the QSL debate

[Larry Shewchuk <shewchuk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is a message from Larry Shewchuk <shewchuk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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I've enjoyed reading recent mail re. QSL. As a long time DX'er and former 
journalist at Radio Canada International, CBC Radio and the Christian 
Science Monitor shortwave service, I'd like to share the following thoughts.

It's great to see strong support for the QSL element of the hobby. As a 
kid of about 12, hearing in Canada a station from Africa was an 
incredible thrill. But then getting that QSL card in the mail from Africa 
really cemented my passion for the hobby.

Although I've continued DXing and still consider my QSL cards from the 
60's and 70's prize possessions, the demands of working for a living made 
me focus what available time I had to DXing, as opposed to composing 
reception reports. I haven't received a QSL card now for almost 15 years.

My abandonment of the QSL hunt came about the time many stations either 
cut back or eliminated their QSL budget. At Radio Canada International, 
they only reason QSL's have been sent out in recent years is because 
local concerned members of the Canadian International DX Club in Montreal 
took it upon themselves to ensure the tradition of RCI QSL cards. RCI 
paid the postage, but local DX'ers volunteered their time to verify 
reports.

At radio stations facing a budget crunch, having high-paid staff fill out 
QSL cards is now a luxury many stations are having a hard time trying to 
afford. Now, with e-mail and the internet, I see the trend in the next 
decade toward virtual QSL cards. Receive an e-mail with an attachment and 
use your colour printer to print out the QSL. Huge savings in postal 
costs to major stations. Of course, if you don't have access to the 
internet or the wealth to buy equipment, you are out of luck.

And to conclude, this trend, to me, will take some of the romance and 
exotic elements out of the hobby. It's just not the same getting an 
e-mail QSL from half-way around the world, as it is getting a wonderful 
postcard from Africa, the Middle east or Europe, having it survive the 
various postal services, then getting the thrill of finding it in your 
mailbox.

But then, why should I care? Haven't gone after a QSL in 15 years. Been 
there, done that. And the stations I worked at didn't much care. They 
knew how good their signal was to different parts of the world because of 
paid monitors. What they really wanted from listeners was feedback on the 
program content. Most reception reports never had comments on program 
content?

However, I do hope the QSL survives radio station management 
indifference, budget cuts, ego-tripping DX'ers and the internet. If it 
wasn't for the QSL in the mail box, I might not have cemented my passion 
for this hobby when I was a tadpole to a dipole. And this leaves me 
wondering how many other young people may give this hobby only a passing 
glance because they may never have that thrill of getting as direct and 
personal connection as you can possibly get from finding a QSL in the 
mail box from halfway around the world. The internet is a wonderful 
technology, but the QSL thrill just ain't the same via cyberspace.

Larry Shewchuk
Seven Sisters Falls, Manitoba, Canada
shewchuk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx