Questions on non-US QSL bureaus

[Trey Garlough]

My perception of how things are done in Paraguay:

> * Is there a central bureau for incoming cards (in contrast
>   to our district system)?

Yes.  It is managed by the Radio Club Paraguyo (the ARRL of ZP), 
headquartered in Asuncion, near the Port of Asuncion.

> * What happens when cards arrive? Are they separated and sent 
>   to regional bureaus? 

I'm not sure what happens to cards for other call areas, but the 
ZP5 members have mailboxes at RCP HQ and the cards are stuffed 
into the members' boxes.  It may be that cards for other areas
are distributed at meetings.

> * Are there enough hams to justify having suffix managers 
>   (as we do in the U.S.)?

Nope.

> * Are the incoming and outgoing bureaus (or the single bureau)
>   run under the auspices of the country's primary amateur radio
>   organization?

Yep.  The outgoing bureau is run by a volunteer, Doug Wooley, ZP6CW 
(ex ZP6XDW).  As cards accumulate in the country boxes, Doug decides
at some point that it's time to make a shipment to that country, so
he bundles up the cards and sends them.  Since the radio club is 
underwritten by the government, the club has a franking privilege 
for sending stuff via surface mail, so there is no direct charge to 
the memebers for sending QSLs via the bureau.  I think the government
subsidizes air mail postage too, because it seem I remember club 
memeber being able to QSL direct via airmail at a reduced rate.

> * Are the bureaus staffed entirely by volunteers? (Our incoming
>   ones are, but not the outgoing one.)

Every time I visit RCP HQ, there are always the same two people working 
there, so I would guess there is a full time staff of two.  In fact, one
of the two actually lives there.