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QSL cards - What are they and how do you exchange them?
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QSL cards are written confirmations of either a two-way radio communication between two amateur radio stations or a one-way reception of a signal from a broadcasting radio (or television) station. They can also confirm the reception of a two-way radio communication (usually between amateur radio operators) by a third party (usually a short wave listener, or SWL for short).
The slideshow to the left shows a selection of cards I have received from amateur radio stations around the world.
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QSL cards are about the same size as a typical postcard and they are usually printed on paper or card. The cards themselves are usually exchanged via bureaux (often abbreviated to buro) run by respective national organisations or by direct mail within envelopes, some are still sent through the mail as a standard postcard (as was this card received from Spanish station EA1VB).
A QSL card sent from one amateur radio operator to another contains details about the contact and his/her station. At a minimum this includes the call sign of both stations participating in the communications, the time and date of the contact (usually specified in UTC), the radio frequency (or band) used, the mode of transmission and a signal report.
QSL cards are an amateur radio operator's calling card - designs vary from simple tabular layouts recording little more than details of the contact, to slick graphic designs showing pictures of the operator, his equipment or home town, original artwork, in fact
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pretty much anything at all! Consequently, the collecting of QSL cards of especially unique designs has become an add-on hobby to the simple gathering of printed documentation of a radio amateurs communications over the course of his or her radio operations.
Sending and receiving QSL cards - bureau or direct?
QSL cards are sent either direct, using the ordinary postal system, or via each country's centralised amateur radio association QSL bureau, which saves considerable postage fees by sending large numbers of cards to other bureaux using parcel services, although with a considerable delay (cards can take several years to be replied to via some of the smaller/slower bureaux).
For rare countries, places with no reliable (or even existing) postal systems, and for expeditions to remote areas, a volunteer manager may handle the mailing of cards. (For expeditions this may amount to thousands of cards, and payment for at least postage is appreciated.)
Hints and tips to maximise your returns
It is a fact that you will never have a 100% response rate for QSL cards you send - some will get lost en-route, some will just be ignored by the recipient, some amateurs, sad to say, are just interested in collecting "green stamps" (dollar bills) that they will request to offset the return postage...for a card they never intend to send.
Knowing and accepting these few simple facts of life, and given the options available, I recommend the following:-
- If a radio amateur says he will QSL via the bureau then use the bureau - it may take a while but it is the most cost effective over the long run.
- If you're going to use the bureau for incoming cards make sure you know how it works and try to send out a good number of your own cards (even for bread & butter local contacts) that will be replied to by that route - that way you'll get regular deliveries from the bureau instead of waiting for an age to fill each of your envelopes.
- If a radio amateur prefers direct QSL, read, understand and obey his QSL instructions - if he has taken time to detail how he expects you to QSL then he likely expects you to follow those instructions.
- When QSLing direct, if possible send "green stamps" (dollar bills) outside the EU - within the EU I find IRCs work just fine but they seem less popular further afield.
- Never...NEVER...send good money after bad. If a direct QSL is not responded to, even if it's a rare one you really REALLY need, don't send another card with more $$$. He is likely just collecting the "green stamps".
- Most QSL managers do a great job - I find this is a very reliable way of getting good returns.
- Some QSL managers aren't so good - learn who they are and avoid them.
- Keep accurate records of what you have sent when and by what means - this avoids duplicate requests and the associated additional expense and effort on your part.
Using these guidelines I get a pretty good rate of return. To be fair I do have some cards that have not been replied to some 2 or 3 years after I sent my card (for both bureau or direct QSL), but on the other hand I am still receiving cards in response to cards I sent out over 2 years ago.
A selection of QSL cards I have received can be viewed in my QSL Gallery.
It's important to remember that things take time - it can be hard work sending out all those cards while receiving none in return, but, you have to prime the system and once you've got things moving and are sending out cards regularly there should be a steady trickle of QSL cards in the other direction.
As in many aspects of like, knowledge is power, so I recommend reading all you can find on this topic. There are some good sites out there with lots more detail than I have included here - some sites I have found useful are:-
Good luck and many happy returns!
73 de Dean - G0RIF [ back to home page ]
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