Modern QSLing.....teach an old dog new tricks

Hi all,

Back in the day....ooh, nineteen-clickety-click....QSLs were confirmed through a club, (my old club was the Foxtrot Papa's, long gone now). As a member you had access to a P.O.Box, purchased club QSL clubs and you either filled one out to send off or checked with the club secretary to see if you had received any.
It was a big enough smile to get a CB radio contact but an absolute thrill to get a QSL card

I know a lot back then used their QSL cards as bragging rights for their "super-duper-master-setups" , but for me I loved that personal human touch, a 'thankyou' if you will for a QSO.

Roll on 30 odd years and I haven't got a fecking clue!

I know that there are club QSL cards for sale on the forum but do people still use physical cards? Do people still post them or is there some modern t'internet/electronic method to it all nowadays?

It's just that I've been thrilled with my CB DX contacts but feel that a 'thankyou' in the form of a QSL confirmation would be in order.

Does anyone bother anymore? Is it all taken for granted? Some digital log on a random servers database?


It's just that after spending sometime reacquainting myself with CB, despite disability cutting a homemade dipole, grateful to a volunteer in helping pinning it into the loft, spending hours repairing the VFO on a forty year old radio and joining this flipping fantastic and helpful group to get back into it.......a QSL confirmation would be the cream topping

How do you guys go about it?

Any help whatsoever would be much appreciated.

All the best,
Victor

Victor mate I think someone has put a thread up mentioning about starting a P.O.BOX , I remember the old days of QSL cards I use to look forward to getting them ,it was more personal than some mention on a log in
website a QSL card was physical you knew someone had spent time writing it out and actually posting it and not tapped something out on a keyboard and pressed a button to send it ,I've still got a few Victor from back in 80s and 90s when I was with the Tango Echo DX club based in Essex pre forum and internet days lol.

Hi Martin me ol' mucker,

I know what you mean mate, there was something special about the old QSL cards. Handwritten, sometimes sporting hand drawn designs or doodles. Flipping marvelous things they were

My old ones are lost in the mists of time unfortunately, used to love going back through them in the old days.

Yeah, had a dig through the forum and saw a bit about P.O. Boxes being really expensive now. Thought I'd drawn a blank and just being a silly old fart reminiscing

Shame really. Whether we go the harder route like myself, or buy a new radio and antenna, there's still the satisfaction of achievement at getting it working and achieving a contact, local or DX. A QSL card was a lovely reward for that effort.


I just must be getting old....even me flipping birthday cards come via funkypigeon or moonpig nowadays.
We've lost that personal touch.

Nah ya it's not you getting old ,its like you said its people losing that personal touch ,you dont even see a person at the checkout in the supermarket sometimes as it all self checkouts in a lot of places lol
but getting back to the QSL cards ,kids would like to have them come back really cos I have a mate who a couple of years back got some great QSOs on SSB like Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, and USA and if he didn't film them on his phone (modern technology help there LOL) people most probably thought he was talking bull, but with the old QSL cards you did have some physical proof ,I know you could do it with one of these website logs but it's not the same

I have the same thoughts as you Victor.
It was fantastic some times getting your post as such and some came with little gift's bit's and bob's in a fat envelope.
All my cards and bit's went along with my shack thanks to my x-wife and her friend that sold it all and gave her pennies and kept the lion's share.
Only cards i have now are 2 a bloke from down the road saw my aerial go up so called for a chin-wag and gave me his QSL cards.

Just sat thinking back to the day's and remembering this mouthful and spelling it out over the air.
llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Ha, ha! I know what you mean Martin.

There was nothing like, "Alright Sylvia/Doreen/Laura.... How's the old man and kids?", conversations whilst getting the weekly shop. Now it's all, "Unexpected items in the bagging area", several times before someone with a face like a slapped ass roll their eyes and helps you.
Perhaps the current 'social distancing' might change all that?

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Hiya Alan,

Yeah, just seems a shame doesn't it? I remember the little gifts also, foreign sweets, stick-on or even sew-on country badges and the like. Was just a nice touch. Ha! yeah, some of the place names were enough to fill the whole card!

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Well I've tried checking out the 'modern electronics methods of QSLing to no avail. QRZ11 gets me nowhere or no page, yaLOG! is Windoze software and I run Linux, LF11 seems to work? but can't seem to get anywhere with it.

Does no one QSL anymore?
I hear a lot of QSL/QRZ type shouts or is that just a polite way of telling me to sling my hook?

Perhaps people contact clubs directly? I've had a few Alpha Tangos and the Hotel November's over the radio, (the German HNs are the friendliest DXers I've ever come across and their English could put mine to shame!)

Ah well, I must be missing something.....other than me marbles

Victor wrote:

Does no one QSL anymore?
I hear a lot of QSL/QRZ type shouts or is that just a polite way of telling me to sling my hook?

They're still around....here's one I received back in 2018 from a station on Winter Hill (near Bolton). It was a "special event" station to commemorate 100 years since the end of WW1.

Hiya Phil,

That's a nice card mate, worthy cause and great sentiment. It's a keeper

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Perhaps I'm barking up the wrong tree and times have moved on. I do hear a lot of "CQ competition, you are number blah/blah, QSL/QRZ" on the Ham bands but thought the CB bands would be somehow different. TBH I've trawled through QRZ.com a few times and found it all a little lacking, sometimes the profiles are even downright rude(!)
Then again if you're working 80m and past "you are number 804. 73s" you wouldn't have time to QSL

Perhaps that's why the CB frequencies hold a special place, "less is more" kind of thing.


Anyway, cheers lads. If you've got some gem QSL cards tucked away I'd be more than happy to see them. If I can't QSL I'm more than happy to reminisce

Victor I found a few of my old ones from the 90s for you to have a look at the one in the top right hand corner is my old personal one.


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There's some nice cards there Martin and some good contacts

Thanks for sharing them, makes you kinda feel fuzzy inside remembering the old clubs, meetups, QSLs.

Cor, now I'm remembering the old eyeball meetups in London. Hee, Chelsea Bridge runs and handing out Eyeball cards. That's a whole new kettle of fish on QSL cards

Thanks again. Smiling like an idiot here

Reminds me of a QSL card wind up I pulled many years ago. At the time all I had was a 40chl AM set with a 1/4wave dipole and 20watts of help....... we had a chap in our club who was forever telling me and anyone who would listen how my set up wouldn't get to the end of the road. Now this guy ran the club PO box, so got to see everyone's cards..... Enter my workmates sister,, She worked as cabin crew for a long haul airline,,,,,,, (your ahead of me arnt you),,,,, well I had cards coming from all over the world. Christina was getting her workmates to post them too,,, I had cards from Japan, HK Oz the states............ The best of it was everybody in the club was in on it bar the know all,,, who to this day never knew id had him over lol lol

Victor,

I can a sure you qsl cards are still very much part of the hobby,
Although I would suggest its more now for the dedicated hardcore operators,
Most are trying to build on countries worked & confirmed,
check out: https://www.dxproof.com/

With most of the UK club PO Boxes closed due to running costs & lack of conditions most operators now post out there qsl cards with a SAE for a return. (with the exception of AT & SD group)
If it involves a qsl manager or a large group expect 2$ contribution which these days managers have paypal for.

The cheaper route are Eqsl's direct to your email.
Charlie India dx (roy & silvia) have moved there group very much to Eqsl but do still have a PO box.
Clusterdx.nl now has a Eqsl direct from any spot as long as the receiver is registered on cdx.

Most activation stations have there contact details on at least one of the following sites Cdx, DX27, LF11 and normally there club website as well.

T.

Hi Ranger, cheers for the info, much appreciated.

I'm probably not the hardcore type but I have started tracking down clubs from callsigns I've gathered, just to thank them for the QSO more than anything. After 30 odd years away from radio it's been exciting getting some European contacts, friendly operators one and all and often with fantastic English language skills. When I've inadvertently contacted the same operator twice they've been real friendly about it and had a more chatty QSO which I've enjoyed.

I've just been excited that a forty year old radio I fixed and a bit of wire in the loft has enabled me to get back into this

I shall look into the information you've provided and go from there.


Thanks again and all the best to you,
Victor

Ive kept all my Qsl's from back in the day even did a ytube video on it .I find its not the same now folks just want a radio report and move on  not them all but  most .
My mrs has been nagging me to find a very special thing that she was sent prior to charlie's wedding to Diana .Its was the actual order of service that the folks attending the wedding got and this lad worked for the royal printers and sent it to her after a contact .I found it and its now kept away for safe keeping .Good old cb radio .

Nice one saltire and what a great story mate

I'm still a bit gutted about today's scenario regards QSL cards but more gutted I don't have my old ones.

Still, I've had some good DX's recently, all friendly, great QSO's and thoroughly enjoyed it all!
It's also great hearing the continental breakers calling back to so many Charlie Tango numbers too!

Sheesh, just thought back to how long ago the Charles & Diana wedding was......makes you feel flipping old