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 Previous: FEMA and Red Cross Acknowledge Importance of Amateur Radio |  Next: The K7VVV Solar Update |
By Rod Vlach, NN0TT
June 7, 2002
QSLing via the bureau is a cost-effective and reliable way to exchange cards. But a complex routing calls for skillful notation on the card. Try these tips for a speedy delivery.
The ARRL Outgoing QSL Service is a great bargain to League members who want to exchange QSL cards with DX Amateur Radio operators. Newcomers not acquainted with how the bureau operates can find information at ARRL's Outgoing QSL Service.
Anyone who has used the ARRL Outgoing QSL Service knows that the greatest drawback is the long period of time it can take to get a response from DX operators. Although the ARRL is prompt in getting US cards to their destination, some foreign mail service is very slow. If you're not in a big rush, you can't beat the economics of the bureau. You can send a 10-pack of cards for a buck to anywhere that has an incoming QSL service. A quick calculation will show that to QSL direct from the US requires an 80 cent air mail stamp plus 1 or 2 dollars for return postage for each DX QSL. That adds up quickly.
Your QSL can be modified to fit most bureau situations and to make the most economical use of your cards. Here are some examples of actual QSLs that I adjusted to meet my needs. The first one is a routine card that I sent to New Zealand. No QSL managers or multiple contacts were involved so a regular card to the bureau required only call sign and QSO information. As a courtesy to your contact be sure to sign or initial your card. If it is not personalized in this way the recipient might not be able to use it as credit toward an award. The careful reader will notice that my card (Figure 1) is not signed. It is, however, signed on the other side.
 Figure 1. |
Perhaps most cards sent via the bureau are similar to mine, which I sent following a single QSO. All that is required for delivery is the operator's call sign--no address is needed. You will likely receive many repeat countries (entities) but I always enjoy each card, as they all have their individual interesting facets.
What if you wanted to send a card to a ham who had been operating from other than his/her own country--perhaps on vacation. To further complicate the matter, you made multiple QSOs with that ham. I had such a QSO with a French ham operating in the Dominican Republic. That's not a problem as long as you list the home call sign first, using a slash to separate the call sign and the other prefix, and add lines for extra QSOs:
 Figure 2. |
It's not necessary to send a separate QSL for each contact. A standard QSL can easily be converted to accommodate two or three QSOs by simply using a straightedge and a pen to add new lines to the QSO information box as shown in Figure 2. You may have access to a QSO label computer program that will do the job. The information must be legible, so three QSOs is about the maximum that can be recorded in the standard space. This technique allows you to send more cards for the money. If the mode and signal report were the same for each QSO, as was mine, you can list them just once.
Most hams operating from an entity other than their own will list the host prefix first, followed by their home call sign, but some do just the opposite. However, when sending a card via the bureau, always list the contact's home call sign first, because you want the card to go to that home QTH, not to the host country.
Some entities are not served by an incoming QSL service, and/or the operator may have assigned the job of confirming contacts to a QSL manager in a country that is served by an incoming bureau. So how do you send a card to a QSL manager, when there is no designated space on your card to list the manager's call sign? I have found the following modification to be effective (Figure 3):
 Figure 3. |
I draw a line through the center of the "CONFIRMING QSO WITH" box and extend it just enough to write "via" above the line, and "for" below the line. "Via" is understood to be designating the QSL route through the manager's call sign. I list it first, because it is the first thing I want the bureau sorters to see. If my QSL does not get to the manager's QTH, then sending the card is in vain. "For" is understood to designate the entity/call sign of the actual QSO, which in this contact was San Andrés Island. When sending a bureau card to a QSL manager, I also put the same "via" information in larger letters on the back of my card, as a back-up measure.
What if you QSO someone who uses his/her home call sign temporarily in a host country, and they have a QSL manager? I encountered that situation recently when I QSOed a Hungarian ham on Austral Island (FO) and the QSL route was via another Hungarian call sign.
 Figure 4. |
As before, divide the "CONFIRMING QSO WITH" box with a straight line, leaving room for "via" and "for." List the QSL route call sign on top (via) and the actual entity/call sign/host prefix below. A QSL to a ham using his call sign in a host entity will be delivered to the QSL manager.
Some Other Bureau Tips
An increasing number of hams list their e-mail addresses on call directory Web sites such as Buckmaster and QRZ. Some of these hams may be willing to send a bureau card to a contact who simply requests one and who lists the basic QSO information in an e-mail. This saves a lot of time, because the DX does not have to wait to receive your QSL first. Be aware, however, that sometimes e-mails don't always get through, and sometimes they are not answered. There can be a variety of reasons, including Web server problems, or maybe the DX doesn't understand your language!
The quickest way to request a QSL--to be sent via the bureau--is to ask for one while you are still in contact with the DX. If the operator agrees, the QSL should be on its way in a few days or weeks. But we never know how active the DX is; it may take several weeks--or months--before the operator has accumulated enough cards to submit them to his outgoing bureau.
Print your QSO information as neatly as possible. If the sorters can't understand the call sign--either at ARRL or the destination bureau--the card will probably go into the best guess slot. Don't make the sorters wonder if you have written, for example, the number "1" or the letter "I" in a call sign. We can make it unambiguous. The ARRL processes nearly 2 million outgoing QSLs per year. Let's make it as easy and efficient as we can for them and other bureaus throughout the world.
If you are in a hurry to get a particular QSL, I suggest not using the bureau; QSL direct. If you do not receive a direct response within several months to a year, you may then want to follow up by sending another QSL via the bureau. Direct QSLs do not always make it to their destination, for a variety of reasons. You have little to lose by sending your card through the Outgoing Bureau Service.
There is some speculation as to the best way to list the date (especially the month) of the QSO so that it will be universally understood. I have found that plain numbers (1 through 0), in contrast to Roman numerals or spelling out the month, works well. Most of my incoming DX QSLs seem to have plain numbers, but it's a matter of personal preference.
To minimize any confusion regarding the date of the contact, pay attention to the order in which you place the day, month and year. The US convention, used in ordinary correspondence, is mm-dd-yy; June 10, 2002 for instance. Notice that my QSL card data uses the system common throughout most of the rest of the world; dd-mm-yy. Your QSL card printer should have no trouble inserting this preferred notation.
The good will that Amateur Radio provides throughout the world is--as the credit card advertiser says--"priceless." The low-cost service of the bureau contributes a big part of that good will. It's exciting to open the mail box and see a big bureau envelope, and to view tangible results of DX QSOs. The many interesting nuances of each country or island on each QSL card are all unique and interesting. Some are plain, some are beautiful color photos. But they all convey the worldwide friendship that makes Amateur Radio special.
Rod Vlach, NN0TT, is an ARRL member living in the "Land of 10,000
Lakes," Willmar, Minnesota. He enjoys CW DXing and ragchewing, and collecting
unique DX QSLs through the ARRL QSL Service. He can be reached at NN0TT@arrl.net.
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