VIDEO: QSL Card Art & History

K8QS and WA9TDD of "Ham Radio Perspectives" show how amateur radio operators as well as SWL and AM broadcast radio DXers have used QSL cards to form personal identities, share memories, earn awards, and create art. Video includes interesting QSL examples and pithy observations from co-hosts of the only YouTube channel dedicated to exploring the history, culture, and technology of ham radio.

 

Thanks for sharing. I love hearing this type of history

 

Jeff, thanks for your encouragement. Tom and I appreciate it. And congrats on your technician license. Hope to work you on 10 meters as the band is opening up in sunspotville. Please do subscribe to our videos on YouTube (see below). 73.

Quin, K8QS
Ham Radio Perspectives YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3MJT8o8-XMxF8XROf7Q5GA/videos

 

Its really interesting that QSL's have become 'collective art' in the last 15 years. Thanks for pointing that out.

I occassionally go scouring EBay--which has a large number of sales of QSL collections. If you look a bit, you will easily find QSLs of famous hams, exotic QSL art, and naughty cheesecake stuff, which fortunately has fallen out of favor in more contemporary QSLS. You can even search on specific callsigns...

73
Chip W1YW

 

Chip, I went to eBay to see if I could find an old QSL card with my call sign. Darn!! I didn't think there would be one. Thanks for pointing out eBay.

 

Thanks, Chip. We looked at some of the eBay sales. Amazing.

Quin, K8QS
Ham Radio Perspectives YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3MJT8o8-XMxF8XROf7Q5GA/videos

 

Thanks for the very interesting history. I'm QSL printer for latest 30 years,
I saw the rise and fall of the QSL card exchange. In my home collection there are about 100 kg of received cards, and about 30 million in the list of printed QSLs

Gennady, UX5UO

 

Gennady --

Thanks for your interesting note. You've got some nicely designed cards on your QRZ page. You contributed to the art of the hobby. Hope to hear you on HF.

Quin, K8QS
Ham Radio Perspectives YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3MJT8o8-XMxF8XROf7Q5GA/videos

 

GE Quin,
Here you can find more US QSL card images.
Some of them are amazing.
https://www.ux5uoqsl.com/index.php?lang=en&page=usa

 

Thanks, Gennady.
Quin, K8QS
Ham Radio Perspectives YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3MJT8o8-XMxF8XROf7Q5GA/videos

 

My UX5UO printed qsl........

 

Excellent, Pat

Quin, K8QS
Ham Radio Perspectives YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3MJT8o8-XMxF8XROf7Q5GA/videos

 

A fun discussion. I've got 8 boxes of cards from ham QSOs and shortwave stations heard. Some are quite beautiful and all are good memories. A number are quite interesting historically, such as the old USSR and East German ones. I certainly hope that LOTW doesn't make this personalized artwork obsolete. A computer print-out of the report just isn't the same. And here's a bit more on early QSLs. Maybe we should celebrate the more-or-less centennial of them: https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/ham_radio/qsl-cards/vintage-old-qsl-gallery.php

 

That is a great link, Richard. Thanks very much. Yes, much of our memory, stories, and culture as a hobby is captured in the cards. Perhaps QRZ station/call pages can cover for some of that material, but QSL cards document 2-way connections more fully. Your own QRZ page is amazing. You are an unpaid ambassador. Hope to see you in the Twin Cities during one of my visits (I have a brother who lives there).

Quin, K8QS
Ham Radio Perspectives YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3MJT8o8-XMxF8XROf7Q5GA/videos

 

DJOAJ ekrem HALLO --K8QS - happy new year sincerelly vy73 DJOAJ ekrem