[CQ-Contest] QSL'ing
Sante IK0HBN
ik0hbn at isa.it
Sat Nov 8 01:27:21 EST 1997
Hi Ken, let me make some points more clear:
I never thought life has reduced in receiving qsl cards, but I think the
same about contesting.
You talked about the friendship could be arise among contest contacts: I do
believe this, but I less figure how one could be a friend for another Ham
if he gives up the possible need of such cards for his "possible" friend.
I mean friendship is first an each-other respect: one is free to leave
cards not answered, but the same respect must leave the chance to the
others of not wishing heartily to contact you.
Surely a qsl card does not substitute a friendship, but some habits surely
show the respect of others.
I make contest seriously since 5 years ago and I have noted some things
quite difficult to undertstand and explain. I don't know why, but the same
hams who do not answered qsl cards are the same that occupate a frequency
not taking care at all if the same hosts another station. The basic rule
seems to be" I am louder, so I'll force you leaving this frequency". It
seems more a lack of education that invests several aspect of our hobby.
Amateur radio cuts, as a knife in the butter, multiple behaviours: the
world is fine because different. If everybody were the same....think how
boring would be living...
Ken, and you talk abt friendship? I know people that would kill their
mothers for a tenth of DB more in their Yagi-stacks....hi
All that is a pure coincidence? We live in a world where being competitive
is a must, but everything has a limit. If one has not found enough time in
7 years to answer to just one of my 51 qsl cards sent, please leave me the
little right of denying my point for what it could worth. May be in future
some people will understand that public relation and courtesy could
increase the ERP for winning a contest. And mainly let me giving the
pleasure of never-ended pile-up to whom take seriously ALL the aspect of
our hobby, qsl cards included. At my radio beginning somebody told me that
QSL IS THE FINAL COURTESY OF A QSO, has that statement changed in last years?
At the end IK0 is a prefix quite common, also during WPX, so surely they
will have the chance of working others instead of me. This, specially for
respect towards the several FRED's spread in all the world.
I really hope to leave on this world something more than a few hundreds of
thousand qso's....it would be a poor thing to be remembered for so few...hi
By the way, don't worry: I carefully checked my logs and I found just one
qso with you made by my guest OP during last CQWW SSB. Your card and the
others 1717 are already in the hands of our club secretary, ready to be
shipped to our national main club. This evening I had driven for 210 KM.
for bringing them in his hands.
Should I consider myself a "Mutant" for that?
Ken, nothing of personal, and specially no intention of offending somebody.
Everybody are free of doing what they like more, but this is valid really
for everybody. My 0.001 cent worth
Ciao Sante
At 10.04 07/11/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi Fred,
> Congratulations on the QSL efficiency. Unfortunately some of us
>have a few minor problem that keeps us from being as efficient as you
>are:
>1- If I asked my wife to help out with the QSL chores she would laugh
>in my face and we probably wouldn't have sex for another 6 months.
>2- At age 36 I still find myself having to work 40 hour plus work
>weeks. This leaves very little time for other activities. (Getting on
>the air comes to mind)
>Retirement is great isn't it!
>3-My 5 year old son takes up a great amount of my free time. Until he
>learns how to write and until I can convince him that the QSLs I
>slipped into his
>homework pile are actually homework tasks I will continue to fall
>behind in my QSL chores.
>4- Until I hit the lottery jackpot I won't be able to afford a
>secretary to store and file all my QSL cards the way I would like them
>to be stored.
>5- I don't really enjoy filling out QSL cards. I only do so because I
>feel obligated. I have never NOT replied to someone's QSL card. QSLing
>just happens to fall at the bottom of my list of things to do.
> I still find it hard to believe that some stations will black
>list certain contest stations because they don't qsl. If they thought
>about the BIG picture of life they might just figure out that there is
>more to it than receiving a QSL card from yet another USA station. For
>those of you who believe that a piece of paper is worth more than
>on-the-air friendships ponder this. When you die, all of your QSL
>cards will be thrown away in the trash. Nobody will care if you had a
>card for the Andaman Islands or not. It will be laying right next to
>the rotting banana peel and old newspapers at the landfill. Your
>on-the-air contact memories will go with you to the grave.
> 73 Ken N4UK
>
>----------
>From: Fred Laun K3ZO[SMTP:aalaun at ibm.net]
>Sent: Thursday, November 06, 1997 11:34 PM
>To: Contest Reflector
>Subject: [CQ-Contest] QSL'ing
>
> Behind as usual, but I had to get my two cents' worth in on this
>one.
>
>I am an active contester and though not making as many QSO's as the
>multiops I routinely run off 1500-2500 QSO's in each of the seven
>major DX
>Contests each year. Plus I enjoy getting into the regional and
>single-country DX contests as well (with the exception of the WAE) so
>that
>is several thousand more contest QSO's each year. Plus I operate each
>year
>for about a month from HS0ZAR which runs up another 2000 or so QSO's
>annually.
>
>Like ON4UN I love QSL'ing. And I don't use labels but I (or the XYL)
>fill
>out each QSL by hand.
>
>I keep a record of all stations I have worked outside the continental
>48
>with my K3ZO call in 11 analog books (because the system was started
>14
>years before I had a computer and I don't feel like doing the
>keypunching
>necessary to data-process it up to date) which are at my operating
>position. If I hear a particular station I can look up the call
>immediately in this set of books. If I am doing general DX'ing I only
>call
>stations self-defined as "rare" and which I have never worked before
>on any
>band. (I make exceptions to this rule on 6 meters). That is why you
>will
>frequently see me spot a station on packet that I am not working at
>the time.
>
>At the end of each contest I do the following:
>
>1) Use a search-and-replace program to slash all of the zeroes in the
>callsigns of the stations I have worked.
>
>2) Print out a copy of my log which goes into a binder. A new binder
>is
>started each year.
>
>3) Have Word-Perfect sort my contest log in alphanumeric callsign
>order.
>
>4) Go through this sort with my system of 11 books and mark each log
>entry
>which is a never-before-worked callsign (Yes VX3EJ will get a QSL even
>if I
>have worked VE3EJ before).
>
>5) Deliver the completed log to the XYL who proceeds to fill out an
>expensive, multi-colored QSL -- which I have printed in Thailand --
>for
>each entry.
>
>When I receive a direct QSL which requests my QSL, I answer the QSL
>directly whether or not return postage is received, and whether or not
>I
>have already sent a card to that station via the Bureau.
>
>When I receive a bureau shipment (thanks NY3Y for taking such good
>care of
>me!) I do the following:
>
>1. I sort the cards into four categories:
>
> a. QSL's which say "Tks QSL" -- filed with no further action.
> b. QSL's for K3ZO
> c. QSL's for HS0ZAR
> d. QSL's for other stations which have come to me by mistake.
>
>2. I begin answering cards for K3ZO, using the PVRC club cards which a
>lot
>of us in PVRC use. I start with the binder for the current year and
>work
>backwards. As I pull cards to be answered out of the Bureau box, I
>sort
>them by year of QSO, while at the same time answering immediately
>those
>which are in the binder for the current year. I then go through each
>year's
>binder in turn until I am finished.
>
>3. I begin answering cards for HS0ZAR, where the QSO sheets are in a
>separate binder.
>My HS0ZAR QSL's were also printed in Thailand, and though not
>expensive I
>think they are reasonably original and attractive.
>
>4. I go through the cards in category (d) above. If they were meant
>for
>some other USA station but were sent to me by mistake, I mail them to
>that
>station at my expense.
>If someone had me down as manager for someone I am not manager for or
>for
>someone I am no longer manager for, I do have a series of labels
>which
>explains the problem and returns the card through the bureau back to
>the
>sender. If someone busted my call, there is a label for that problem
>also
>and the card is returned to the sender without action. Ditto with
>those
>who are not in my log. (Yes, I check the log entry faithfully for
>every
>QSO before I answer).
>
>5. All SWL cards are answered in the same manner they are received,
>but I
>do not keep any of them except the odd one from a UA9 on 160 meters,
>etc.
>etc.
>
>All of the non-lower-48 QSLs I have received for my K3ZO, W9SZR and
>W9SZR/3
>calls are filed in alphanumeric order by callsign in 80 metal file
>drawers
>(no I am not a stockholder in Steelmaster but I should be).
>
>I admit that the QSL's I have received for my HI8XAL, HS1ABD, HK3NBB,
>LU5HFI, HS0ZAR operations etc are not yet so filed BUT SOMEDAY THEY
>WILL
>BE!
>
>Now fellows, if I can do all of this, I find it hard to believe that
>you
>can't at least answer the direct cards you receive!
>
>73, Fred
>
>
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>
>
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>
>
--
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Sante Lillo, IK0HBN | Home telephone: +39-761-407543
Localita' Saineta, 3 | Fax on request : as above
01030 Bassano in Teverina (VT) Italy | Cell. telephone: +39-338-6825052
E-Mail: ik0hbn at isa.it | packet: IK0HBN at I0INU.IUMB.ITA.EU
Home Page: <http://www.qsl.net/ik0hbn>| DX cluster : IK0HBN > I0JBL-6
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