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A QSL card is a written confirmation of either a
two-way Two-way or Two Way may refer to: * " 2-Way", single by rapper Lil' Romeo * Two-way, Cincinnati chili topped on spaghetti * "Two Way" (KT Tunstall and James Bay duet), 2016 See also * * * * 3-Way (disambiguation) {{Disambiguation ...
radiocommunication Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
between two amateur radio or
citizens band Citizens band radio (also known as CB radio), used in many countries, is a land mobile radio system, a system allowing short-distance person-to-many persons bidirectional voice communication among individuals, using two way radios operating on ...
stations; a one-way reception of a signal from an
AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmis ...
, FM radio,
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
or shortwave broadcasting station; or the reception of a two-way radiocommunication by a third party listener. A typical QSL card is the same size and made from the same material as a typical
postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...
, and most are sent through the
mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...
as such. QSL card derived its name from the
Q code The Q-code is a standardised collection of three-letter codes that each start with the letter "Q". It is an operating signal initially developed for commercial radiotelegraph communication and later adopted by other radio services, especially ...
"QSL". A Q code message can stand for a statement or a question (when the code is followed by a question mark). In this case, 'QSL?' (note the question mark) means "Do you confirm receipt of my transmission?" while 'QSL' (without a question mark) means "I confirm receipt of your transmission."


History

During the early days of radio broadcasting, the ability for a radio set to receive distant signals was a source of pride for many consumers and hobbyists. Listeners would mail "reception reports" to radio broadcasting stations in hopes of getting a written letter to officially verify they had heard a distant station. As the volume of reception reports increased, stations took to sending
post card A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...
s containing a brief form that acknowledged reception. Collecting these cards became popular with radio listeners in the 1920s and 1930s, and reception reports were often used by early broadcasters to gauge the effectiveness of their transmissions. The concept of sending a post card to verify reception of a station (and later two-way contact between them) may have been independently invented several times. The earliest reference seems to be a card sent in 1916 from 8VX in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
to 3TQ in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
(in those days ITU prefixes were not used). The standardized card with callsign, frequency, date, etc. may have been developed in 1919 by C.D. Hoffman, 8UX, in
Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...
. In Europe, W.E.F. "Bill" Corsham, 2UV, first used a QSL when operating from
Harlesden Harlesden is a district in the London Borough of Brent, North West London. Located north of the Grand Union Canal and Wormwood Scrubs, the Harrow Road flows through the centre of the area which goes eastwards to Central London and west toward ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in 1922.


Use in amateur radio

Amateur radio operators exchange QSL cards to confirm two-way radio contact between stations. Each card contains details about one or more contacts, the station and its operator. At a minimum, this includes the
call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assign ...
of both stations participating in the contact, the time and date when it occurred (usually specified in UTC), the
radio frequency Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the ...
or
band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...
used, the
mode of transmission In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform, called the ''carrier signal'', with a separate signal called the ''modulation signal'' that typically contains informatio ...
used, and a signal report. The
International Amateur Radio Union The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) is an international confederation of national organisations that allows a forum for common matters of concern to amateur radio operators worldwide, and collectively represents matters to the Internatio ...
and its member societies recommend a maximum size of . Although some QSL cards are plain, they are a
ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...
radio operator's calling card and are therefore frequently used for the expression of individual creativity — from a photo of the operator at their station to original artwork, images of the operator's home town or surrounding countryside, etc. Consequently, the collecting of QSL cards with especially interesting designs has become a frequent addition to the simple gathering of printed documentation of a ham's communications over the course of his or her radio career. Normally sent using ordinary, international postal systems, QSL cards can be sent either ''direct'' to an individual's address, or via a country's centralized amateur radio association ''QSL bureau'', which collects and distributes cards for that country. This saves postage fees for the sender by sending several cards destined for a single country in one envelope, or large numbers of cards using parcel services. Although this reduces postage costs, it increases the delivery time because of the extra handling time involved. In addition to such ''incoming'' bureaus, there are also ''outgoing'' bureaus in some countries. These bureaus offer further postage savings by accepting cards destined for many different countries and repackaging them together into bundles that are sent to specific incoming bureaus. Most QSL bureaus operated by national amateur radio societies are both incoming and outgoing, with the notable exception of the United States of America, and are coordinated by the
International Amateur Radio Union The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) is an international confederation of national organisations that allows a forum for common matters of concern to amateur radio operators worldwide, and collectively represents matters to the Internatio ...
(IARU). For ''rare'' countries, that is, ones where there are very few amateur radio operators, places with no reliable (or even existing) postal systems, including expeditions to remote areas, a volunteer ''QSL manager'' may handle the mailing of cards. For expeditions this may amount to thousands of cards, and payment for at least postage is appreciated, and is required for a ''direct'' reply (as opposed to a return via a bureau). The
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
has enabled electronic notification as an alternative to mailing a physical card. These systems use
computer database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases spa ...
s to store the same information normally verified by QSL cards, in an electronic format. Some sponsors of
amateur radio operating award An amateur radio operating award is earned by an amateur radio operator for establishing two-way communication (or "working") with other amateur radio stations. Awards are sponsored by national amateur radio societies, radio enthusiast magazine ...
s, which normally accept QSL cards for proof of contacts, may also recognize a specific electronic QSL system in verifying award applications. * One such system, called eQSL, enables electronic exchange of QSLs as jpeg or gif images which can then be printed as cards on the recipient's local inkjet or laser printer, or displayed on the computer monitor. Many logging programs now have direct electronic interfaces to transmit QSO details in real-time into the eQSL.cc database. ''
CQ Amateur Radio ''CQ Amateur Radio'' (also known simply as ''CQ'' or ''CQ magazine'', and formerly as ''CQ: The Radio Amateur's Journal'') is a magazine for amateur radio enthusiasts first published in 1945. The English language edition is read worldwide; Spani ...
'' magazine began accepting electronic QSLs from eQSL.cc for its four award programs in January 2009. 10-10 has been accepting eQSLs since 2002. * Another system, the
ARRL The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the largest membership association of amateur radio enthusiasts in the United States. ARRL is a non-profit organization, and was co-founded on April 6, 1914, by Hiram Percy Maxim and Clarence D. Tuska o ...
’s Logbook of The World (LoTW), allows confirmations to be submitted electronically for that organization’s
DX Century Club An amateur radio operating award is earned by an amateur radio operator for establishing two-way communication (or "working") with other amateur radio stations. Awards are sponsored by national amateur radio societies, radio enthusiast magazine ...
and
Worked All States An amateur radio operating award is earned by an amateur radio operator for establishing two-way communication (or "working") with other amateur radio stations. Awards are sponsored by national amateur radio societies, radio enthusiast magazin ...
awards. Confirmations are in the form of database records, electronically signed with the private key of the sender. This system simply matches database records but does not allow creation of pictorial QSL cards. Despite the advantages of electronic QSLs, physical QSL cards are often historical or sentimental keepsakes of a memorable location heard or worked, or of a pleasant contact with a new radio friend, and serious ham radio operators may have thousands of them. Some cards are plain, while others are multicolored and may be oversized or double paged.


Usage in shortwave listening

International shortwave broadcasters have traditionally issued QSL cards to listeners to verify reception of programming, and also as a means of judging the size of their audiences, effective reception distances, and technical performance of their transmitters. QSL cards can also serve as publicity tools for the shortwave broadcaster, and sometimes the cards will include cultural information about the country. The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program has occasionally requested reception information on its shortwave experiments, in return for which it sent back QSL cards. Standard frequency and time stations, such as WWV, will also send QSL cards in response to listeners reports. Other shortwave utility stations, such as marine and aviation weather broadcasters, may QSL, as do some
pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...
stations, usually through mail drop boxes.


Usage in CB radio

CB radio Citizens band radio (also known as CB radio), used in many countries, is a land mobile radio system, a system allowing short-distance person-to-many persons bidirectional voice communication among individuals, using two way radios operating on ...
enthusiasts often exchanged colorful QSL cards, especially during the height of CB's popularity in the 1970s. CB radio operators who met while on the air would typically swap personalized QSL cards which featured their names ("handles") and CB
callsigns In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
. Originally, CB required a purchased license and the use of a callsign; however, when the CB craze was at its peak many people ignored this requirement and invented their own "handles". A simple card format might only include the users callsign and/or "handle", home location, and note the date and time of a CB radio contact. More elaborate cards featured caricatures, cartoons, slogans and jokes, sometimes of a ribald nature. As the CB radio fad grew in the U.S. and Canada, a number of artists specializing in artwork for CB QSL cards emerged.


Usage in TV-FM and AM DXing

QSL cards are also collected by radio enthusiasts who listen for distant FM radio or TV stations. With the advent of
digital broadcasting Digital broadcasting is the practice of using digital signals rather than analogue signals for broadcasting over radio frequency bands. Digital television broadcasting (especially satellite television) is widespread. Digital audio broadcasting i ...
there is greater difficulty with the reception of weak TV signals due to the
cliff effect In telecommunications, the (digital) cliff effect or brickwall effect is a sudden loss of digital signal reception. Unlike analog signals, which gradually fade when signal strength decreases or electromagnetic interference or multipath increases, ...
, however
AM broadcasting AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transm ...
radio stations will often reply to listener reports, particularly if they report receiving them at a significant distance.


See also

*
DXing DXing is the hobby of receiving and identifying distant radio or television signals, or making two-way radio contact with distant stations in amateur radio, citizens' band radio or other two-way radio communications. Many DXers also attempt to ...
*
Heys Collection The Heys Collection is a collection of philatelic material relating to amateur radio operators in Europe between 1930 and 1997 that forms part of the British Library Philatelic Collections. The collection includes stamps, QSL cards and internatio ...
, a collection of QSL cards in the
British Library Philatelic Collections The British Library Philatelic Collections is the national philatelic collection of the United Kingdom with over 8 million items from around the world. It was established in 1891 as part of the British Museum Library, later to become the ...


Further reading

* * Kenyon, Ronald W. ''QSL: How I Traveled the World and Never Left Home''. Kindle Direct Publishing (2020). . 163 pages. Color illustrations of 109 vintage QSL cards from 1956 to 1961 issued by 89 shortwave stations in 75 countries, 35 cards from radio amateurs and shortwave monitors, and 13 holiday greeting cards from shortwave stations in nine countries. Introduction and Appendix: 'A Letter from Antarctica.'


References


External links


Historical data on the early QSLsSWL QSL Card MuseumAmerican Radio Relay League Logbook of the WorldAmerican Radio Relay League QSL BurueaA very large QSL gallery
more than 12,000 old cards (French, machine translation into English available)
Electronic QSL Card CentreEuroBureauQSL: the EURAO's QSL Bureaus Global NetworkMartin Elbe's QSL-Pages
a QSL collection of broadcasting stations

* ttp://hamgallery.com/qsl/ Ham Gallery QSL Museum a collection of QSL cards from around the world
a QSL collection of broadcasting stationsSARL Electronic QSL serviceQSL Cards from the Past
list of over 40,000 cards with over 2200 scanned cards on display including one from a young Coast Guard Sailor named Arthur M. Godfrey dated 1929.
Arquivo Portugues de QSL
Portuguese QSL Archive
QSL MuseumUkrainian DX QSL Trophies - QSL Gallery by US7IID
- More than 11.600 QSL cards of amateur radio stations.
The Final Courtesy: A QSL Card 77 Years in the Making
A long-delayed QSL card is recreated and sent
The QSL card - key points for today & vintage card galleryWNYC QSL cards.George L. Glotzbach QSL collection
at the University of Maryland libraries. {{Authority control Amateur radio Radio hobbies