Re: [HCDX]: Why QSL? (was: Re: addresses)

["Mike Brooker" <aum108@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

In the 70s and 80s I used to be a gung-ho QSL chaser.  Now I will only send
for a QSL if the station is expecting reports (such as a CPC DX test), or if
it is a new DX catch and I hear at least 15 minutes of good, verifiable,
original programming (i.e. not something coming off a satellite).
>
>1. Proof I had heard a station - in all my years of DXing, only once has
>someone said "show me your QSL to prove you heard such-and-such" so I did
>and they still didn't believe me!

One more time than me.  In my 25 years of DXing, no one has ever questioned
any of my receptions or asked to see my verie as proof that I heard a
station.
>
>2. Competitions - the New Zealand Radio DX League used to have a very
strong
>competitive element. Best of the Month awards, QSL totals (Ladders), Best
of
>the Years and various other sundry enticements were highly sought after and
>encouraged people to QSL... now the number of DXers chasing QSLs has
>dwindled to where these historical contests are won almost by default... so
>it's no longer an incentive to QSL

I never got into those QSL contests, though I received a couple of awards
(like Boy Scout merit badges) when I was in ODXA many years ago.

>
>3. Collection - like a stamp or coin collector, I've accumulated QSLs over
>the years. The majority are filed in albums but no-one ever asks to see
>them, and I'd bore any visitors silly if I dragged them out to brag about.
>Now with almost 3000 QSLs in my "collection" even this aspect is losing
it's
>novelty value.

Yes, QSL collecting is not much different from collecting stamps, coins, or
beer bottles.  I have some 600 mediumwave QSLs, and about 85 shortwave
countries QSLed.  The cards are all neatly pasted into photo albums, while
the veries are filed in binders.  All in order of frequency (MW) or
alphabetically by country (SW).  But no one has ever asked to see my QSL
collection, and I wouldn't drag them out unless asked.  Putting GIFs of a
few QSL cards on my website was my first attempt in years to share my
collection with other DXers.
>
>4. Achievement - setting myself targets, e.g. 250 Latin QSLs on MW, QSLing
a
>new country or a hard-to-hear station. This is one area that I will focus
on
>in the future.

Getting those QSLs from rare DX catches did fill me with a sense of
achievement.  Particularly for a nerdy, withdrawn teenager who was alienated
in high school and had no girlfriends :)  But in the real world, who really
cares?  More than 20 years later I can still take pride in my QSL from
CKFX-6080 (10 watts) or WFOY-1240 (best graveyard catch), but what does it
mean to non-DXers?  Can I put it on my resumé?
>


I have never used prepared cards, and rarely send follow-ups.  The longest I
have ever had to wait for a verie was KRVN-880 Lexington, NE.  Took almost 4
years with no f/up reports.

73
********************************************************************
Mike Brooker
99 Wychcrest Ave.,
Toronto, ON  M6G 3X8
CANADA
(416) 536-7406
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