QSL cards in amateur radio

Do they still exist? In earlier times, there were many a shack whose walls were "papered" with QSL cards. Yes, even the tireless collectors of rare QSL cards still indulge in their passion for collecting, even if they have become fewer in number. For many long-serving OMs, receiving QSL cards at club evenings was or is the crowning confirmation of successful radio communications. From simple and sober cards, which only fulfilled the minimum requirements for information content, to multi-colored cards with graphics and pictures, they still exert a fascination that the modern digital alternatives somehow cannot replace. Hand on heart (radio operators): Collecting QSL cards, at least the rare ones from DX, only "has something" if you can hold the QSL in your hand as a physical card. This cannot be replaced by a saved data set on the hard disk. To understand this, you must have started with amateur radio when paper QSLs were still the norm. Of course, subjectivity and nostalgia are certainly involved in this consideration.

QSL cards QSL cards

For those who see the confirmation of receipt exclusively as a means to an end on the way to diplomas, this view is of course closed. In this case, eQSL, LoTW & Co clearly have their advantages. With these digital alternatives, diploma programs and applications can be managed more effectively and quickly than with the classic "QSL in a shoebox".

Pioneers of amateur radio and their visionary ideas

According to many sources, as well as the official obituary of the British Amateur Radio Society (RSGB), William Edward Frederick Corsham had the first QSL card printed in January 1922. Corsham was a member of the Amateur Radio Research Association (ARRA) and the British Wireless Relay League (BWRL) and a jack-of-all-trades in radio operations. Even during his military service, he was involved with almost all radio and tube transmitters and receivers used by the military.

But Don A. Hoffmann from Akron (Ohio) had also used the first form of a QSL card as early as 1919. On his future QSL cards, he described himself as the founder of the "QSL hype". In addition, many radio amateurs adopted Hoffmann's suggestion "How to design a QSL card" when amateur radio was re-licensed after the war. This suggestion appeared at the end of 1919 as a letter to the editor in QST, a US magazine for amateur radio.

The living history of the QSL card

The exchange of QSL cards to confirm a radio connection has a long tradition in amateur radio. It goes back to the early beginnings in the 1920s. The forerunners of QSL cards were letters and postcards, which were used to send handwritten reports on reception quality, station equipment, location and personal details. To be brief, abbreviations and the so-called Q-groups were adopted from commercial telegraphy. The use of postcards was very popular and, with subsequently imprinted or stamped callsigns and address data, as well as fillable fields for the QSO data, came quite close to the appearance of today's QSL cards. These cards, which are still preserved in numerous collections, are now radio-historical, individually designed documents. With the increasing popularity of amateur radio, the content and design of QSL cards became increasingly standardized. However, it was still a long way from the letter to the postcard to the current layout of our time. Since then, the QSL card has lasted a long time in amateur radio. At least the nostalgic value of a printed and hand-filled QSL card and the anticipation of receiving it cannot be easily replaced. Now often declared dead, they still exist. Although it is on the decline, it would be a shame if it were to disappear completely from amateur radio.

The digital transformation of QSO confirmation

In 1998, a digital system was established with eQSL, which completely dispenses with the conventional sending and exchange of QSO cards in paper form. Instead, QSO confirmations are transmitted promptly in digital form on the Internet at http://www.eqsl.cc.

Licensed radio amateurs and shortwave listeners (SWL) can exchange the confirmation of their radio connections in the form of an eQSL free of charge after registering. The data of the radio connections are recorded and compared in the database of the Electronic QSL Card Center (eQSL cc). Thus, eQSL offers several advantages:

  • The costs for the procurement and dispatch of conventional QSL cards are eliminated
  • The time it takes to receive the confirmation is reduced to approximately one day. The often long transit times of many weeks or months of conventional QSL cards are a thing of the past
  • Electronic data processing enables the archiving and clear presentation of confirmed QSOs by displaying eQSLs in chronological order or sorted by country, band or operating mode

In addition to the data record of the confirmed radio connection, a classically designed QSL card motif is also possible, so that the recipient can also have the eQSL printed out. Currently, eQSL is used by many radio amateurs, especially for confirming connections in the "digimodes". Unfortunately, it is difficult for the eQSL software to provide the full scope of the worldwide and extensive spectrum of amateur radio diplomas and their tender conditions. In addition, eQSL is not a self-runner, so to speak, because it is not possible without the active data maintenance of the individual users.

QSL card

LoTW - Logbook of the World

With the online service LoTW (Logbook of the World), which is available on the Internet and operated by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), it is possible to keep a logbook virtually in real time by entering, registering and immediately confirming the connection data during the ongoing QSO. If LoTW is used consistently, manual logbooks and QSL cards are no longer necessary. The confirmation received at the end of the radio connection greatly simplifies and speeds up the application for amateur radio diplomas, such as the DXCC diploma. The waiting time for the receipt of QSL cards, whether by direct mail or via QSL bureau, is eliminated. This is something like the "turbo" for every diploma program. LoTW is protected against fraud by encryption with the TQSL software. Receipt confirmations via LoTW are recognized and evaluated worldwide for almost all diplomas. LoTW can be set up on the ARRL website.

QSL cards

Design and correct completion

Unfortunately, formal errors are often made when designing and filling out QSL cards, resulting in QSL cards being invalid for a requested diploma. The following hints and tips are therefore helpful for successful QSL and diploma collection. You can find the complete instructions from the DARC QSL bureau at https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/ausland/english-version/ with the PDF "The QSL card". We have summarized the most important points for you.

The perfect QSL card design

The design and layout of a QSL card is primarily up to you. However, there are a few rules that should be observed. QSL cards should not be smaller than the world postcard format (8.5 × 3.5 cm) and not larger than the German postcard format (DIN-A6, 10.5 × 14.8 cm). In 1984, the IARU decided to standardize the format of QSL cards to 9 x 14 cm, with a paper weight of no less than 160 g/m.

For text and images, care must be taken to ensure that the content is not contrary to decency and good manners. When designing the data page, usually on the back of the card, the following must be observed: The recipient's callsign must be entered in the field at the top right. If the recipient works with a QSL manager, this must be indicated in the text field below the recipient callsign with via Call"". At the bottom of the QSL card, a margin of at least 1 cm should be left free so that the QSL operator can print the coding required for sorting. If the data page is clearly designed, the QSL bureau can process the cards more quickly and a diploma evaluator does not have to search for the data on the card for a long time. Therefore, all text fields for entering all relevant QSO data should be placed on the back of the card.

Signature on QSL cards

At the DARC e.V. General Assembly in May 2007, it was decided that the signature of the OP on the QSL card is no longer required for the application of diplomas recognized by the DARC.

QSL cards

Callsign changes and DOK changes

If you receive a new license class by taking an additional exam, which also involves a change of callsign, the new callsign may not be added by hand to the existing QSL cards with the old callsign. Such QSL cards do not count for the DLD. The same applies to the change of local association. The new DOK must not be written by hand on the QSL card. The new callsign and the DOK can only be changed by applying a stamp or a label. Where possible, the new DOK should be entered using the station's own stamp. However, your own stamps containing the callsign and the DOK will also be recognized. In principle, only the DOK of which you are a member can be assigned on a card. Dual members (DARC and VFDB) must decide which DOK they wish to assign with their card.

Rules for relay radio

QSOs made via a relay always raise the problem of which signal report to give. The readability of the signal is not the problem. This can also be determined via the relay, because you can tell from the signal noise how well the station arrives at the relay. But which S-value should you specify as the signal strength? The value from the S-meter would give a signal report to the relay station and not to the actual call partner. This is why some OMs only give an R5 or a Q5 for readability (R), which means that the QSL card is invalid for the DLD. If you do not want to enter the signal strength "S", you must also enter "via Call" under "Remarks", i.e. the callsign of the relay station via which the QSO was made. Only a QSL card completed in this way will be recognized for the DLD when a connection is made via a relay.

Please do not enter any relay callsigns in the "via" field, and do not enter the operator's callsign for club stations! These entries can lead to misunderstandings and misrouting during QSL verification. Such information belongs in the "Remarks" text field.

The QSL manager

The "via" field belongs to the address, i.e. to the data that is important for the transmission of the QSL card. Entries may only be made in this field if the station has a QSL manager. QSL cards on which a QSL manager is specified must of course be sorted to the "via" callsign and not to the "To Radio" callsign for dispatch via the QSL bureau.

Country identifiers and the "Home Call"

Since guest licenses are no longer required in some countries due to the CEPT regulation, the country identifier of the country in which you are located is placed in front of your own callsign. Some operators state "QSL via HC" in the QSO. This HC means Home Call, so the QSL card should be sent to the home callsign. The home call does not have to be mentioned again in the "via" field. The QSL card must of course be addressed to the prefix of the home call and sorted.

QSL cards

Why the bureau does not send cards directly

The letters CBA stand for Call Book Address. The call partner wants his QSL card to be sent directly by post to the address given in the call book. The DARC QSL bureau cannot do this. These cards are only sent to QSL bureaus and in very rare exceptions, if there is no bureau in the country, they are also sent directly.

What to consider with modern digimodes

QSL cards for QSOs via Internet networks, Packet Radio, Echolink, D-Star, DMR, FT3, FT4, FT8 and JT65 are not recognized for many diplomas. If QSL cards are to be exchanged, "Echolink", "PR" etc. can be entered under Mode. The mode specification for DMR and D-Star is not yet clearly defined. You could perhaps enter "DV" for Digital Voice. The entry under "Band/MHz" depends on the band on which the signal is transmitted. Otherwise, the QRG on which you yourself are transmitting (uplink) or the QRG of the relay via which the signal is transmitted (down link) is specified. The information on the signal repeat is to be handled in the same way as for a connection via a relay. With FT4, FT8, JT65 and other digimodes, a repeat according to RST no longer makes sense. Here, the dB specification for signal strength and readability has been agreed upon.

Precise SWL reports

Shortwave listeners (SWL) also state the callsign of the station with which the written station made the QSO. This is the only way the recipient of the QSL can find and check the SWL report in his logbook.

Documenting satellite QSOs correctly

For connections via a satellite, the uplink transmission frequency must be entered under "Band/MHz" and the name of the satellite (e.g. QO100) under "Remarks". In addition, the propagation mode must also be entered as "SAT".

Collecting for amateur radio diplomas

In addition to the general collection of any QSL cards, others are specifically selected and required to apply for diplomas. For some diplomas, a GCR list is sufficient, i.e. a list of existing QSL cards confirmed by two OMs. For other diplomas, such as DLD or DXCC, the QSL cards must be sent to an evaluator who checks the validity of the QSL cards.

QSL cards

Efficient and inexpensive, design and printing

In the past, you used to take your draft QSL card to your nearest local print shop. However, this was only advisable if you could present a print-ready design and the print shop already had experience in printing QSL cards. Today, this is not advisable, as small printing companies can no longer keep up with the prices and quality offered by companies specializing in QSL card printing. Have a look on the Internet and in the amateur radio magazines FUNKAMATEUR, Funktelegramm etc.. There are many attractive offers in terms of pricing, print quality and quantity. Furthermore, you will usually receive qualified advice on designing the layout according to your ideas. In addition to the individually designed card in four-color printing, you can also choose from a wide range of standard cards of the same print quality as an inexpensive alternative.

QSL cards with sense and understanding

We wish you every success in choosing a QSL card. It doesn't have to be a number in the thousands. A QSL for just any QSO is perhaps no longer up-to-date. After all, it also depends on how long you have been on the air. If you still have a stock of cards for every QSO partner who wants a QSL, whether he simply collects them or can use them for a diploma - that would be a small contribution to the much-cited "Hamspirit".

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