[CQ-Contest] QSLing
Brian Smith
bdSmith at sftp.com
Tue Feb 17 12:26:22 EST 1998
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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