Hello everybody and welcome back to the Everything Ham Radio Podcast! In this episode we are going to talk about QSL Cards and Services, we talk about some upcoming events/contests and hamfests over the next two weeks and wrap it up with some news from around the hobby! Show notes and further reading for this episode can be found at http://www.everythinghamradio.com/podcast/59/ Please subscribe to my website to receive emails on when I publish a new post or podcast episode by going to http://www.everythinghamradio.com/subscribe/. Fill out the form on the page and click on the “Sign Me Up!” button. Check you email and you should receive an email from me with a link that you will have to click on in order to confirm your subscription. Once you click on that link, you will start receiving emails from me. If you like what you hear on my podcast and would like to help financially there are several ways that you can do just that. You can make a one time donation through paypal, become a monthly contributor through Patreon or simply shop on Amazon using my affiliate link. Check out http://www.everythinghamradio.com/support/ for more information
Did you mention about many Europe QSL Cards will not fit in the normal USA envelopes? Lots of on the job training if you are chasing Direct Paper cards. Knowing the correct amount of money to send is one thing to know. I use K4HB postage page to know how much $ to send. http://www.k4hb.com/postage/ One thing I found that helps, I started to use the "Euro" size nesting Air Mail envelopes from Mr Plum, and I use my printer to Print the Name Address etc on the envelopes, both Mine and the other Stations. http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/3319
"The Complete DXer" has a good discussion of envelopes. Personally I've used brown European-sized envelopes inside brown slightly larger envelopes with cards and "green stamps" in the middle. (I got the envelopes in England, they are hard to find in the States.) Without trying to sound too old it is something of a shame that paper cards are on the downslope. Sure it is much cheaper and faster to go through LOTW, and the return rate is probably much better, but an electronic report can't match the thrill of getting one in the mail. (You do remember "real" mail, don't you?) Sending them is fun too--I always try to write on them a note about the other person's QRZ info, maybe a little about myself or, if I've been there, what was fun to see in the recipient's country. In other words, a real little friendly letter, with thanks for the contact. And until the online system improves, the graphics and info on many cards sure beats just printing a standard report. Hopefully there will always be a place for tangible QSLs.
I love QSL cards and sad it's a dying art. It's something I still love. An Internet contact doesn't really have the same feel as a paper QSL.
I use paper logging and QRZ logbook. When folks send me their paper QSO card, I always reciprocate. Likewise if someone sends me postage for one, that is even better. I barely have enough money for the hobby, let alone giving it away to the postal system. I do wish the USPS would grant us amateur operators a form of a discount for sending QSO cards as a form of courtesy, even if it is only within the USA. I am sure that QSO cards only make up that 0.1% of the US mailings. If they made it cheap, I'd be sending them out no questions asked.
I wrote this about a million years ago for a club newsletter ... hope you guys enjoy it (article attached) ... I know QSL cards are not for everybody for a lot of reasons, but some of us old guys like the traditions .... so this is just one look at it. Obviously, one size does not fit all; QSL cards same gig. 73 WA7PUG
I love getting QSLs in the mail just as much now as I did when I was a brand new Novice, 47 years ago. de WA2EHV
I really like LOTW. Some folks bad-mouth it; but if you just follow the steps in setting it up it's awesome. I do a lot of paper QSL cards too though I'm not as diligent about it as I should.
Why are you trying to drag users of this forum off this site, your links lead people to your monetized website and you are taking "donations" thus your post is not in good interest to the general user base of this forum. and this
I have been DX QSLING for 50 years. There are no 'tricks' but it has gotten to be very expensive. As mentioned, here are the necessities: 1) Use the custom 'return' envelopes ftom Plum, or equivalent; 2) Place $$ in return envelope so it is not clear that there are funds inside; 3) NEVER put your last name on return envelope. Mine is addressed via custom stamp as 'Chip W1YW'; 4) Read the QRzed bio page CAREFULLY for each DX station. SOME ask for $2, MANY ask for $3. If you have multiple QSO's strongly consider a larger donation. The ONLY person who made money as a QSL manager was F6FNU, who was supplementing his pension modestly by sending cards back at the 'postcard rate' and pocketing the difference for airmail-in-envelope. I have not seen anyone do that in many years, since; 5) Some DX are now (appropriately) asking for paypal payment and an email request; 6) Thirty years ago, 80% of DX QSLing was thru US QSL managers. Now its about 10%. Euro QSL managers are now at about 45%. Still lots of direct. Be patient! My statistics for the last 4 years--about 500 DX QSLs-- indicate the average time for return is 4.8 months from the QSO, with 90% back by 7 months. About 8% are either not returning QSL's or they get lost in the mail. About 2% require a second request. About 6% either say 'not in log' or don't respond. The OQRS services are generally reliable at the 95% level based on 109 requests in 4 years. I am about to hit 2400 on DXCC Challenge. I do not use LOTW. My next batch of cards (about 13 months) is about 140 cards.
BTW, I do want to comment on the USPS delivering airmail from overseas.... IT S-T-I-N-K-S! You would assume that airmail gets processed quickly , and AS IT COMES IN. It does NOT. My experience is that airmail from EU is SELDOM less than 14 days from shipment at origin (EU), 5 weeks! from Pacific; Airmail gets 'bundle sorted', probably at your own post office, so there may only be once or twice a week that your post office delivers Airmail: I get airmail returns in CLUSTERS, which is not how they were sent vis a vis the origin date. And yes, they do LOSE airmail and they DELIVER IT TO THE WRONG address --often the wrong TOWN! We often hear of mail problems overseas BUT IT IS A PROBLEM STATESIDE too!
