How to Back Up Your Ham Radio Log: ADIF, 3-2-1 and Restore Tests
Your log is the record of every contact you have made, and for many amateurs it is the only copy of years of work: the DXCC progress, the awards, the confirmations and the memories of one-off contacts. Yet most stations have no plan to back up your ham radio log beyond the hope that the hard disk lasts. Disks fail, laptops are stolen, updates corrupt databases and cloud accounts get closed. A good backup does not need much time or money, only a short routine that you actually follow. This guide explains what to back up, how to use ADIF files and the 3-2-1 rule, what online services do and do not do for you, and how to test a restore so that you know the backup works before you need it.
What You Need to Protect
A log is more than a list of calls. Think about the pieces that would be hard to rebuild.
- The QSO records themselves, with date, time, call, band, mode and reports. This is the core of the log and the most valuable part.
- The extra fields that you added: names, grid squares, QSL status, notes, award credit and your own comments.
- The program settings: station information, callsign and grid, rig control, cluster and macro settings, contest templates and band maps.
- Confirmations and attachments: scanned QSL cards, certificates and the files you receive from the services that you use.
- Contest logs and the files you submitted, such as Cabrillo files, together with the e-mail of the receipt.
- Your credentials: the certificate for Logbook of The World and the password of your accounts, which are not part of the log but without which you cannot upload.
Each of these needs a different kind of copy. The QSO records are best saved in an open format. The settings and the database file are best saved as a full copy of the logger’s data folder. The credentials need a secure place of their own.
ADIF: The Backup Format Every Logger Understands
ADIF, the Amateur Data Interchange Format, is the format that makes backups portable. The ADIF site describes it as an open standard for the exchange of data between ham radio software packages from different vendors, and it publishes the specification in several versions, with the most recent one reached through the address adif.org/adif. Almost every logger, contest program and web logbook can export and import an .adi or .adx file. This means that an ADIF export is the safest form of long-term backup of your QSOs: even if your present program disappears, a text file with the data will still open in another program or in a simple editor. Our guide to ADIF and moving your log between programs explains the format and the usual pitfalls when you import.
The weakness of ADIF is that it does not always hold everything. A program may keep its own fields, attachments or settings that are not part of the standard, and the export may leave them out or put them in application-specific fields that other programs ignore. For this reason, an ADIF export is a good second copy but should not be the only one. Keep the logger’s own database as well.
The 3-2-1 Rule
The general principle of data protection is easy to remember, and the Wikipedia article on backups gives the background. The rule says: keep three copies of your data, on two different kinds of storage, with one copy in a different place. In a ham shack it can look like this:
| Copy | Where | What it protects against |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Working copy | Your computer, in the logger’s data folder | Nothing; it is the original |
| 2. Local backup | An external USB drive or a second internal disk | Disk failure, accidental deletion, a corrupt update |
| 3. Off-site copy | An encrypted cloud folder, a drive kept at a friend’s or the club | Fire, flood, theft, a ransomware attack on the home network |
Two kinds of storage means that the copies are not all on the same type of device: for example a disk in the computer and a USB drive, or a disk and a cloud service. The point is that a single failure should not destroy all copies. For a log of a few megabytes, the cost is almost nothing, and a USB stick or two will hold decades of QSOs.
A Simple Routine That Works
- Export an ADIF file from your logger after each operating session or at least once a week. Give it a name with the date, for example log-2026-11-08.adi, and never overwrite the older ones.
- Copy the data folder of the logging program, with the database and the settings, to a second drive. Close the program first, since a database that is open or being written can produce an inconsistent copy.
- Use the logger’s own backup function if it has one, and set it to run at exit or on a schedule. Many programs can make a timestamped copy automatically.
- Send a copy off-site once a month, or automatically with a sync folder. Encrypt it if it contains personal data such as addresses and e-mail.
- Keep several generations. Do not keep only the latest backup; keep the last few weeks and one from each month. If a mistake or corruption was made last week, the newest backup may already contain it.
- Contest and award files go in a separate folder with the date and the name of the event, and stay there permanently.
If you prefer to automate, use the tools your computer already has. On Windows, the Task Scheduler can run a small script every night that copies the data folder to the backup drive with the date in the folder name, and on Linux or macOS a scheduled job does the same. Keep the script simple, make it write a short text file that records the time and the number of files copied, and look at that file from time to time. A backup that fails silently for six months is a common story, and a simple record is the cheapest way to notice that the drive was full or unplugged.
What Online Services Do and Do Not Do
Many amateurs upload their logs to services such as Logbook of The World, QRZ, Club Log or eQSL, and feel protected. These services keep a copy of what you upload, but they are not a backup in the strict sense. They store the QSOs and sometimes only the fields they use, they can change their rules or close, and they let you download the data only in the form that they provide. Our article on confirming contacts with LoTW, eQSL and paper compares the systems, and the guide to the QRZ logbook explains how that one handles your data. They are useful as additional copies, particularly for the confirmed contacts, but a download of the full log from each service is a good periodic habit. Treat the services as another layer and not as the whole plan.
A self-hosted web logbook is a different case: you run the server and you are responsible for its backups, including the database. The guide to Wavelog shows what such a system involves.
Traps to Avoid
- Syncing an open database. If the logger’s database file lives in a folder that is synchronised by a cloud service while the program is running, the service can copy a half-written file or create conflict copies. Prefer a scheduled copy when the program is closed, or let the logger export to the synchronised folder.
- One copy on one USB stick in the shack drawer. A fire or a theft takes both the computer and the stick. Keep one copy elsewhere.
- Backups that are never tested. A backup that cannot be restored is only a feeling of safety. See the next section.
- Overwriting the only good copy. If you import a damaged file over your log, you can lose data in both places. Always rename or copy the current log before an import.
- Forgetting the certificate. Without the private key file for LoTW, a new computer cannot sign uploads, and getting a new certificate takes time. Save the certificate file with its password in a safe place.
- Depending on paper alone. A paper log is a good independent record, as discussed in the guide to the paper log and what to record, but a computerised log is easier to copy and search. Use both if you like, but copy the electronic one.
Testing a Restore
Once or twice a year, pretend that the computer has gone. On another computer, or in a new folder, install the logging program or use a portable copy, import the latest ADIF file and compare the number of QSOs with the original. Check a few records at random, including the oldest, and check that the fields you care about, such as the grid and the QSL status, are present. Then restore the data folder and open it in the program. If a step fails, find out why and change the routine. This takes an hour at most and is the single most useful part of the whole plan. It also teaches you how to move to a new computer, which you will need to do some day anyway.
How Long to Keep What
Keep the QSO records forever; they take little space and their value grows with time. Daily or weekly ADIF exports can be thinned out after a few months: keep every export of the last month, one per month for the last year and one per year after that. The copies of the logger’s full data folder are larger, so keep the last few generations and one per quarter. Contest submission files and receipts should stay with the log. If you change the computer, keep the old drive for a while, labelled and stored safely, until you have confirmed that the new setup holds everything. Disk space is cheap, and you will be glad of an old copy on the day that you find a mistake that has been in your log for a year.
Special Cases
Portable and field logging
Phone and tablet logging programs often keep the log inside the app. Export the file before you leave the field, and copy it to the main log when you get home. An app that is uninstalled or reset takes its data with it.
Club and shared logs
A club station with several operators needs a named person responsible for the backup, and a written routine. A log on a shared computer is a good place for an automatic nightly copy.
Switching programs
Before you change from one logger to another, make a full ADIF export and a copy of the old data folder, and keep both for a long time. Compare the QSO counts in the new program.
The Bottom Line
Your log is irreplaceable, and protecting it takes a small routine. Export an ADIF file regularly, copy the logger’s data folder, keep three copies on two kinds of storage with one off-site, and keep several generations. Use online services as extra copies and not as the only one, avoid syncing an open database, and save your LoTW certificate with its password. Test a restore at least once a year. With these habits, a dead disk or a lost laptop is an inconvenience and not the end of your logbook.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I back up my ham radio log?
Export an ADIF file after each operating session or at least weekly, and make a full copy of the logger’s data to a second drive. Send an off-site copy at least monthly.
Is uploading to LoTW or QRZ a backup?
Not by itself. These services keep a copy of what you upload, but they are not under your control and may not hold all of your fields. Treat them as an extra copy and keep your own.
What is the 3-2-1 backup rule?
Keep three copies of your data, on two different types of storage, with one copy in a different location. It protects against disk failure, theft and fire.
Is an ADIF file enough as a backup?
It is the best portable copy of the QSOs, but it may not contain program settings, attachments or custom fields. Keep the logger’s own data folder as well.
Can I keep my logger database in a cloud sync folder?
It can cause problems if the file is synchronised while the program is running. Use a scheduled copy when the program is closed, or export to the synced folder.
How do I know that my backup works?
Test a restore: import the latest ADIF into a new folder or a second computer and compare the number of QSOs and a few random records with the original.