Logging Overview
Your logbook is where all your contacts live. Hamtrax gives you a full-featured digital logbook that works offline, syncs automatically to the cloud, and supports the fields you need for everyday operating, contesting, and portable activations.
How contacts are stored
Hamtrax uses an offline-first architecture. Every contact you log is saved immediately to your device's local database (IndexedDB). When you have an internet connection, contacts sync automatically to cloud storage (Firestore), keeping your log backed up and available across devices.
- No internet required to log. You can log contacts in the field with no cell signal. They will upload when you reconnect.
- Automatic sync. Changes propagate to the cloud in the background -- you do not need to press a sync button.
- Last-write-wins. If the same contact is edited on multiple devices, the most recent write takes precedence.
What fields are tracked
Each contact (QSO) in Hamtrax can store a wide range of fields:
| Category | Fields |
|---|---|
| Core | Callsign, frequency, band, mode, submode, date, time on |
| Signal reports | RST sent, RST received |
| Location | Grid square, QTH, name, state, county, country, continent, latitude/longitude |
| My station | My grid square, my city/state/country, my radio, my antenna, station callsign, operator callsign, TX power |
| Activity references | Park reference (POTA), activation ID, MY_SIG / MY_SIG_INFO, SIG / SIG_INFO |
| Contest | Contest ID, serial sent, serial received |
| Propagation | Propagation mode, satellite name, satellite mode |
| DX | DXCC entity number, CQ zone, ITU zone |
| QSL tracking | QSL sent/received, eQSL sent/received, LoTW sent/received, QRZ logbook ID |
| Organization | Folder, notes |
| Round-trip fidelity | Unknown ADIF fields are preserved in a rawAdifFields map so re-exporting does not lose data from other programs |
tip
You do not need to fill in every field. Callsign and frequency are required -- everything else is optional. Hamtrax auto-populates date, time, and your location when you open the QSO form.
What you can do
- Log contacts manually -- two entry points open the QSO form. Add Contact is the global tool (sidebar) and opens the general QSO form (used for activations and casual QSOs alike). Log Contact is a button on each custom folder in the Logbook: it's the dedicated non-POTA path that scopes the destination to your own custom folders, remembers your last-used folder for the rest of the session, and prompts first-time users to name their first folder. See Manual Logging.
- Import a past activation -- bring in a complete past activation from an
ADIFfile. Hamtrax creates the activation folder, sets the metadata, and imports every QSO in one step. See Importing Contacts. - Export contacts -- generate
ADIForCSVfiles, or push contacts directly to QRZ and HamQTH. See Exporting Contacts. - Organize with folders -- contacts are automatically sorted into monthly folders (casual QSOs) and activation folders (POTA activations). You can also create custom folders, drag-and-drop to rearrange, and pin favorites. See Folders.
- Edit or delete individual contacts -- in the contact list view, each contact row has edit and delete actions. Tap edit to open the QSO form with that contact's data pre-filled, or tap delete to remove it. To keep folders organized, the edit form locks the park and the date for contacts in an activation folder, and the date for contacts in a monthly folder, with a banner explaining why (see Manual Logging). Contacts belonging to a POTA activation also show a warning before edits. Contacted POTA contacts display the park's state and name inline on the row for quick context.
- View contacts on a map -- toggle between list view, map view, and DX view for any folder.
- Assign equipment -- new folders automatically inherit your default radio and antenna from your rig setup. You can change equipment on any folder and choose whether to apply the change to new contacts only or to all existing contacts. See Folders.
- Manage photos -- each content folder shows an inline Images strip. Upload photos directly from the log page, and delete individual photos by tapping the red X on any thumbnail and confirming.
- Download per folder -- export contacts from any individual folder as ADIF or CSV without leaving the logbook.