QSL Cards

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Anthony Rospo

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Mar 8, 2021, 9:17:02 AM3/8/21
to yrarc...@yrarc.org
Good morning
Just wanted to quickly write about my QSL card experience. The other day I received a QSL card from a ham out in Virginia, it was a winter field day contact. This was my very first QSL card received in 9 years of being licensed. Over the weekend I created a QSL Card printed it on thick card stock and send it off, then I sent off my first QSL card and then I realised now why hams don’t mail QSL cards anymore. Here is the breakdown postage x 2, envelope x 2, and printing of the card will run you about just under $3.00, and that’s if you want to receive a QSL card from the person you sent yours to. This weekend I sent out 2 QSL Cards. I wonder if Canada post gives hams a break in price?? I should call them, but I know what the answer is already.

73. Anthony VE3HIS


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Eric Brown

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Mar 8, 2021, 9:36:23 AM3/8/21
to YRARC Google GROUP
Mail them to the Bureau, the send them around the world a lot cheaper.

Eric Brown
VE3EB/VE3OIC/VA3OIC
  
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Patrick

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Mar 8, 2021, 9:53:30 AM3/8/21
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I wonder if the pandemic is causing a surge in stuff like that, people seem to be looking for connections in a variety of ways that have fallen a bit by the wayside, though RAC has mentioned before that there is a bit of a surge in QSL usage so it may just be nostalgia lol....

Sounds like Anthony is running into low volume leading to high cost issues... Vistaprint does post cards regularly at around 60-90$ for 500, but wait for a sale and you can get them for 1/2 that. If it's something you're doing regularly volume simplifies things.  Along with the bureau, you can get them to queue a few in your collection envelope which cuts down postage more as well.



John Leonardelli

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Mar 8, 2021, 12:21:21 PM3/8/21
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I have only done special event stations and am ok with the SASE as I have us stamps and usually toss in a $1 if its a special club like the Marconi Club

But I still get cards and i send out via bureau 

If its direct to me i send it back direct

I have shoeboxes full of cards and they are quite interesting to go through now and then
John VE3IPS

Ham Radio is a life$$$tyle not a Hobby!
Take the radio outside and operate from the Field
Throw a wire in a tree and make a QSO




Robert Galambos DEC CEC VA3BXG

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Mar 8, 2021, 1:09:18 PM3/8/21
to 'Danny K5CG' via York Region Amateur Radio Club
I always do qsl cards, if the recipients says they do cards. Either by bureau or direct.

For inbound cards, via Bureau, one needs to open an account in the inbound qsl card Bureau.

There are some interested cards have, and I try to get special station certs/cards as well as the Dx expeditions.



DEC for YORK & DURHAM Region ARES.
ASEC GTA ARES section
When all else fails

Va3srv

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Mar 8, 2021, 4:56:26 PM3/8/21
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I had done up a custom QSL card a number of years ago…but stepped back from the hobby and only sent a couple out.  My intention was to have a different one each year.

This guy has a REALLY cool one: W8LID/VE6LID
It’s effectively a crossband repeater QSL card. 

He’s noted the next one may be a display for it….anyhow, supercool and NOT cheap!

De SRV

Sent from my iPad

On Mar 8, 2021, at 1:09 PM, Robert Galambos DEC CEC VA3BXG <va3...@gmail.com> wrote:



Chris Sullivan

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Mar 8, 2021, 5:21:13 PM3/8/21
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I've relied on LoTW a lot, and send my QSOs to eQSL.cc and qrz.com as well and will probably do qrzcq (europe). I get a 65+ percent confirmation rate with LoTW. Cards come from time to time in the mail and I always answer them. They don't come often enough that the $1.20 postage (usually they're from the US) is a big deal. I've been a lot less diligent sending cards through the bureau, and I'm trying to some automation going. 

I had a thousand cards made and shipped for about $80 from a guy in Western Canada. He knew his stuff and did a good job. The major mistake I made with the cards was designing them for hand entry, with boxes for the various details. This meant that the logging program I use, DXkeeper, couldn't fill in the fields. I think I should have left the back of the card blank and just printed everything I needed. My printer will handle card stock. In the end I've almost finished a program in Python to take an ADIF file and fill in the card in the right places. 

More difficult than the physical processing of the cards is finding out who to send them to. Bureaus in some countries are shut down, and many hams don't retrieve their cards from the bureau. Many DX stations don't use LoTW and have QSL managers and you have to figure out who they are and probably send money. There are various lists, like QRZ.com, of who to send cards to but I haven't figured out any automation angle yet. Sometimes money gets stolen in the mail. etc. etc. The details can be complicated.

I'd be interested in knowing others' experiences and sharing my own as I work through it. Maybe a club presentation is in the offing. I will consult YouTube in the meantime and read through the hundreds of pages in the manual.

There are also various sub-groups in ham radio where QSL cards are alive and well. EME (a.k.a. Moonbounce) seems to be one of them. 

73,
Chris

VA3HDL Amateur Radio

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Mar 8, 2021, 6:29:17 PM3/8/21
to York Region Amateur Radio Club, csul...@idc.com, va3...@gmail.com
I've created mine in PowerPoint, I fill it out when I need it and save as JPEG file and send it over. 
I haven't made any paper copies yet but I would like, because I received few in paper that would like to reply back.

It looks like this once filled...

LU3HGB.jpg

73,
Pablo, VA3HDL

ve3e...@gmail.com

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Mar 9, 2021, 9:05:47 AM3/9/21
to yrarc...@yrarc.org, va3...@gmail.com

I had a few QSO card requests from the last Field Day as well.

 

I use a Power Point template – like the one attached – for the few that I send or have requested.

 

Once you have the template and printer set up reproducing is easy.

 

Designed and I fill it in on Power Point – QSO entry fields on back are a TABLE in PowerPoint – double side print it on card stock from Staples…  seems to work… can change the cards up if desired…

 

Most that send and request from me send a SASE.

 

Steve

Ve3eZ

VY2ORR_Card.pdf

Chris Sullivan

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Mar 9, 2021, 9:18:30 AM3/9/21
to York Region Amateur Radio Club, ve3e...@gmail.com, va3...@gmail.com
Yes well lucky me I have the Adobe suite from work, at least for now, so I can use InDesign. That works fine and it produces a PDF with bleed areas and CMYK so the printers are happy with it. The biggest challenge I have is automating the process so that cards get send by the right method (direct or bureau), to the right person (the other station or his/her QSL manager), with the appropriate compensation (nothing, SASE, IRC, "Green Stamps", British pounds, etc.). Filling the information in the card design I've chosen (with a template on the back, up to 4 QSOs per card) is not a huge problem although requires some Python code. Organizing the information so that I don't have to inspect every QSO manually is.

The ink required to print high volumes in colour must get expensive if printing the photos, but it does add a lot of flexibilty.

73,
Chris

ve3e...@gmail.com

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Mar 9, 2021, 9:32:04 AM3/9/21
to Chris Sullivan, York Region Amateur Radio Club, va3...@gmail.com

I have Adobe as well but my go to for graphics is always PowerPoint “cheap and cheerful” as Mike (EYS) always said … readily available and is good for importing and managing graphics from mixed sources…

Robert Galambos DEC CEC VA3BXG

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Mar 9, 2021, 10:51:06 AM3/9/21
to 'Danny K5CG' via York Region Amateur Radio Club
Chris

I also use dxkeeper with pathfinder. I browse the qrz page to see if they accept bureau or direct. I print the info on labels using the template within dxkeepee, which I then stick on my cards.

Chris, I would be interested in see the code you are going to be using.



DEC for YORK & DURHAM Region ARES.
ASEC GTA ARES section
When all else fails

Chris Sullivan

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Mar 9, 2021, 11:01:22 AM3/9/21
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Hi Robert,

The code should be usable in a week or two. Once I post it to github (github.com/SullivanChrisJ) I will let you know.

73,
Chris

John Chin

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Mar 9, 2021, 1:21:26 PM3/9/21
to York Region Amateur Radio Club, va3...@gmail.com
Perfect timing for me.  A recent QSO said he was sending me my first QSL card.  I do not have one to return, but he is sending one to me anyway.  Now, to figure out a design so I can send one back.

I might just use Photoshop.  There is also GIMP for those that do not have access to Photoshop.

If you want to have your commercial printed, I have used VistaPrint for business cards and banners before.  They sell 50 postcards (4"x6") starting at $8.49 CAD for one side.   A colour laser printer would work too. 

73,
John

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