QSL Cards and QSLing Joyce, KA2ANF With 331 Confirmed Countries All By Paper QSL Cards And Now, Also Using Logbook Of the World
What is a QSL Card? QSL cards confirm a two-way way radiocommunication between two amateur radio stations Or they confirm a one-way reception of a signal from an AM radio, FM radio, television or shortwave broadcasting station.
When Did QSLing Start? The concept of sending a post card to verify reception of a station (and later two-way way contact between them) may have been independently invented several times. The earliest reference seems to be a card sent in 1916 from 8VX in Buffalo, New York to 3TQ in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The standardized card with callsign,, frequency, date, etc. may have been developed in 1919 by C.D. Hoffman, 8UX, in Akron, Ohio. In Europe, W.E.F. "Bill" Corsham,, 2UV, first used a QSL when operating from Harlesden, England in 1922
What Goes On a QSL Card? In amateur radio, each card contains details about one or more contacts, the station and its operator. At a minimum, this includes the call sign of both stations participating in the contact, the time and date when it occurred (usually specified in UTC), the radio frequency or Band used, the mode of transmission used, and a signal report. Recommended size is 3½ by 5½ inches
What About The Design? QSL cards are a ham radio operator's calling card and are frequently an expression of individual creativity from a photo of the operator at his station to original artwork, images of the operator's home town or surrounding countryside, etc. They are frequently created with a good dose of individual pride. Consequently, the collecting of QSL cards of especially interesting designs has become an add-on hobby to the simple gathering of printed documentation of a ham's communications over the course of his or her radio career.
How Do QSL Cards Get Sent? Normally sent using ordinary, international postal systems, QSL cards can be sent either direct to an individual s s address Or via a country's centralized amateur radio association QSL bureau,, which collects and distributes cards for that country.
What s A QSL Bureau? QSL Bureaus allow for a savings in postage fees for the sender by sending several cards destined for a single country in one envelope, or large numbers of cards using parcel services. The price for lower postage, however, is a delay in reaching its destination because of the extra handling time involved.
An Outgoing QSL Bureau? In addition to such incoming bureaus, there are also outgoing bureaus in some countries. These bureaus offer a further postage savings by accepting cards destined for many different countries and repackaging them together into bundles that are sent to specific incoming bureaus in other countries.
Does It Matter How You QSL? For rare countries, that is ones where there are very few amateur radio operators, places with no reliable (or even existing) postal systems, including expeditions to remote areas, a volunteer QSL manager may handle the mailing of cards. For expeditions this may amount to thousands of cards, and payment for at least postage is appreciated, and is required for a direct reply (as opposed to a return via a bureau)
Welcome To The 21 st Century Recently, the Internet has enabled electronic transmission as an alternative to the need for mailing a physical card. These systems use computer databases to store all the same information normally verified by QSL cards in an electronic format. Some sponsors of amateur radio operating awards, which normally accept QSL cards for proof of contacts, may also recognize a specific electronic QSL system in verifying award applications.
Electronic QSLing Systems eqsl enables electronic exchange of QSLs as jpeg or gif images which can then be printed as cards on the recipient's local inkjet or laser printer, or displayed on the computer monitor. Many logging programs now have direct electronic interfaces to transmit QSO details in real-time into the eqsl.cc database. CQ magazine began accepting electronic QSLs from eqsl.cc for its four award programs in January 2009. 10-10 has been accepting eqsls since 2002. The ARRL s Logbook of The World (LoTW), allows confirmations to be submitted electronically for that organization s DX Century Club and Worked All States awards
KA2ANF s Paper Based QSL Card Statistics KA2ANF Paper Based QSL Cards: Worked Confirmed ARRL Confirmed Mixed 331 330 330 Phone 330 329 329 CW 41 27 27
So Let s See Some Cards!
From Howie,, WB2AWQ
KA2ANF s New QSL Card
And Now Let s Look At Even MORE QSL Cards! (30+ Actual QSL Cards Were Shown)
Thanks for Watching Stay Tuned for info on an upcoming 10-70 Google+ Hangout All On QSL Cards