[Dx-qsl] U.S. to U.S. QSLing

Fri May 31 22:26:07 2002

Well, John, on this matter I must respectfully disagree.

I'm amazed by the number of U.S. hams who have thousands (and sometimes tens
of thousands) of dollars invested in radios, amplifiers, computers, towers,
antennas, and accessories but who either don't QSL or insist on SASE's for
domestic cards.  To me that is being incredibly cheap and/or stingy.

I'm not referring to situations where international mail is involved or to
those who are QSL managers for DX stations and handle thousands of requests,
but rather to those who won't QSL a US-to-US QSO unless an SASE is included.

Having operated from various US and DX locations, I've sent and received
thousands of cards, more than I can recall or count at this point.  I've
heard all the arguments about expense, inconvenience, courtesy, etc.

I have never expected anyone to send me an SASE for a QSL for a domestic
contact.  The final courtesy of a QSO is a QSL. It's part of the hobby and
goes with the territory.  I have always been happy to accomodate, and on an
income that I know is much lower than that of a lot of the ops who have a
"no SASE, no QSL" policy.

If the QSLing expense is really a burden, send them as postcards (21 cents
each).  It's less than letter rate, and there's no envelope expense.

C'mon, guys!

Mike K3AIR

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Warren" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2002 12:46 PM
Subject: [Dx-qsl] U.S. to U.S. QSLing

> Jim N3BB operated as NT5C for the WPX/CW contest, and the QSLs are
> starting to roll in. Among those are the first USA cards asking "PSE
> QSL" without any return postage or return envelope. As we all know
> (don't we?), the bureau can't be used to reply.
>
> Jim made 2648 Qs, of which close to 1000 were USA. Let's assume that
> 500 of those folks are prefix hunters and will want a QSL (this was
> WPX after all), and that 200 of the 500 won't bother to send an SASE.
> So they are asking Jim, who will be taking care of WPX QSLing, to
> subsidize their hobby to the tune of $74 postage, plus preparation
> and cost of 200 envelopes, for a total of $100 say.
>
> Now $100 isn't going to break either of us, but I find that very
> discourteous. For my SSB QSOs within the U.S.the rule is simple: No
> SASE, no QSL. Jim N3BB, being a CW op, is probably a much nicer and
> more generous fellow than I am, so I don't know how he will choose to
> deal with this. You may get lucky!
>
> John, NT5C.
> Please help QSL.NET . Send your donation now.
>
> If you have already donated, thanks !
>
>