When I began in ham radio, I was 14 years old with a $2/month allowance. The fact that I even had a transmitter (Heath DX-35) was due to my Dad providing the $55 needed for the used radio (very unexpected since this was equal to the family monthly food budget back then). I later got a part-time job for $10/week so I could afford to QSL (3-cent postage back then). My mother made up 500 cards for me at the newspaper office where she worked (probably cost her about 5-cents a copy). I think she made $0.50/hour as a lineotypist back then. Those cards probably cost her more than a weeks salary! I am amazed at my folks back then.
As a K8 in Michigan, I certainly was not a rare DX station, but I recall receiving a QSL for every card I sent (late 1950's). Well, times have changed. Certainly not everyone has the finances to do Ham radio. As the only active ham in Alaska (a DXCC country) on 2m eme, I am sought for QSL's a lot. Fortunately, I can afford to send cards and do 100% QSL of all my eme contacts. I do not do 100% for satellite, but will reply to all who send a card. I send overseas contacts my card plus self-addressed envelope and $2 USD for postage. I make my own cards on the computer using 4x6 inch Avery postcard stock. This adds up! When I retire on social security I wonder how well I will be able to continue with QSLing.
Bruce brings up very good thoughts to consider when you QSL. BTW I do not have 100% reply rate for my eme QSLs, but it is not bad.
73 Ed - KL7UW
At 08:07 AM 3/28/2008, Bruce wrote:
Although you sometimes will not get a card back no matter what you do, to increase your chances here is what I have done.
Send all cards with a SASE (or self addressed envelop with a green stamp or IRC) Send a pre-filled out QSL card for them to complete (with date/time/callsigns, etc. and a place for them to sign) (this way, even if they do not have any QSL cards, they can provide you with one)
Now the disappointing part... you have done this once, need the country for a new one, send a card again only this time with $5 in it, no reply. Next you actually happen to come across someone that is traveling to that county and you give him a QSL card to carry with him and a blank made out card. He knocks on the door of the ham in the foreign country, asks him if he would please fill out the QSL card for his friend in the states and the ham doesn't want to have anything to do with it. This just was not a very nice ham at all. Oh well, I am still waiting for a satellite QSL card from Iceland back in 1993 or 1994.
Once upon a time, someone sent me a QSL card without a SASE (stateside ham). Having DXCC, WAS, VUCC and WAC on satellite, it was nice to receive a card from another state. I emailed the ham and said I would not send it direct without postage. He replied that this was the most economical way to exchange QSL cards, each side paid half the postage. That would be a great theory if QSL'ing were to start today and no one in the world had a QSL card from anyone else. What about people that are on fixed budgets and like to be on the air. If everyone sent them a QSL card, that would cost them so much they could not buy food that month.
I am the QSL manager for P5/4L4FN (North Korea operation). Very, very rare country. We had sent him equipment to get on AO-40 a few weeks before it went silent (sniff sniff). Anyhow, I have processed around 12,000 QSL cards for that operation. I still get requests. Many come direct without envelopes, SASE, IRC or green stamps. If I sent back even 1,000 of them on my own funds, that would be very expensive (envelope and postage) and I have absolutely nothing to gain towards any award. Those cards go back via the buro and I have to pay the postage and buro fee to send them (a lot less than postage on each one).
You have to remember that if you want a QSL card from someone, it is to further your fun in the hobby by earning some type of award, not the person that you are sending the card to. (If it was someplace I really wanted and I got their card before I sent mine, I would send them back their postage, IRC or green stamp as it was mutually beneficial).
73...bruce
Garie Halstead K8KFJ wrote:
Stuart Underwoodw8stu@att.net wrote:
> I sent out seven QSL cards. Waiting to get some back. > I received only one. My questions is, is there a protocol > for sending and receiving QSL cards for satellite work?If you want the cards bad enough, you
could always include a SASE with your card. Most of the time that will help your return rate. Good luck.
73, Gary -K8KFJ- Sat VUCC #125 Greetings,
I have a question about exchanging QSL cards.
When the last time the ISS xband repeater was up I made seven contacts. I was very excited because this was the first time I was able to work satellites. Very anxious, I sent out seven QSL cards. Waiting to get some back. I received only one. My questions is, is there a protocol for sending and receiving QSL cards for satellite work? When I get better, I would like to try for VUCC... Thanks in advance. 73, Stuart W8STU EN91
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