[Dx-qsl] S.W.L. Reports.

[AQuest1263@aol.com]

GM4FDM/9H3RT/V26VG/VP8SDX etc.
de G4UZN/9M6UZT/HS0/G4UZN etc.

Hi Tom,
Like yourself, I started in life as a s.w.l. Passing a written technical exam 
would have been beyond me; I doubt if I would be on the air today but for the 
introduction of multiple-choice testing. We have now gone full circle, and 
the new licensing examination system in this country is going to produce a 
generation of highly proficient technicians who have no idea what to do when 
they get on the air.They will certainly never break a pile-up on your next 
operation.

We must first accept that short-wave listening and the pursuit of QSL cards 
is a hobby in its own right. The onlooker sees most of the game. It is a 
fascinating and absorbing hobby, intellectually satisfying and educative. 
Would that there were more s.w.l.s. Some of them would progress on to the air 
and spend their time working us, instead of playing c.b. games and jamming 
the DX frequencies.

Secondly, you are right. Except on rare occasions, we do not need s.w.l. 
reports. But in the interest of international friendship, and encouragement 
to those who like yourself have two ears, we should answer their cards.

PROVISOS:-
Number One: Cluster Spot Reporting! - Tom, are the people you meet in your 
everyday life all 100 percent honest? I bet you they are not! The odd black 
sheep is just a misguided and over-enthusiastic guy who likes collecting 
cards. Don't worry about him; just don't answer his card. I have a nice 
collection of bureau cards from my 9M6 bash from guys who never worked me. 
Amateurs, not s.w.l.'s. "Not in Log"? I wonder. I hate to add insult to 
injury when they have just lost to Brazil, but most of them were from 
Germany.

Number Two: If I sit on the same frequency for three hours working a pile-up 
and get a card reporting on one QSO, I either chuck it in the bin, or send it 
back direct with a nice letter telling the s.w.l. to throw away the standard 
cards he just bought, and list at least three QSO's just to show he was 
listening.

In the twenties and thirties, when everyone was testing their homebrew 
equipment, listener reports were valuable. We know all about propagation now, 
and buy our rigs over the internet. Accept that s.w.l.-ing is a great hobby 
in its own right, and deserves our support.

Incidentally, I have a nice collection of old cards from the 1920's-1930s, 
including a lot of s.w.l. cards. Some of them were just as much crap then as 
they are now. Maybe encouragement rather than criticism is the answer, as our 
hobby slowly dies.

73
Tony G4UZN