[Dx-qsl] Who Says QSLing is Going Out of Style?

Wed Aug 19 08:45:07 EDT 2009

I do not "do" contests for the points.  With 100 watts, a small tribander at 
30 feet, its somewhat useless to try to compete against the multi multi just 
for room on the band.   Instead, I cruise along, automatically looking up 
the calls I hear, on my logs, and on Spot Collector.  That gives me a 
colored background as to whether they use LOTW or not.  Those that do, I 
call.  Those they do not use LOTW, but are a new one on the band/mode, I 
also call.  The rest, I ignore.  All too many calls pop up as having been 
worked in the past, and without indicating a confirmation received.  They 
dont get my contact point.  So, in a way, yes, LOTW is directly affecting 
contest scores- and I know I am not the only one doing this.  After 40 plus 
years on the air, I simply have all the German, US, Cabnadian etc. cards I 
want to store in boxes (unless its 6  or 2 meters).   Frankly, LOTW has put 
some fun back into radio, for me, and gotten me back into working contest 
stations.  After all, there are not many DX stations that I havent worked 
ye, while  sit here waiting for N Korea to disappear.

Danny Douglas
N7DC
ex WN5QMX ET2US WA5UKR ET3USA
SV0WPP VS6DD N7DC/YV5 G5CTB

All 2 years or more (except Novice)
Pls QSL direct, buro, or LOTW preferred,
I Do not use, but as a courtesy do upload to eQSL for
those who do.

Moderator
DXandTALK
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Moderator
Digital_modes
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/digital_modes/?yguid=341090159

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nenad Stevanovic" <nenad at nortel.com>
To: "Tom GM4FDM" <tom at gm4fdm.com>; "Alfred Laun" <hs0zar at gmail.com>
Cc: "dx-qsl" <dx-qsl at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 7:58 AM
Subject: Re: [Dx-qsl] Who Says QSLing is Going Out of Style?

>
>
> Tom,
>
> The "mystery" is that people still like paper QSL cards as
> collectible items. They were living too long in
> "paper based society".
>
> On the other hand, electronic media cover only certain
> Award programs, which is the current limitation.
> In most cases  electronic media credits  cannot be used for
> other awards'  programes (other than certified GCR list).
>
> The real impact on paper QSL  traffic will be by contesters.
> Currently, the only reason why they still send QSLs is because
> they are afraid of being ignorred in the next contest, if they
> do not QSL.
>
> At some point in time they will submit all their logs in
> electronic media, and will stop sending anything in return.
> Currently this traffic is about 20-25% of the entire
> QSL traffic.
>
>
> 73  Nenad   VE3EXY
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> PUTTING THE LOGS ONTO LOTW MADE NO DIFFERENCE WHATSOEVER TO THE NUMBERS
> OF DIRECT REQUESTS RECEIVED SUBSEQUENTLY AND I PRINTED THE SAME NUMBER
> OF QSL CARDS AS NORMAL AND STILL RECEIVE DIRECT REQUESTS FOR BOTH CALLS.
>
> I have discussed this phenomena with Roger G3SXW who concurs.
>
> As a DXer I thought when LOTW was born - "heh! this is the way - no more
>
> QSLing"   DXCC gets updated electronically, no more sending cards to
> ARRL.  But bo - for some inexplicable reason people still want paper
> cards.   Its a mystery to me.
>
> Maybe it has something to do with the beautiful cards that are nowadays
> created by several of the worlds best card printers and people like to
> collect nice things?   When I joined my first radio club I can still
> emember one of the old guys who with a twinkle in his eye, took pleasure
> in taking you aside and showing you that magical card from Heard Island
> or Bhutan or somewhere exotic, perhaps there is still an aspect of that.
>
> For me personally, it is just so much waste paper.
>
>
> Tom
> GM4FDM / GA4FDM
>
> Save the rainforest
>
>
>
>
>
> Alfred Laun wrote:
>> I can't explain what it is, but something is going on.
>>
>> There have been predictions that the existence of eQSL.cc and Logbook
>> of the World would have the effect of diminishing the exchange of
>> traditional QSLs.  I became manager of the ARRL W3 QSL Bureau in
>> January 2006, and indeed, from 2006 to 2007 to 2008 the number of
>> cards this bureau handled diminished somewhat each year compared to
>> the previous year.
>>
>> But not this year!
>>
>> I empty the bureau's P. O. Box twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays.
>> Today when I went in the friendly postal clerk greeted me with a cart
>> full of boxes and bags.  Three big boxes from Spain, a box from
>> France, a box from Austria, an M bag from Japan and an M bag from
>> Poland.  This is the first time in my three-plus years of emptying the
>
>> bureau's box that I could not carry all the boxes at once;  I had to
>> wheel the cart out and unload it into my car' s trunk.  After getting
>> all the boxes home, unpacking and weighing the cards (144 cards to a
>> pound is the formula I use), the grand total of cards amounted to
>> 14,349.
>>
>> For this year, this is not an aberration.  At the midpoint of the
>> year, at the end of June, I totaled up what we had received up through
>
>> that time, and in the first six months of this year this bureau
>> received 102,699 cards.  That was a 35 percent increase over the
>> 76,309 cards received during the same period in 2008.
>>
>> It can't be sunspots!  Though it is true that a quiet Sun causes many
>> fewer ionospheric disturbances, so on the bands that are able to open
>> at all, conditions are more stable.
>>
>> We do see an increasing number of RTTY and PSK mode cards, so one
>> explanation may be that as more people begin using these modes they
>> begin to chase awards given for QSOs on those modes.
>>
>> But anyway, whatever the reason, I am here to report that traditional
>> QSLing is alive and well, and growing!
>>
>> 73, Fred Laun, K3ZO
>> Manager
>> NCDXA/ARRL Third Call Area Incoming QSL Bureau
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