Outstanding presentation. I use QSLs from cheap qsls, and I send one when I receive one. The few qsls I get nowadays are from DX stations via QSL Bureau. Domestic stations rarely send qsls. I bought 100 qsls a few years ago and I have 81 left. Before I became a ham, I was SWL and I sent reports on postcards. I collected dozens from hams and commercial shortwave stations. That was back in the late 1950s. Nowadays, digital qsls reign. KB2AMY Evan
I have paper QSL cards although I also use LOTW, QRZ and others. I used a photo from a rare location that I finally got to after dreaming of it for 40 some years or more. Great video! 73 Don K2DV
Early on I thought QSL cards were great and you needed them for any kind of awards. Often that meant sending cash to a DX station to get their card to verify you made contact. Add to that IRCs, postage, and the paperwork involved in keeping track of all this, and then what to do with all the cards when you got them. In time I started to feel that it was just not worth it, a radio hobby that had to be supplemented by all these other costs to have snail mail verify a radio contact. I was so happy when eQSL and LOTW came along. Finally I did not have to deal with paper QSLs, printing costs, postage, mail, bureaus, etc etc etc. To me, eQSL and LOTW totally eliminates the needs for paper QSLs and if some DX station does not upload to LOTW, I do without them. The idea was verification, not exchanging paper. I knew a topic like this would draw out all the people who absolutely love their paper QSLs and I don't fault that if that is part of your hobby, but understand that there is a valid argument on the other side from people who want nothing to do with paper QSLs. The only QSLs I have displayed in recent history were eQSLs on my desktop. I mean really, who still uses the mail except for packages?
I agree 100% Billie. What I do with my EQSLs and even the paper ones I receive from time to time is scan them and put them in the "My Photos" file of the computer. I then direct the screen saver to go to the file to display them. Each card will display for around 5 or 6 seconds then move on to the next card. You can adjust the length of time that a card will display before moving on to the next card. Works out great for me because of limited wall space and this way each and every card gets to be displayed in my shack instead of winding up in a filing cabinet or on my desk in a dusty pile! I do QSL 100%. I seldom initiate a QSL but always answer in the same method that the confirmation is received....E QSL, LOTW, USPS, or QRZ log and in a lot of cases all 4 ways. My Elmers taught me long ago that a QSL is the final courtesy of a QSO. I think that still holds true today. It's just that the methods have been streamlined and made more cost effective. I can now work a 7P8 or a 5X3 and have the QSO confirmed in a matter of minutes rather than months, years or perhaps ever! Don, K0PV Goodland, KS
That's a cool idea on displaying QSLs. I have also scanned some paper QSLs. On my QRZ page I detailed how I made my desktop display, but for some reason the images disappeared from it. Making Your Own Desktop Determine your monitor screen resolution. Right click screen and “Screen Resolution”. If its a different version of windows or video it may have the “properties” which will also show the resolution. In my case it was 1920 x 1080 pixels. A typical eQSL is 528 x 336 pixels so if I wanted them full sized at my desk top resolution I would only be able to fit three down. I felt I could half them and still see them fine so I decided I wanted to use six down. Doing the math we have 1080 / 6 = 180 px for the height. This will give us a width of about 282px but we do not have to worry about the width if we preserve dimensions when we re-size the height to 180px. Now its just a matter of making our desktop using a pallet size of our screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 and dropping and positioning our re-sized cards on to it. Using six across left enough room for my widgets on the left size of my screen, otherwise I would have put vertical cards along that side. This really was not at all hard to do if you have a graphics program you are familiar with. I use Photo Shop but this could be done in Gimp or many other graphic programs. Gimp by the way is an open source free program you can download and I used it for many years before Photo Shop. If you do use Photoshop there are some nice options. I name all my QSL downloads by call sign and in Photoshop each card you drop is kept as a separate layer and listed in the index. This makes it easy to change up your cards occasionally. I am thinking my next project will be a PDF QSL book.
Terrific research and video. Did club presentation myself. Many different techniques and designs shown. My printer helped me with these and helped me find the images. Always send a card that will inspire the other station to reply. Keep those cards coming, 100% return via direct. 73, Dale K8TS
I used to love QSL cards. I even hired a professional graphics artist to design my QSL cars. Now that postage is $.35 each for a QSL card just for the US, forget the cost to send it internationally. I think twice about sending one. At least postcards are cheaper than a 1st class letter@$.55 a pop.
