[DX] Email from ARRL President about eQSL's / DXCC

[Steven Wheatley KU9C]

Tomas, I wouldn't slight your call...especially during the WPX contest and WPX chasers......theres not that many NW7's out there...let alone active ones...

on your other comment

>
>I am more concerned with ARRL's competitive move into this arena. 
>They are going to lock out everyone else to do what they want to
>do.  That is more of an issue to me.

I'm not sure that it is a 'competitive' move but a way to get current with the times.  There is some degree of logic, as they routinely get a ton of contest logs, and then, if a person does not want the QSL to hold, they can get a confirmation via a contest QSO...where a lot of folks get dxcc, or band/mode confirms.  And it may help those hams that have lost their cards to/from the ARRL...I've gotten a bunch of 'reprint' requests lately due to mail loss for whatever reason.

One thing I found curious in my visit to the eQSL site lately, is their comments on their patent on most aspects of the "eqsl.cc' technology".  They request that you let them know if you find ANOTHER ONLINE QSL CARD exchange similar to theirs, as they're probably infringing on their patents.

I've been in corporate life long enough to know the value of intellectual property, in fact I've made a few companies I've worked with some serious money with patents, and it's a means of 'excluding' competitors, or at least, licensing your patents to competitors.  I guess I'm glad there are for profit vendors of rigs, antennas, and the like to support our hobby.  I'm not so sure I'm as warm about patents that apply to online QSL services.  I've got no idea of what their patents are relative to, but they seem to believe that their patents cover most on-line services that might pop up.

Kind of ruins some aspects of the 'final courtesy of a QSO' concept...  I wonder if they will give a royalty free licnese to use their patents to the hard working QSL managers of the world, and the various organizations around the world, JARL, ARRL, etc....that might want to incorporate their logs into some sort of followup awards certification.  

Last I looked, this was a hobby, not some dog-eat-dog competitive environment (not withstanding those who chase the elusive honor roll, or number 1 world in a contest...HI).  I use this hobby, and the QSL management thing, to ESCAPE the competitive environment of the workplace, not relive it.

Back to the cards....

73

--------------------------- 
Steve Wheatley KU9C 
PO Box 5953 
Parsippany NJ  07054-6953 
U.S.A. 

email:  ku9c@ku9c.com 
http://www.ku9c.com/