[CQ-Contest] QSLing

[Brian Smith]

Let me put on my asbestos suit...

I have just gotten started in Ham radio compared to some on this reflector  (just a little more than a year), so I do not have the sage wisdom shown by some, but... 

But, I have sent a QSL to almost EVERY contact I have made, whether I needed the QSL or not.  I have a 2" stack of cards for California, for example.

I pay to have my cards printed and mailed.  All I ask is that you do the same.  I don't NEED any QSL cards, but I LIKE to have them.  If I never get WAS, that's fine.  But I do like to see an acknowledgement on paper that my signal was received, and I like the personal notes that accompany the cards on occasion, and I like to flip through the hundreds of cards I have received in the one year I have been hamming, just to enjoy them.

I have never sent an SASE unless it was a special event, or I was asked to send one.  No one ever told me to send an SASE.  I am sure if the ARRL put a note in its Intro to Ham Radio books, you would see NO new hams sending QSLs, or at least VERY few.  I thought it was a courtesy to send the QSL.  I don't charge people to say thank you. 

Hoever, If I thought this attitude was the majority opinion, I would stop QSLing altogether.

If you are experiencing economic difficulty and cannot spare $.20 for a QSL card, please hang on to my card and remember to return one when times get better, and if they don't, please enjoy my card.  I sent it for YOU, not for ME.  If you don't want to send me one, I understand, but please do not refer to me as rude or unfeeling because I don't understand YOUR situtation.  My card to you is a thank you.  Take it as a gift, you are welcome to it.  But don't feel OBLIGED to return one, only return one if you would LIKE to.  

If you need me to pay for a thank you, you are QSLing for the wrong reasons.

There are more hams today than in the fifties, this is true, but how many have gotten on HF.  I know people who have upgraded and will not turn on HF rigs because of the discourteous behavior of many.  My advice to them has been to try CW.  I takes to much effort at slow code speeds to be rude.

Brian
KB0YXP

If you respond to this in a personal message, please send it to brnsmth at i1.net, not the address listed above.


 


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