Cheers Tom!
That will give me something to ponder over.
73
Martin
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Iāve sent a fair few over the years now and love receiving them. Typically Iāll sit down once a month or so and hand write them, but am thinking about automating the process. I do send a handful direct. I always check qrz.com and only send if the potential recipient explicitly says they want one.
If you want to dip your toe in the water stressfreeprint.co.uk will do small batches for not too much money.
Mark
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Thanks Mark. I have used this company. Postcards - Mixam . Looking at the prices they are well worth looking at. I have used them for books and exhibition flyers(postcards) in the past. Quality is excellent.
Cheers
Martin
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Hello Martin,
I think the type of card you use depends on how many you intend to send out.
They all count for awards, no matter how plain or beautiful. Before I go further, Iād say yes, get some cards made, youāll get some requests and you may work somebody that youāll want a card from.
Also, youāll want to have the pertinent QSO information and your location information
on the cards. Iāve received quite a few that were missing some important part of the
information that made them useless for an award.
I have received THOUSANDS of cards over the years and Iāll say some of them are
really nice like the samples in the above messages. Some are very plain, some are
hand-made, etc. Sadly, after being looked at and admired and shared with friends
they eventually all end up in a file and not seen unless they get pulled for an awardā¦
The use of QSLs has slowed down a lot since LOTW/EQSL/Etc. came along. My
incoming bureau cards are now just small envelopes with a few ounces of cards compared to boxes of cards (yes, cardboard boxes of cards!) a few years ago.
But I still answer every one that comes in unless itās a duplicate thatās already been answered.
73 and good luck with QSLing !
John, K6YK
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I started as a shortwave radio listener when I was 14, sending reception reports to the radio stations and receiving QSL cards in return. I was proud of each one.
At 16 (1977) I made my license and quite quickly had qsl cards printed. It took a lot of my pocket money and savings, but it was a must.
In the 80ās and 90ās I was on 2m with Aurora, MS, EMEā¦ and the cards were trophies and proof of performance. I sorted them and collected them in boxesā¦ but never really looked at them again.
Then I had a break of 20 yearsā¦ I moved 2 times and the cards ended up in the waste paper.
When I started again 4 years ago (thanks to SOTA) with the amateur radio, this was also topic for meā¦ Should I have QSL - cards printed? So far I have decided against it.
I am honest: The vast majority of cards I receive end up in the waste paper. Only a few hang on my refrigeratorā¦ and are exchanged from time to time.
The memory of beautiful, tedious, rare QSOs (not only DX) and also activities on summits I preserve in the memory.
73 Armin
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Martin you may also think about EQSL as you can design your own and theyāre sent electronically, I get loads off the Sota activators and theyāre really nice.
Best 73
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Yes Alan, but eQSL is a worthless scheme if you want the QSLs to claim an award, for many awards such as DXCC, IOTA etc eQSL is invalid.
I just replied and returned today a batch of bureau QSL cards received in the summer to RSGB Bureau, Halifax. Itās a low priority task these days at G4OBK. I have used Logbook of the World since its conception as I submit cards to ARRL for claiming against of the DXCC band Awards and the DXCC Challenge. I use OQRS when I can for new band countries, itās expensive. Usually costing ā¬4-ā¬5 or $4-$5 dollar per card using PayPal. But the return QSL rate is very good, around 90% as the $ bills (green stamps) canāt get stolen by impecunious people on the way to their destination. I regularly pay and get no paper card, but I get an LoTW confirmation, which suits me. In May I sent a Ā£4 OQRS PayPal payment to ZP/OK2WX for an 80m CW QSO. No card or LoTW forthcoming this month, so I emailed him last week and he told me my card was sent to the QSL bureau last week. I donāt like that method as I had given up putting pre-paid envelopes in with the bureau manager. However, because I need that card I have had to send my bureau manager 6 pre-paid 2nd class large letter envelopes, reluctantly. I had decided a year ago to give up the bureau, but I have been forced to restart.
I worked TY0RU DXpedition this week on 80m and 10m FT8, so they will be getting a claim for a QSL via OQRS. Not bothered about the 10m QSO as I have it confirmed on CW and SSB, but on 80m band it is an ATNO.
73 Phil
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Thanks Phil I learn something new every day.
Best 73
I gave up using eQSL when I found it didnāt accept my /P SOTA QSOs without setting up each location. And, as Phil says, itās not valid for many awards.
If you do this make sure the stamps have barcodes as ones without wonāt be valid after 31 January. I think this change by Royal Mail is causing the RSGB QSL bureau a right headache. You also need to send envelopes for every call you want to accept cards for so SOTA activators in England probably need to send them for GM, GW, GQ etc as well as G.
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QSLing is one of those unnecessary things that appeal to peopleās inner train spotter. Itās quite amusing that occasionally I have read accounts of relatives of deceased amateurs being convinced that Billās carefully labelled and stored QSL collection must be worth a fortune. Only to find that no one is remotely interested and recycling is the only way to get rid of them.
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Life would be bobbins if none of us ever did unnecessary things.
It would also ruin things for the chasers, as all the activators would go QRT after 4 QSOs.
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Yup. When I was young, receiving QSL cards from foreign broadcast stations was novel as they were foreign and few people went anywhere foreign from Britain.
However, ham QSL cards hold no interest for me and never have. The only good thing was people would send me QSL cards with US dollars in them. Iām not sure what I was meant to do with US Dollars as my local Post Office wouldnāt take them for payment but as I wasnāt going send any cards anyway I just kept the cash. In the end I spent it in a gentlemanās āexotic cabaretā bar with some work colleagues when on a business trip to the USA.
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All of this just confirms that SOTA Activators donāt āconformā to the normal amateur radio rules. In any way what so ever.
It always makes me chuckle when I see pics of radios on shack benches, in use but still with the protective film on the screen etc.
We take ours out in the cold, wet & snow* in a rucksack thatās getting chucked around and dumped down on summits, because by the time weāve got there weāre glad to get it off our back and we are so knackered that weāve quite forgotten itās got a Ā£500/Ā£1000 radio in it.
*replace with baking hot sun where appropriate.
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If you want a shock add up how much it would cost to replace everything you wear and take with you when playing SOTA. Boots, bag, high wicking layers, waterproofs, proper socks, gaiters, gloves, GPS, compass, spare glasses, radio, batteries, walking poles, fishing pole, cables, antennas, Morse key, pencils, paper, dry bags. Donāt forget the chocolate.
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I am afraid too. Might have a heart attack, then the XYL will sell it all for what I claimed it cost.
Malen
VE6VID
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While I log all of my contacts to Logbook of the World (LOTW), I also send QSL cards when I get one and when Iād like a QSL card back, mostly for DX QSOs. I also send them when I want to confirm a contact. For example, my current project is working all fifty states in the US as a SOTA activator and Iāve sent QSL cards (and asked for one in return) from operators that donāt use LOTW. One note: I always send a self-addressed-stamp envelope when I request a QSL card.
Plus I enjoy connecting with other operators this wayā¦ writing cards out, looking up addresses, reading the notes I get, posting cards on the wall in my shop. The very fact that it is slow and inefficient is one of the things I like about it. Hereās my card (yes, I spent way too much money getting it printed 
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I apply the following QSL policy;
- QSL cards can be requested via OQRS on my website
- I reply 100% to all QSL cards received
- I upload all HF QSOs to clublog.org
- I no longer accept IRCs for returning QSL cards.
- I no longer upload to ARRL Logbook Of The World
- I no longer upload to eQSL.cc
I am reconsidering LOTW as Iām told it is now possible to upload multiple locations using the ADIF data to set the location, rather than creating a new location each time.
I received 42 cards this week from the Buro and I am about to order 1000 more cards as I am low on stock.
I used to put all my cards in folders using plastic inserts that would hold 4 cards per page but I am now not able to source these inserts so the newer cards are just in a box until I think of some other way to store them.
I do like receiving cards from those who make the effort to send them and it can remind me of individual QSOs, like a QSO on 21 MHz with a JA station where I was on a SOTA summit using 5 watts and a dipole.
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Hi Phl, the W.I.A in vk accepts eqsl for awards. I believe there are other ham associations who also accept eqsls also.
Geoff vk3sq
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Yes, this works. I enter my SOTA activator log with FLE setting my summit reference and locator square. Upload the ADIF to the SOTA database, then import to Log4OM from where I upload to LoTW. Very quick and painless.
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