Many radio societies around the world offer their own operating awards and require a paper QSL card to confirm the contact. The individual radio amateur will establish an LoTW account and use it for updating their DXCC because it is very convenient, especially if they live outside the USA and have very limited, if any, access to an official card checker.
So I would encourage everyone to consider responding to a request with a QSL card as the request is most likely driven by a desire of the individual to obtain an award offered by the national radio society in their country that does not have an LoTW equivalent available.
We’ve all become quite “spoiled” by ARRL’s Log Book of the World and almost instant confirmations with literally no effort and sometimes forget, or aren’t aware, of other awards offered by other radio societies outside the USA in a radio amateurs’ own country.
No need to respond with a fancy high gloss photo card. Something simple you printed yourself works fine and the ARRL Outgoing QSL Service is reasonable, and free to donors at certain levels.
73 Joel W5ZN
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Sally Bromley via ADXA
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2026 11:02 PM
To: ADXA Mailing List <[email protected]>; WB5JJJ <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [ADXA] W5 Incoming Bureau
Same happened to me. As Jay said, Japan decided to send out their bureau cards. I received about 30 last week. Same thing, they want a QSL card. Some of my contacts were 3 or 4 years old. I too will probably send them a card, going through the Bureau, who knows it may take 4 years for them to get them! I have a lot of cards I am able to send out. I think when I made an order from the guy in Ukraine, I got about 1,000 so I don't mind sending them. But I agree, since they do LOTW...... I guess they like having cards. Who knows?????
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of WB5JJJ via ADXA <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2026 6:10 PM
To: ADXA Mailing List <[email protected]>
Subject: [ADXA] W5 Incoming Bureau
I received 2 envelopes from the Bureau today. All excited, I opened them up and found about 30 cards from Japan and a few other miscellaneous ones.
Almost all of the JA's wanted a QSL card. Theirs were self-printed on card stock, and all were from the same software package. None had an image of their station, QTH, landscape or anything of interest on the reverse.
My question is, should I just create a similar card to print out or send them one of my glossy, high quality cards I normally return? Either way paying the Bureau for handling the cards. Nice QSL Cards are not cheap, at least the ones I like to send, and definitely like to receive. I've got almost 1,200 in my little "tubs" already, all sorted by number and then suffix, ready to quickly recall if necessary.
I already have Brazil "filtered" in WSJTx as well as a couple of stations that call me EVERY time they see my callsign. One Italian station has worked me 40-50 times. Previously, he had connected with me on the same band a couple times a day before I finally "filtered" him.
All of these stations upload to LoTW, so apparently they have some logging program, but just want to add to their QSO count. With the filters set, my CQ's don't respond those guys, so I guess I'll add Japan to the filter as well. That way, it's my choice to work them or not.
I did find one QSO to "fix" as I fat-fingered it on SSB and added a character to his call. All the other data was a match, except for the name of course. Didn't add any points to my Challenge, but at least he's in my log correct now. And a couple I didn't work at all. Matter of fact, I wasn't even on that band/mode or on during that part of the day at one of those dates/times. Nothing to "see" here, move along.
Selected cards are in the Bureau envelope, but now it's over the basic limit and too far below the next level, so I'll do one and wait a while and do the other.
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73's
George - WB5JJJ
HoIP - 100105
Cell - 479.857.7737