[Dx-qsl] Sam & QSL'ing

[Kz2i at aol.com]

it could be that he is trying to teach them that ham radio is more  than "59 
TU".  take yourself out of that cushy armchair, sitting in  front of hundreds 
(probably thousands) of dollars of equipment and put yourself  in an 
underdeveloped country.  imagine the wonder of talking to someone  in another country.  
you've probably never been out of your little  village and now someone is 
telling you that they can hear your voice  halfway around the world.  that's the 
glory of our hobby.  making  friends of people different from ourselves, 
across all walks of life.  i  don't mean to sound naive about this,  but isn't 
dxing about spreading  brotherhood throughout the world?  isn't it more than 
having a bunch of  cards stuffed in a box that mean nothing more than a notch in  
your gunbelt?  grab one of those cards out of that box and think  about the 
person on the other end of that qso.  you may remember  fighting that pileup, 
that it took 6 months to get the card.  but what do  you know about that person?
 
man. i know i'm sounding like an old so-and-so.  but when was  the last time 
you (or i) have had a qso with a dx station that  lasted more than a minute?  
i called cq one day on 20 meters.  a zd8  station came back and we were having 
a nice CONVERSATION.  but then the  carriers started.  and the "are you 
almost done? it's a new one on this  band for me" comments started.  my new friend 
on ascension apologized,  saying it happened all the time.  and if he said he 
just wanted to  converse, he would get driven off the air by the 'boo-birds' 
as he called  them.      
 
i'm probably as guilty as the next guy.  i wouldn't be on  honor roll and 
have the other major awards if i didn't have lots of those 5  second qsos.  but i 
can't fault sam for trying to stress some other aspect  than qsling.  "the 
qsl is the final courtesy of a qso" has been around  since forever.  but that 
was when qsos were real exchanges of real  information.  heck, when was the last 
time you heard a signal report that  wasn't 59?
 
by taking the qsl out of the equation, sam is eliminating those  qsos that 
are solely for the purpose of verifying a qso.  maybe those that  are left will 
actually be for the purpose of getting to know another human  being.  sharing 
ideas and experiences.  exploring and just maybe  gaining a little insight 
into our differences.
 
i'm a pollyana?  yep, i guess it does sound like that.   and i'm sure that 
after a while those new 6O ops will figure it out for  themselves (as will the 
H4 crowd), that there are many sides to the dx picture,  including qsling.  but 
that's up to them.  so get on the air, talk to  them.  welcome them into the 
fold.  maybe send them one of your qsls  without expecting one in return.  
include a picture of yourself, your  family, your town.  you never know, you 
might make a new  friend.

73 de STEVE, KZ2I
CHARLOTTE, NC  USA