The Ultimate and final courtesy of a great contact is the Qsl Card. However, what is a qsl card, where did it begin, what is it's purpose and how is it used shall be explored in some depth for a better and broader understanding. This is for the benefit of those readers that are new to this hobby or are learning or discovering this hobby for the first time.
When two radio individuals contact each other it's common that they send each other a so called QSL-card to confirm their contact. The term QSL means 'Can you verify reception of this transmission?' or 'acknowledgement', derived from the radio operators Q-Code and the reply is usually in the form of a card containing the details of when and where the transmission took place, as a written confirmation. On a QSL-card are several pieces of data and/or information about the contact made such as date and time of the contact, the type of modulation used (CW,FM,SSB), the receive strength of the other station, the callsigns of both stations etc. For many radio operators their QSL-card is a visiting card on which they have a photograph of their antennas or equipment, information about their location, or facts they wish to publish which is of importance to them. QSL cards are collected for many reasons. Some operators enjoy thumbing through a shoe box of cards reliving memorable conversations on the air. Others collect them as evidence for various operating awards which can be obtained to demonstrate their stations success in contacting specific geographical areas.
There are some very basis and standard protocols that should be followed when considering beginning or exchanging qsl cards with another radio station that you have contacted and agreed to confirm that specific contact with. Of significant importance is to insure that all confirmations are done in a timely manner.
1. Never give out your street address, your full name, or any information that could be used by any third party listening to your conversation that could identify your exact location. This is for your own security and for reasons that should be rather obvious. Typically Post Office boxes or Qsl Managers are routinely used to help distance one's self with the exact physical location of their location which can be later given out in the actual qsl card should one deem that to be of any significant importance.
2. Always send your qsl card in an envelope as it will insure that the card arrives in good condition and important information about yourself is concealed.
3. Never place the recipients full name or call sign on the envelope your sending to the individual where an exchange of qsl cards is occuring with. This will insure some degree of privacy and also helps conceal their identity from agencies that may be monitoring specific activities that come via the regular postal service.
4. Always reciprocate, if an individual has gone thru the trouble to insure that you receive confirmation of a contact, it is only common courtesy that you do the same. Postcards can be substituted in some cases for pre-printed personalized cards as some individuals do not or choose not to print indiviudualized cards but rather send packages containing material that is used as a confirmation in lieu of a personalized qsl card. These are readily available and are usually not very expensive as a true dx chaser that confirms contacts frequently can incur large expenses to send large volumes of qsl packages or cards.
5. Information about the contact should be included such as the date, the frequency, the mode of operation, your operating conditions (transciever, power, antenna, etc), their signal report at your location, the time (usually stated in GMT or Universal Coordinated time), and any other specific information that was collected at the time of contact that would be useful.
6. In the case of activations, speciality contacts, or contest type activities it may be suggested that some form of money is included in the qsl package being sent to the party your confirming a contact with. Typically this is done because of the rather costly venture that can be incurred when speciality, rare, of most wanted contacts are made. This is done to help offset the cost of mailing several hundred cards or qsl packages by the party that is deemed a "most wanted" contact.
In January 1922 Bill Corsham
(2UV) produced what is believed to be the first QSL card, certainly in
Europe, if not in the World. In an issue dated May 5,
1923, of the magazine "Wireless World", Bill reproduced a post card
bearing the United States call 8ML and this, according to the caption,
was "one of the specially printed cards circulated in America by
members of the ARRL for reporting the reception of experimental
transmissions". They further advocated the adoption in the United
Kingdom of a similar type of card for acknowledging reports.
Today,
Qsl cards are sent in many formats. They are still frequently sent via
common mail routes to their destination but even this is done in
different manners. They can be sent directly from operator to
operator, from a qsl manager that represents a specific operator and
handles the specifics of all his or her qsl affairs, from a central
location or bureau that manages the affairs of many operators based on
specific terms and conditions and by other conventional means.
Using these services can reduce costs and expedite the qsl process itself. With the age of the internet and email, various organizations or agencies have been developed to allow for the use of electronic exchanges of qsl cards or e-cards ( http://www.eqsl.cc/qslcard/ ) as well as direct exchanges between individuals. There is no doubt that as time progresses and as technologies change many alternate methods will arise and become popular that will allow for more immediate and direct exchanges of information between 2 operating radio stations.
