUI will be explained in conjunction with  FIGS. 9-25   a.    
       FIG. 9  illustrates a User Homepage and Manager Section Main Menu Layout. The page provides information such as but not limited to: the Membership Plan Status  46  and the QSO/QSL Monthly Activity  48 . Several Link buttons and/or Controls are also provided. A Call Sing Lookup Tool  38  is provided to allow a Call Sign search for identifying particular users. The results of the search are shown on a separate window on the system, the ShackWall. A User Wall or ShackWall button  39  is provided to direct the user to his/her personal wall. Desktop  40  and Manager buttons  41  are also provided to the user as well as the persona ShackWall Section setting page button  42  allowing the user access to his/her personal page for setting purposes. The system provides an internal messaging system so that a Sticky Note Message button  43  indicating the number of unread or new messages received is shown to the user. This button also opens the CQBoard messenger unit in a separate floating window. User Homepage and User Account Setting Page buttons  44  and  45 , respectively, are also provided. Finally, a Logout button  47  is provided to complete logout of the system. 
       FIG. 10  illustrates a User Homepage Section that will provide the user the flexibility to setup a personal home page preferably  51  using Widgets  50  that will display any website section selected by the user. The user will have control of the content shown on this page. A calendar button  49  containing the reminders set by the user is provided. As can be seen, a home button  52  is also provided, 
       FIGS. 11 ,  11   a  and  12  illustrate the Manager Section layout according to the invention. A general Menu  53 ,  57  is provided to manage several Micro Managers at a time and to control the selected tab. The general Menu has: 1) Sort tab for sorting the Micro Managers by: Country, Date, Mode, Band or Call Sign, 2) View tab for selecting the amount of QSL&#39;s to be shown per page, 3) Select tab to allow the user to select all the Managers available, 4) Action tab allowing the user to Print, Add to Favorites, Save or Delete any Micro Manager. Section tabs  54  are also provided on the window where the QSL&#39;s will be organized by their status (i.e., Received, Printed, Confirmed, Waiting Confirmation, Confirmed and All). A navigation menu  56  is also provided to allow navigation across the window content. When the “Print” command  55 ,  58  is selected the “Print Setup” window appears as illustrated in  FIG. 12 . Navigation buttons  60  are provided on the “Print Setup” window to allow to user to move through the several card previews. A drop down menu  61  is also provided to select a specific printer to use. A Selection control  62  is provided to select the type of print job (i.e., back label, full front to Text Report). In addition, print type selection buttons  63  are provided to select between a front image (artwork) and a label in case the back label format was selected by the user to print the card. The user can also select the different paper options  64 ,  65  available for each print format (e.g. 4×6 photo glossy or lustre, Avery™ 8252 and 8.5×11 plain paper, etc.). Finally, the window allows the user to select 66 how many copies are going to be printed and to save all the settings. An Ok button  67  is also provided to close the window. 
       FIG. 13  illustrates the ShackWall Section Main Menu layout. As previously explained a Call Sign Lookup Tool  68  is provided to allow a Call Sign search for identifying particular users. A User Wall or ShackWall button  69  is provided to direct the user to his/her personal wall. Desktop  70  and Manager buttons  71  are also provided to the user as well as the persona ShackWall Section setting page button  72  allowing the user access to his/her personal page for setting purposes. The system provides an internal messaging system so that a Sticky Note Message button  73  indicating the number of unread or new messages received is shown to the user. This button also opens the CQBoard messenger unit in a separate floating window. User Homepage and User Account Setting Page buttons  74  and  75 , respectively, are also provided. A Membership Plan Status  76  is also provided. A user&#39;s social media accounts are indicated at  78  and social media tools are also provided at  79  to allow access and/or control of the same. This page also provides ShackWall sections buttons  80  providing the user access to the Profile, Display, Operation Trend and CQBoard sections. A “Likes” button  81  is also provided. Arrows controls  82  are provided to move across the sections. Finally, a Logout button  77  is provided to complete logout of the system. 
       FIG. 14  illustrates the ShackWall Profile Section layout. The profile section  83  shows concentrate and concise information about the query station such as Amateur Radio operator public information, personal info and eBabel Statistics. The user will set this content on the ShackWall setup section. A QRZ.com link button  84  is provided that will open a browser tab containing the user&#39;s page at qrz.com. In addition, a Google Map link button  85  is provided that will open a browser tab containing the user position. Section  86  shows the Social Media links set by the user. A report button  87  is provided to show a report  88  of previous contacts between the actual user and the query station. Finally, a download button  89  allows to download the table content of the repot in ADIF or PDF format. 
       FIG. 15  illustrates ShackWall Display Section layout. The Display section  90  shows all the image archives set by the user on the ShackWall setup section. Display controls  91  are provided to control the navigation view of the images. An image preview (thumbnail) section  93  is provided to select the image to be displayed. Navigation arrows  94  are provided to move across the thumbnails. A Folders Categories section  95  is also provided to organize the user&#39;s information. 
       FIG. 16  illustrates the ShackWall Operation Trend Section Layout. In this page an operation trend section  96  shows how the system takes the QSO records from the user archives and makes a chart of the QSOs vs Band and Mode. The confirmation status will not be considered, only the QSOs in the uploaded logbook. 
       FIGS. 17 and 17   a  illustrate the ShackWall CQBoard Section Layout. The CQBoard section  97  is a bulletin board where the user can request any desire QSO. (e.g. a Country, a grid an Island etc.). The purpose of this board is to make possible the interaction between stations and fulfill any desire QSO in particular. These postings will be set at the ShackWall setting section. If the user visiting the CQBoard section of a user wants to answer a request they must leave a message (sticky note) to arrange any kind of appointment or interaction. Also the system will look for matching needs. For example a station in USA needs a QSO with Japan and the Japan station also needs USA, the system will send a message to the stations to start any interaction possible between them. All messages generated or posted in this bulletin board will be public. Anyone could see any message. The CQBoard tab section has a “General Messages” tab, a “Looking For” tab and a “Needed for Award” tab, wherein all three sections have the same format. A check box  99  is provided to select the desire post to be answer. Automatically a sticky note sheet will be available to write a note with a maximum of 160 characters. By touching the sticky note sheet  100  the cursor appears to start writing. A “Post It!” button  101  is provided to allow the user to post the message in the board. The sticky note  106  besides the posting will show the number of answers related to that post. To see all of them, the user must tab on the icon and a floating message board will appears. Navigation arrows  107  allow navigation across the messages. An actual user message received indicator  103  is provided and when clicked the CQMessenger floating unit appears. A Reply Message and a Delete Message button are also provided. A button  102  is provided to set the message on display to the reminder calendar section. 
       FIG. 18  illustrates the Desktop Section Main Menu Layout. A User Wall (ShackWall) button  108  is provided as well as a Call Sign Lookup Tool button  109  that leads to the query station wall (ShackWall). Desktop  110  and Manager buttons  111  are also provided to the user as well as the persona ShackWall Section setting page button  112  allowing the user access to his/her personal page for setting purposes. A Sticky Note Message button  113  indicates the number of unread or new messages received. This button also opens the CQBoard messenger unit in a separate floating window. User Homepage and User Account Setting Page buttons  114  and  115 , respectively, are also provided. A Membership Plan Status  76  is also provided. A Membership Plan Status  116  is also provided. Desktop Section tabs  118  are provided to give the user access to the information stored in the Archive, Activity, Logger, Awards, QSL Studio sections. Finally, a Logout button  117  is provided to complete logout of the system. 
       FIGS. 19 and 19   a  illustrate the Desktop Section Archive Tab Layout. An archive selection tab  119  is provided to allow access to archived-related information  120 . Specifically, the archive section will storage and manage the user ADIF files. The “QSO Boxes” sub-window section will list all the files in boxes containing a maximum of 200 QSOs. Also will show the quantity of QSOs and QSLs inside of it. The “Box Detail” sub-window section  124  is a report that shows the detail of the box selected. Including the QSO information and the QSL status. A button  121  is provided to upload the ADIF files to the eBabel System Server. Check Box  122  is provided to select the archive to manage and button  123  is provided to sort the files by name or date. A View Report  123   a  is provided to allow opening the “Box Details” sub-window section to see the box content. A button  123   b  is provided to submit the selected Box to the database to look for matching records. A Delete button  123   c  is provided to delete the selected Box. A button  125  will open a floating window  128  with the Profile of the call sign selected. A button  127  will open a floating window  129  with the Micro Manager of the QSL selected. A download button  126  is provided to download the report in ADIF or PDF format. 
       FIG. 20  illustrates the Desktop Section Activity Tab Layout. Activity selection tab  131  is provided to show activity information  131  and the break apart of the QSO archive into its different components. The QSO information will be tabulated into different fields like a spreadsheet. A Query tool  132  is provided that will search only on the user&#39;s QSO records. The user could use the different filters to look faster among the archive such as: Call Sign filter  133 , Country filter  134 , Start date filter  135  and End date filter  136 , Mode filter  137  and Band filter  138 . A submit button  139  is provided to generate a report  140 . 
       FIGS. 21 and 21   a  illustrate the Desktop Section Logger Tab Layout. A Logger selection tab  141  provides access to a tool  142  for performing manual QSO entries. Once the user makes a station query the location will be displayed on Google map in section  156 . A button  143  is provided to start a new session that will open a floating window  160  and a new name is entered at another floating window  162 . Writing the call sign in the Call area  145  is the first step when login a QSO. This section provides the QSO details fields  146 . A Lookup button  147  is provided so that once the user writes the call sign and selects this button the information of the station is automatically displayed in section  157 . A Previous contacts information area  148  is also provided that will show a floating window  164 . Band selection dropdown  151  to select a band  159  and Mode selection dropdown  152  to select a mode  158  are also provided. A ShackWall section button  149  will open a browser tap with the Wall page of the station and a QRZ.com button  150  will open a browser tap with the qrz.com page of the station. A button  150   a  is provided to send the box to the user Archive section where will be displayed on the “QSO Boxes” list and a floating window  163  is shown to enter a name. A button  150   c  is provided to show the box content in floating window  165 . Button  153  is provided to drop the QSO entry into the box. When the user ends, each QSO entry must list it in a local file or box before submitting it to the database. This box could represent a session or a fraction of one. It will hold a maximum of 200 QSO number per box. A Delete button  150   c  is provided to delete the box and a floating window  161  is shown to confirm deletion. A button  155  is provided to send a Courtesy QSL card. If the user wants to confirm a QSO but doesn&#39;t need it for awards credits the user could send a Courtesy QSL. This card will go directly to the recipient&#39;s manager account and won&#39;t go to the database for matching purposes. Finally, a Reset button  144  is provided to reset all the logger fields. 
       FIG. 22  illustrates the Desktop Section Awards Tab Layout. An Awards selection tab  166  is provided to allow access to an Awards tracking section  167 . Buttons  168  are provided to select the desired award to monitor. 
       FIG. 23  illustrates the Desktop Section QSL Studio Tab Layout. A QSL Studio selection tab  169  is provided to allow access to a tool  170  for uploading and setting the user QSL(s). An area  171  provided access to the Instruction manual in PDF format. An area  172  is provided to set the position of the card to be upload. The user could upload various QSL cards. an Upload button  173  is provided to upload the card to the server. Once the card is in the system a full size preview will be display in area  178 . A QSL card assignment radio button  174  is provided so that the card could be used in a specific QSO category  183 ,  184  (e.g. mode, band or a combination of both). Another radio button  175  is provided to choose the label type. A Start button  176  is provided to start the process of label positioning. The label fame  179  will be display over the card preview  178  and the user will grab and move it to decide the final placement. A set button  177  is provided to set and save the final label position. A dropdown menu  180  is provided to select the printer to perform a test and a button  181  is provided to send the card to the printer. A Save button  182  is provided to save and finish the process. 
       FIGS. 24 and 24   a  illustrate the ShackWall User Setup Section Layout. The ShackWall section is where the “Wall” or search results page is setup. The user could present the desire information in three (3) sub-sections: 1) Profile subsection  185 , where General Amateur Radio and Personal info as well as Social Media links are provided, 2) Display subsection  188  where Image Files are displayed and 3) CQBoard subsection, where a Bulletin board is provided to post messages and QSOs needed. Profile subsection  185  is provided with Info field  186  and a Save button  187  to save the information set. Display subsection  188  has a Folders categories area and an area for displaying Image thumbnails  190  in an image viewer  208 . An upload button  192  is provided to upload new files to the folder. “Looking For” CQBoard Folder  195  allows the user to post any desire QSO wanted using pre-established categories. A Region filter dropdown  198  is provided to select a region from list  206 . A text field  199  is also provided for allowing the user to write the name of the region. A Band filter dropdown  200  is provided to select a band from list  204  and a Mode filter dropdown  210  is provided to select a mode from list  205 . A Delete button  197  is provided to delete the entry and a “New” button is provided to create a new post line. Also, a “Post It” button is provided to post the entries that will appear on the user&#39;s “Wall” section. A “General Messages” CQBoard Folder  194  is provided so that the user could post any desire message in a floating window  207  as well as a “Needed For Award” CQBoard Folder  196  provided so that the user could post the QSOs needed for any specific award. 
       FIGS. 25 and 25   a  illustrate the User Account Info Section Layout. The User Account section is divided in three (3) sections: 
     1) Account Settings section for Amateur Radio Operator info, license upload and Password and Personal Pin number setting, 
     2) Printer Setting section for printers configuration and validation. As part of setting up the account a commercial printer must be set. This commercial web account will be administrated by the eBabel System specifying the person that will receive the document (it is possible that multiple station receive QSLs in the same place under the same account). The system will send a confirmation via those printers creating a route. The user receives the document with the confirmation code. Then by entering this code to the system, in a specific period of time, validates the route. That means that the delivery is physically traceable. Once the station validated a commercial printer it could set up a personal printer, e.g. the HP ePrint service, using a combination of the validated route and the ePrint service, and
 
3) Membership section for choosing and paying for a membership plan.
 
     A Call sign input and search command  210  is provided. The system will take the station information from the QRZ.com database. If some information is missing or the station doesn&#39;t have any info at QRZ.com it could also be manually entered. Text field  211  is provided to set a desire user name and a text field  212  is provided to set the desire password that will have some specifications. An Upload License button  213  is provided to upload the Amateur Radio License to the eBabel server. The system will look in the PDF file that the information entered before matches the License info. Radio buttons  214  are provided to select a user icon to be display at the menus. It will also be the link to the user&#39;s wall. A PIN number area  215  is provided to set the Pin number. The user must create a four (4) digits encrypted pin number in order to authenticate their entries to the system, just like an electronic signature. A Save button  216  is provided to save the settings in the system. Printer selection buttons  218  are provided to select the printer position. The user could set two commercial printers and also two personal printers. Text field  219  is provided to enter the zip code of the commercial printer wanted. A dropdown menu  210  is provided to select a printing service company available in the area as well as a dropdown menu  221  to select the specific location of a store. In case there is no commercial printing service available in the provided list the user could ask the system administrator to create an account in the desire location using form  222  and submitting the petition to the system administrator via button  223 . A Reset button  224  is provided to reset/erase the entire printer setup. Once the user setups the printer, the system will ask to print a confirmation  225  as shown in  238 . 
     Personal printer selection buttons  226  are provided to select the personal printer position. A dropdown menu  227  is provided to choose the brand of the printer and another dropdown menu  228  is provided to choose the model of the printer. A text field  229  is provided to enter the email address of the printer. The major printers manufacturers offers the connection of their printers to the company network in order to bring the printer owner the capacity to print a documents remotely using the internet. The user has to setup an account with the manufacturer service in order to have this benefit. The user must set an email address in the mail company server. For example in the HP ePrint system the printer is connected to the HP server and any file sent to the email address, set by the user, will be printed automatically (with the owner permission). The archive (when comes from third parties emails) won&#39;t be save in the HP server. Once the user setups the printer, the system will ask to print a confirmation  230  as shown in  238 . 
     Radio buttons  232  are provided to choose a membership plan. In a preferred embodiment, (3) plans are available:
         One year unlimited uploads—The users could upload as many QSOs they want for one-year period.   Pay per Post—The users could pay for a quantity of QSOs to be uploaded. No time restriction in this plan. Example; 1000 QSOs for $24.99. The system will be continually subtracting to the remaining quantity until finish.   Free—This plan will give the user all the eBabel application functions. It let the user to upload a limited quantity of QSOs in a one-year period. Example: 200 QSOs per year.       

     The status of the membership will be visible at the main menu. In the unlimited uploads plan the information will be display as follow: (Days remaining) e.g. (250). In the pay per post plan: (QSOs remaining/QSOs credits paid) e.g. (825/1200) and in the free plan: (QSOs remaining/QSOs free) e.g. (80/200). Section  233  shows the accepted payment methods and a Submit button  233  is provided to submit the information. 
     Finally, text field  236  is provided to enter the confirmation code, wherein areas  237 - 239  show the process to submit the code and finish the printer validation. 
     This invention discloses a novel approach of the Multi-factor authentication systems domain applied to QSL Card authentication. The invention specifically uses a unique variation of the Two-Step Authentication method using network-connected printers. The factor used in this method is the “Something only the user has”, in this case, a registered, local based network connected Printer. The System&#39;s Authentication Engine uses MD5 message-digest algorithms to produce a unique id per validation, per user. The generated confirmation number will be only available through the network-printing interface. Once printed, the User can interface the System in order to confirm the printed number, closing the Authentication process. The System implements a lightweight Messaging system in order to facilitate the messaging and events scheduling resulting from the stations users&#39; interaction helping to achieve an easier and effective communication support. The invention implements the Network Printer Two-Step Authentication method using the general high-level architecture illustrated on  FIGS. 26-33 . 
     QSO Logs Input Module Engine ( 1000 ) is responsible for fetching and persisting user&#39;s QSO records in ADIF format for the purpose of perform a blind match QSL records for further confirmation and validation. Once the QSL records are matched and being persisted the user can initiate the Authentication and Confirmation process. Records will be uploaded using HTTP POST over HTPPS 128 encryption for security. This engine will be using Non-SQL database technology to support the persistence a high volume of QSO records. It will also use SQL technology to ensure high speed and indexed SQL records for faster matching process. The QSL Manager ( 2000 ) System will be implemented via Web/Mobile Interface, Network Printer Interfaces and the QSL Authentication Engine as shown in the Figures. The network-printing Interface supports various network printing interface protocols such as but not limited to: HP ePrint (STMP) and Walgreens QuickPrints API JSON over REST. It also implements secure Web Services interfaces using HTPPS 128 bit encryption for security. The messenger Engine ( 3000 ) implements the entire communication and scheduling task either for users and other sub-system within the architecture as depicted in the Figures. This engine uses a set of REST over HTTPS 128 bit encryption for flexibility and security. It will also implement Message broker for asynchronous communication. It implements Non-SQL persistence for scalable and fast write mechanism.  FIG. 33  illustrates the Messenger and Calendar Engine sequence diagram. 
     Systems and Sub-Systems 
     Log Processing Unit ( 1100 ) 
     This sub-system parses a file uploaded via HTTPS POST using the ADIF syntax. The sub-system is implemented as shown in  FIG. 29 , where the flow of uploading and persisting QSO records within the sub-system is illustrated. 
     QSO Record Matching Module ( 1200 ) 
     This sub-system handles the blind matching process scheduler for QSO records utilizing the QSO records Call Sign, Band, Mode and Date and Time (UTC) having a +−½ hr time-frame window for the matching. Once a QSO recorded has been matched it will create a QSL record on status received; it will use alerts both users of the matching process respectively.  FIG. 30  illustrates the sequence diagram in detail. 
     QSL Web Interface ( 2100 ) 
     This sub-system implements the logic regarding the QSL Authentication. The Web View initiates a session; the system validates user credentials and clearance the access within the module. The QSL Controller Web module then queries the date for all QSL associated to the authenticated user. 
     Performing actions in order to evoke status changes, more specific in this case, initiate two use cases as shown in  FIG. 31 :
         1. Action==Send and Status==READY the user is initiating a validation process. This will begin the confirmation process within the Controller module and will invoke the QSL ( 2100 )&#39;s methods for unique hash id generation and MD5 encoding. A QSL tuple entity will be generated. The purpose of this tuple is to have both stations QSL status centered for later transaction/status clearance. Once the confirmation code has been created the system will automatically and asynchronously call the QSL Network Printing Interface for the physical impression. The QSL or QSL list worked status will be updated at the manager&#39;s view to Printed.   2. Action==Send and Status==Printed invocation will send users entered confirmation number through the HTTPS interface. The controller then will validated this number and in case of a successful validation will update the QSL&#39;s status(es) waiting confirmation until the members of the QSL tuple has both confirmed the successfully the code. Then both QSL statuses within the tuple will be changed to confirmed. The nature of the last tuple status change is asynchronous.
 
QSL Network Printing Web Interface ( 2200 )
       

     This sub-system will implement the logic regarding the Network Printing Interface, which will support various connectors. At this point it supports STMP ePrint style as well as JSON/REST Walgreens API. Once the QSL has been confirmed, it can be printed through the print action within the QSL Web Manager View. The QSL Print Web View will handle the format and provider to select; giving the flexibility to the user to select from Full Front, Back Label or Text Report card choices as well as supported quality printing options such printer quality or commercial product groups. The Authenticated user selects the format, provider with options and quantity; all parameters will be encapsulated within the format, user and provider objects. The Controller will then generates the labels, fetch for images to uses from the QSL image configuration module. Render the images to print accordingly. Create a new image object with the design to print. Then evoke eBabel Print API with the Provider and image url. With the API, which is acting as a provider normalizer, will load the correspondent interface for the giving provider. In the case of ePrint will encode a SMTP message and will send to the mail to the Printing service. In the case of Walgreen&#39;s, will then authenticate the API, upload the image url and set the proper product and quantity to print. Asynchronously, it will update the view to reflect the printing provider status when available. This process is illustrated in  FIG. 32 . 
     Although the present invention has been described herein with reference to the foregoing exemplary embodiment, this embodiment does not serve to limit the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will appreciate that various modifications are possible, without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention.