[HIham] Major Changes to Hawaii QSL Bureau

[Edward K Conklin]

Barbara Darling NH7FY has retired as Hawaii QSL manager after 10 years 
of tireless dedicated work.
The entire bureau and all of its operation has moved to Oahu and Ned  
KH7JJ is the new Hawaii QSL manager.  For those of you who have active 
mailing accounts with the bureau, they remain in the same Bank of Hawaii 
account.

We have a huge backlog of thousands of QSLs, and we're trying to reduce 
it.  If you're not currently using the bureau but think you might have 
QSLs there, please take one of the following actions.

1.  If you want to check on whether you have any cards waiting, feel 
free to ask me at  <kh7jj at arrl.net>  . Most cards are from foreign 
countries, although there are some mainland cards (notably all the W1AW 
commemorative operations).
2.  If you do not want to receive bureau cards, please send me an e-mail 
saying so, so I have it on the record, and I'll dispose of all current 
and future cards.
3.  If you do want to receive bureau cards, please see the details below 
on three possible ways to get them.


Option 2, receiving cards at a club meeting, is one which has been 
available for some time.  But we've had to make an important change: 
because the volume of QSLs waiting at the bureau has grown so large, we 
can no longer bring the entire inventory to club meetings.  
Participating clubs will now maintain lists of calls, and only QSLs for 
calls on those lists will be available at their meetings.  See below for 
details.  So far we only have clubs on Oahu participating.  Clubs (and 
non-club groups) on other islands are welcome to be part of the 
distribution network, in order to save on individual postage charges.  
If such a group or club is set up, it is the club's responsibility to 
find a way to get the packets of QSLs from the bureau to the club.  If 
it's by mail, it would have to be at the club/group's expense, as the 
ARRL has recently mandated that its QSL bureaus must be self-supporting.


*Hawaii Incoming QSL Bureau*

*What it is:*A simple way to receive QSLs from foreign countries easily 
and cheaply.The Bureau is organized and managed by the American Radio 
Relay League (ARRL), but you do not have to be an ARRL member to use the 
service.The service is free except in some cases for local mailing charges.

There are a couple of downsides: (a) It usually takes many months after 
your contact to receive the QSL, and (b)Not all foreign stations use 
bureaus to send QSLs, although most do. For more information see the 
ARRL website at *www.arrl.org* .There is information there also on an 
outgoing QSL bureau which will forward your QSLs to foreign stations.

*How it works:*The local Hawaii Bureau periodically receives packages of 
QSLs from foreign radio societies (and from ARRL for some US 
contacts).The packages are sorted by the Bureau Manager (Ned Conklin, 
KH7JJ) and held for distribution to individuals.Cards not distributed 
will be discarded after a reasonable time (a year or so), so you must 
take action fairly promptly.

*How to get your Bureau QSLs:*There are a number of ways to retrieve 
your cards.

1.You can set up an account with the Bureau, deposit funds, and 
periodically the Bureau Manager will mail cards to you, charging you 
only for the cost of envelopes and local postage.You will be notified 
when funds run low.To set up an account, send a check made out to “KH6 
Hawaii QSL Bureau” (or cash) to:

KH6 Hawaii QSL Bureau

c/oNed ConklinKH7JJ

2969 Kalakaua Ave.#1004

Honolulu, HI96815

Although ARRL suggests sending envelopes and/or postage, we much prefer 
to supply our own standard size envelopes.Postage stamps are OK 
(“Forever” only, please).Please include a complete mailing address, 
e-mail address (if you have one), and a phone number would be 
helpful.For those without e-mail you can contact Ned at (808) 923-6133.

2.You can pick up your cards (for free) at a meeting of a radio club 
that has agreed to help distribute them.So far, the Emergency Amateur 
Radio Club (EARC), Koolau Amateur Radio Club (KARC), Honolulu Amateur 
Radio Club (HARC), and Battleship Missouri Amateur Radio Club (BMARC) 
are participating.In order to get cards, you must be on the distribution 
list for that club, maintained by its Local Manager.The Local Manager 
for EARC and KARC is Darrell Omuro KH6XL, and for HARC and BMARC it is 
Bill Kendall KH6OO. To sign up with a particular club, contact its Local 
Manager at *kh6xl at arrl.net* or *kh6oo at arrl.net* respectively.Other clubs 
(or non-club) groups are encouraged to participate in the distribution 
as well; contact Ned at *kh7jj at arrl.net* for details.

3.You can arrange direct pickups (for free) from Ned, who lives in the 
Waikiki area.Contact him at *kh7jj at arrl.net**.*


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Edward K. Conklin
2969 Kalakaua Ave. #1004    Phone: 808-923-6133
Honolulu, HI  96815       Fax : telephone first
                       email to:   ekc at forth.com
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