QSLing

The old adage, "The final courtesy of a QSO is a QSL", is as true today as it was when that phrase was coined many years ago. There are many reasons why a fellow amateur may want your QSL. He or she might be working on an award, wanting to post your card on an online QSL gallery or perhaps just collecting QSLs and putting them on the shack wall or taking them to the local club meeting to show to friends. Although eQSLs and LOTW confirmations are a form of QSLs, they are still limited in use so this article will concern itself with actual paper QSLs normally sent through the postal system.

If someone decides not to QSL at all, that is certainly his or her choice. However, I believe this fact should be published (perhaps on QRZ.com) so that people don't waste time and money attempting to obtain a card when none will ever be forthcoming. Other than just chatting with a friend, DX or otherwise, or making a casual QSO when there is nothing else happening, many operators only work a station with the idea of obtaining a QSL in mind. I know I do. When I tune across a pileup and see what station is operating, already having a card or not will usually determine whether or not I call the station. Oh, I still get excited working that new one or a rare base in Antarctica but usually have getting that QSL in the back of my mind when working that station. So the main reason myself and a lot of other hams work some stations is to obtain their QSLs. Take note DX! We only work you to obtain your QSL!

When attempting to obtain a card, perseverance can win! Tracking down a source of a card after 30 or 40 years and obtaining the QSL is a DXing feat par excellence. But often the original logs have been lost, as in the case of the logs of Gus Browning, W4BPD, and many others. W4BPD travelled around the world in the 1960s and 70s and operated from many countries, so if you lose your Gus Browning cards, you are out of luck. Some of those are "deleted" DXCC entities and those cards are certainly prized in any QSL collection or online gallery. Why would you want to go after QSLs for old contacts? Perhaps because a friend told you about an interesting award and you find yourself mining your old logs for QSOs. That happened to me not long ago when my friend Sasha, RW4NH, told me about the CQ DX Field award. After a week of mining my 2 tubs of QSLs I turned to the logbooks, back to 1980 when that award begins. Look into that award, I think it is one of the most interesting DX challenges available.

It is my personal opinion that an operator who enjoys the fun of operating from a rare or sought-after location and then does not send QSLs in a timely fashion is a pretty low form of life in the amateur radio world. I could list a few of those. Some of them go on large DXpeditions where there is a designated QSL manager so they don't have to issue their own cards but when it comes to some of their own DX operations, cards are not forthcoming. These guys have become DX big-shots, too big for their DX-britches and deserve to be taken down a notch or two. Imagine one of them responding to questions after giving a presentation at a DX dinner and having someone point out that this is all quite all right and quite interesting but where is my QSL from your own such and such operation? If you do not have the time, energy or interest in QSLing then PLEASE get yourself a QSL manager. There are a great many out there only too willing to serve. Then regularly send your logs to your manager if your DX operation is ongoing.

Another operating "sin" by my way of thinking is not keeping a log. Keeping a log used to be mandatory in Canada but is no longer required by the licensing authority. A radio log was a legal document at one time here in Canada. If you do not keep a log then I doubt that you can legitimately send QSLs as you won't remember sufficient details of the QSO. So don't be an ass and keep a log! If you go on an expedition and keep an electronic log on computer it is easy to submit it as an online log so operators can check to make sure they are actually in the log before sending a card. There are several websites that host online logs and a Google search may provide a suitable one for your operation. Many larger DXpeditions keep an online log active during the actual operation so you can make sure you have the contact in the log before the operation ends.

QSLing can be expensive if you need the card quickly. But if you are willing to wait up to a year or two the bureau is usually an inexpensive way to send or receive cards, especially here in Canada where belonging to the national amateur radio organization, RAC, entitles you to use the outgoing QSL bureau free of charge up to quite a large number of cards per year. The incoming bureaus are all free, except for providing postage from the bureau to your QTH. Some people do not respond to bureau cards because they consider cards sent via bureau to be an afterthought and not serious. But for many hams worldwide the bureau is the only way they can afford to obtain a card and they are very serious about QSLing via bureau. It is unfair to these hams to deny their cards sent via bureau. So stop being lazy and be considerate of your fellow ham and get those bureau cards and answer them! A lot of the problem is just about laziness. If you take time from your busy schedule to operate, save some of it for QSLing.

As a point of interest, the DARC bureau in Germany will return your card with an appropriate rubber stamped note if your intended recipient has become a silent key. In the case where he has sent you his card and you have responded, this means that in the time his card has been in the bureau system coming to you and yours has been in the bureau going back to him, he has become a silent key. Bureaus can take a long time. They are operated by volunteers and sometimes it is difficult to get enough volunteers.

If you need someone's card and want to QSL direct, then it is usual to look after return postage yourself. Enclose a self-addressed envelope and appropriate postage, a current IRC or US dollar bills (green stamps). You can get correct postage from some sources including Plum DX in New York. When you're sending for cards let your cards accumulate for a month or so and then order the stamps. When using IRCs, ensure they are current, as most post offices will not accept old IRCs. Usually 1 IRC is sufficient but some countries may require 2 or 3. Also, some countries do not accept IRCs or have rigorous rules about accepting them. Some countries do not allow their amateurs to receive money through the mails so sending green stamps may be a no-no, otherwise one or two green stamps are usually enough, depending on the country, although some countries are now requiring 3.

A bit of research online using Google may be necessary to see what you can use to prepay postage. I have found that stamps are always good but remember they must be stamps of the country your card is going to and not stamps of your own country. Strange as it may seem I've often received cards with US stamps on the return envelope where the sender forgot this point. If you do not enclose return postage in some form be prepared to have your card returned via the bureau.

Always check QRZ.com first to see if there are any special QSLing requirements. Some QSL managers have a list of rules about QSLing. I've found some of these to be a bit outrageous but if you want a card you may have to comply.

Unfortunately, there are some countries where postal theft is rampant. Sending money in envelopes to these countries will often result in your envelope not getting delivered. I used to send cards to most third-world countries using postage stamps instead of IRCs or green stamps and the envelope open with flap tucked in. These always got through because the thief was able to look in the envelope and see there was no money and then put it back in the postal system. If the flap is stuck down the thief usually has to rip the envelope open and then has to dispose of it. Then I found out that it is now against Canadian postal regulations to leave the envelope open, apparently due to privacy concerns. It may be legal in your country but if not use a stamp on your SASE, seal the envelope and keep your fingers crossed. Postal registration is always possible as a last resort but is very expensive.

Recently I waited 6 months for a QSL from a DX operation. The DX operation itself was an incredible feat of engineering and operating but the QSLing left something to be desired. The card, when it came, was a beautiful card in ultimate maxi-colour. Obviously they put a lot of time and effort into designing the card and then waiting for it to be printed. All the cards I receive eventually go into QSL binders or a plastic tub. Some are scanned for my online QSL gallery. These cards are nice but I'd much rather receive a plain and simple card within a few weeks than wait months for a fancy card. Sometimes time is a consideration when getting cards for awards-- meeting the DXCC honour roll deadline for listing in QST, for example, or being the first to qualify for a new award. We want our cards FAST and the older we get the faster we want them!

I have had cards printed by foreign printers and have been very happy with the high quality QSL and the low cost of cards and shipping, although time is always a factor. These cards were for special events. Cards for ordinary operations or my IOTA island operations have always been simple, inexpensive cards printed quickly and usually available for mailing by the time I get home from the operation and have to deal with the stack of incoming envelopes already waiting. Lately I have begun printing my own cards using WB8RCR's QSL Maker program, available free online. This program lets you design a simple card to your specifications, except for the QSO panel which is fixed, and print it in colour on your own printer. You can print a few cards easily on regular paper or light card stock but if you want to print a lot of cards you need to obtain A4 card stock for printing 4 cards per sheet. This paper is not easy to find but may be obtained from the UK on eBay. You also need a printer that prints A4. Many ordinary printers do but some do not. This program is also good for printing a QSL to send to someone in the hopes he or she will fill it out, sign it, and return it. Sometimes that works.

If you have a scanner an excellent practice is to scan your prized QSL cards. Then, if you lose one you still have a record of it. Somehow I recently lost a very rare card from one of the deleted Yemen DXCC entities. It may have fallen into my waste basket and been disposed of. Anyway, I had scanned that card for someone's online QSL gallery, so at least I had a scan of the original card. The card was a W2CTN manager card from 1964. QSL manager W2CTN is no longer with us but the name and call sign of the original HB9 operator of that International Red Cross mission was printed on the card. I was very surprised to find him still listed in QRZ.com. I printed out a copy of the scan and sent it to him with a request to endorse the back if he no longer had any cards. I received it back very quickly endorsed on the back and also received a nice letter with the QSL! I have had credit for mixed DXCC for that particular entity since the 1960s and now if I ever decide to apply for phone DXCC, I still have a confirmation in hand.

Some people forget that a letter or a note on the back of a QSL card attesting to the authenticity of the contact is also a QSL and accepted by award managers and card checkers, perhaps with some stipulations as in the case of IOTA. They may not be as easy to deal with as a regular card but are often sufficient. So if you do not have cards or have run out of them, please remember that you can send a letter of confirmation or endorse the card appropriately and return it. Some managers had a rubber stamp to stamp the blank reverse side of a QSL card they received and then returned it to the sender as a confirmation. When I visited KV4AA in 1963 he had a bunch of these hanging on hooks on the wall for the Danny Weil expeditions. This was in the good old days of the blank reverse side of QSLs -- although I still get a lot of them with blank reverse sides.

Some awards, such as IOTA, are very careful about QSLs. The IOTA regulations stipulate that the correct call sign be printed on the QSL and not hand written. Also the name of the island operated from must be printed on the card and not hand written--not the group name but the name of the actual island where the operation took place. There is leeway for some old cards for contacts before 2001 but not much, if any, for cards for operations after 2000. This is because of past frauds, errors and ambiguities which cause a lot of trouble for the card checkers and the IOTA manager and the fact that there are so many IOTA groups and so many islands that count for IOTA as well as so many that do not. So if you go on an IOTA expedition please check the rules for QSLs before printing your cards.

If your own expedition card is missing the island name or correct call sign used you can always PRINT this information on a QSO label using your computer printer and put it on the card or letter. This applies to operators living on islands as well. You need your island name on the card. It is a good idea to sign across the corner of such a label or apply a rubber stamp. Also, anyone submitting QSLs for IOTA should ensure the cards submitted confirm to the regulations because if you have a card declined that is YOUR fault, not the card checker's fault, as you did not follow the rules. This applies to all other award applications as well.

A further point of interest is that the reciprocal license agreement between Canada and the USA stipulates that stations use their call sign first, followed by the location indicator. So the correct form for me operating in the US would be a call such as VE7IG/W7 not W7/VE7IG and for W1AW operating in Alberta the correct call would be W1AW/VE6 not VE6/W1AW, no matter what is used in most of the rest of the world. Of course the correct call should be printed on your QSL.

Always ensure that the correct information is included on your card. I once received a 6 metre QSL requesting my grid for VUCC but his own grid was not on his card!

So remember that many operators (including DXCCers, VUCCers, county hunters, etc.) enjoy real QSLs and get very excited when they receive a new one! Please co-operate and QSL. I'll be looking for your card.

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