A friend asked...

[Avix]

Do Hams/Amateur radio folk still exchange cards? I remember reading about that when I was a kid and a friend who's looking for a new hobby was asking about it and I realized I didn't know. Is it all email now, or play cards still get mailed out?

Captain Quack.

 

[eaf1956]

Some do some do it online.

 

[alcahuete]

With LoTW (Log of the World), QSL cards aren't really necessary anymore for confirming contacts for awards and such. A lot of people still do exchange cards though.

 

[GlobalNorth]

It can get pretty expensive. One printer is charging $115.00 per 500 cards; add in postage, envelopes, time, etc. and the costs mount up.

Many will state no printed QSL or printed QSL upon request.

 

[Avix]

Wow. I can see
why the reason to move to online. I remember seeing pictures of shacks with dozens of cards on their walls. I'll pass on the information. Thanks folks.

Captain Quack.

 

[jazzboypro]

I actually received one a few months ago. I was kind of surprised as i did not ask for it. I know it's mostly done with online services now but nothing beats a real card, it's a nice gesture i think.

 

[K7MEM]

When I got my Novice license (1965), I could not afford QSL cards or the postage to send them anywhere. Cards only cost about $5 or $10 back then, but gasoline was only $0.23 a gallon. And gasoline was more important to me. Once I could afford cards and postage, life was too busy and I could not get into the habit.

I never had any need for QSL cards. I was never a contester, chased rare DX, or chased awards, so there was no real reason to have them. Rare DX chasing can get quite expensive. They get a flood of requests for QSL cards so some of them require $2 or $3 to receive a QSL. That can add up pretty quickly.

It's like anything else in this "hobby", if you like to send and receive QSL cards, that's fine. Do it. If you don't, that's fine too. The same is true with log books. While most hams keep a log (electronic or paper), there is no requirement to have one. Personally, I only keep a paper log.

 

[Avix]

Thank you all. That explains a few things. I don't think he's ready to jump to amateur yet. With wildfires coming within a mile of their home the last 2 years, his wife is terrified, and I think I have him talked into a scanner. The Gate Way drug, lol.

 

[bharvey2]

I received one in the mail from a contact I had a few years ago. It was my first and only. My wife gave me a photo book of QSL cards a ham had collected over the years but I expect that doesn't count. Kind of fun to look at though.

 

[KC5AKB]

Wow. I can see
why the reason to move to online. I remember seeing pictures of shacks with dozens of cards on their walls. I'll pass on the information. Thanks folks.

Captain Quack.

Some still do / Some special event stations do . You send a note or a card with a sase
And they will send you one back. The KC5NX group still gets a few SWL requests and are very happy to send a qsl to them also.

 

[K7MH]

I still get a lot of cards through the bureau. Got 65 cards a couple months ago. 55 were JA cards. I don't any longer enjoy "processing" them when they come in so I am about 300 cards behind. I'll get to it sooner or later. Many of the cards I get are already confirmed through LOTW so not sure why people send them. I don't know if it is still this way but years ago the JAs had awards just for how many QSL cards they had collected. That's crazy!!
Those 65 cards cost me $5.20 to have them sent to me. Then there is the cost of the outgoing QSL service through the ARRL to add to that.

I almost never get a QSL card from inside the US anymore. I have been a ham since 1971 so have done a lot of QSLing through the years.

 

[alcahuete]

JA is definitely the majority of the cards that come through, but still plenty from within the US and elsewhere.