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For me one of the best parts of amateur radio is receiving QSL cards. As a lad I looked forward to receiving cards, but I didn’t get my license until 2015.
For 30 sec on FT-8 or even less for an “RST and a 73” on CW or SSB QSLing via LOTW, eQSL, or QRZ make sense to me.
Receiving a QSL card in the self-address and stamped envelope I provided when sending a QSL card is nice. As I requested and paid for it the only surprise is when a card is actually returned.
I really like to receive unexpected cards tucked away in the junk mail and bills. Some of these are sent directly and others arrive in groups from a bureau. Many of them include personal messages and some are from SW listeners. I find these cards are the most interesting.
I received an envelope from the W1 QSL Bureau (W1QSL) today with 16 QSL cards. The total cost to me was $2.22 or 14 cents per card which is a bargain considering they came from Chile to Japan and many points in between. I have attached a photo of today’s cards. The cards in this group were originally sent in 2016 through 2021, half of them were sent in 2018. This delay is normal for bureau cards.
Between the various bureaus, cards I requested, and unexpected cards sent directly to me I typically receive a few cards each week, each one is a nice surprise.
I believe QSLing is a part of the hobby many Hams overlook.
I also really enjoy collecting cards. I send mine like a postcard. Always fun to get a new card in the mail. The whole bureau thing is foreign to me, but I guess to get some of those foreign cards I should get on board and figure it out.
Does anyone have suggestions for making QSL cards? I don’t use that many so something I could print would be ideal. I’ve seen and played with on-line card makers–some are ok, some are pretty crappy. But I’d like to hear what you all use, and what you print them on.
(I’m not so interested in commercial printing)
I had never heard of QSL cards until I took my tech license exam following a class with NARS. In the class, there was a presentation around it, lots of examples shown. Found it somewhat interesting but didn’t envision myself delving into it much. My radio interest at the time wasn’t digitally based or trading grid squares or contesting and collecting contacts. My motivations then, and largely now, were purely human to human interactions and making connections to people I’d never met in places I’d never been to. With the recent pandemic, that type of connection is, perhaps, even more desirable. After I passed my exam at the end of the class, even while driving home, I called a friend of mine who was an old ham. He’d promoted my interest in amateur radio and endeavored to teach a small group of us for license prep. When that fell apart, it was NARS to the rescue. Anyway, I arranged for him to be my first contact and later used the inexpensive HT that I’d won in the class raffle to have my first QSO ever on 2m. To my surprise, a week or two later, his QSL card came in the mail and I still have it tacked to the wall in my home office (hardly a “shack”) next to my license. It was a wonderful surprise and it’s the only one I’ve ever received. I enjoy it to this day.
Someday, if I can ever get myself on HF (long story), I think I may pursue the QSL card aspect of the hobby. I find my interest in them growing lately. I think it could only expand the human-to-human connection made over the air. I think now that I under-appreciated what was shown to me in the NARS class. Each card I viewed there had more than just QSO info, there were pictures that interested the sender, sometimes of the sender. They were mostly hand written, or filled out by hand and, like the one I have, they had short personal comments and well-wishes jotted down. All of this is more than just a “reminder” of the technical aspects of the contact; it’s also about the person behind the contact. More than I’m likely to have ascertained purely from the interaction with them on the radio. It’s something personal to them, being sent personally to me.
Anyway, just last evening, was rag-chewing with a radio friend about this very topic. He too has not participated in this aspect of the hobby but I found my interest in it growing via that discussion. Hence, your article arrives at just the right time to reinforce that some and promote my interest even further. Thanks for that!
Hello Burns,
A lot of us get commercial cards that are printed on one side. We use DX Lab or other logging program to print the QSL information on the backside as well as addressing the envelopes. Glossy color QSL cards cost about $70 for 1000. (blank on back)
About 20% of the cards I receive are plain white or colored 3×5 index cards produced the same as above. Some OM will preprint the cards with some art (e.g. ARRL logo), their name, address, and other fixed data. The QSL info is then printed on the card or Avery labels. The card is sent in a envelope.
You might consider the postcard approach. Anything mailed must be 3-1/2″ x 5″ minimum else the USPS will reject it so 3×5 index cards are not acceptable without a envelope. A typical QSL card is 3-1/2″ x 5-1/2″, a bit larger in Japan, rarely larger than 4″ x 6″. Blank postcards from Staples or similar are typically 4″ x 6″.
If I want to send a large number of QSL cards and I’m not requesting a card back I will use postcards, with a small twist. Instead of printing on the cards I will print Avery labels for the QSL info and also for the addresses.
73
Hamilton K1HMS
This might be a good topic to cover in a meeting.
It seems like there are so many options, I’d love to know more about how people handle QSL cards.
I use an OpenOffice file derived from a Microsoft Word file off of the web. For the front, I used GIMP to size an image from a picture I had taken, and dropped my call sign on top of it. I have them (laser) printed on heavy stock from a .pdf file at a local store.
Getting some QSL cards was important to me when I started in ham radio because when I was a kid I wasn’t able to get International Reply Coupons to try to QSL short wave stations. (The US Post Office no longer sells or accepts IRCs.) Some hams or their QSL agents collect postage stamps.
I believe that some countries require people to demonstrate DX SWL before they can get a 2-way comm. license. I’ve only gotten a few such QSL requests but I really like responding to them.
LOTW is automatic with WSJT-X, JTAlert, and DXKeeper (one of the *free* DXLab collection of programs) talking to each other. Now I try to get cards only from hams that don’t use LOTW and whose DXCC I really need.
(Fun trivia: The Ponzi Scheme run by its namesake was not the first such scheme, but his started out with buying IRCs in Italy and selling [exchanging?] them at a higher price in the US. The arbitrage was one thing, but unfortunately he promised huge returns to investors and started using money from new investors to pay previous investors.)
This Tuesday’s Tech Night is all about QSLing and Awards. (7pm ET – link is on the main N1FD.org page)
Bring your tips, questions, and memorable QSLs or any awards you want to show off and I’ll reserve some time at the end for an interactive session.
If you can let me know what you want to share, I’ll make sure I reserve enough time at the end. Either reply here or email me at [email protected].
73,
Anita, AB1QB
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