Funny and interesting article from K9JY about letting go of some things in our hobby. Scot states that he thinks QSL cards are not of today anymore. Maybe he is right. Some years ago when I made my first 
DX QSO, I had not yet made QSL-cards. I found in my logging program an option to send out a digital QSL-card. I send to all my contacts an digital QSL-card. I was thinking at the time: “this is actually a very nice and fast way to confirm a QSL!” Unfortionally I got back some very rude reactions from my fellow HAM’s. They did not accept digital QSL-cards. I was a little disappointed. I can imagine you still want to receive good old QSL-cards, them just (nicely) say so. But there seems to be a real hate against digital QSL-cards.
Funny thing is I did read about LotW a few minutes before I read Scot’s article. Still have to figure out how it works and what is it exactly. But wouldn’t it be cool to be able to confirm QSL’s digitally via internet? And maybe hams who appreciate an analog QSL-card can indicate that on there qrz.com page. I don’t know, just mindfarting here. Let me know what you think!
PA8E
Dutch Radio Amateur Station
I should note that I am NOT against QSL cards at all. Just that I no longer do anything with them, nor have done anything with them in probably 15-years, so I threw them out.
I confirm every QSL in my log with a direct or bureau card as appropriate.
The point of the article is that we all carry stuff from the hobby that we no longer use and has no value. So throw that stuff out and focus on what is important to you now in the hobby.
And, LoTW is very cool, but still a bit unfriendly to the user, especially with the ID requirements for non-US hams. But, it instantly confirms contacts that match and you can certainly use the contacts for the covered awards. Plus, they just upgraded the program and made everything a bit easier.
Results count: when I came back from VP9/K9JY, I uploaded our contest logs to LoTW and almost 300 confirmations were the result. It works.
Thanks for reading the article!
Hi Scot,
No, I know you are not against QSL-cards! Me neither (to be more specific: today another 1000 new ones of my own cards arrived ;-)). But I think it’s very interesting statement you’ve made in your article. Lets lose some of the weight of all the useless (or not used anymore) things in our hobby to be able to go forward again. And I really like the idea. But as I mentioned in my article: I’ve noticed that not a lot of ham’s are yet ready to make that move. Maybe guys/gals from our generation are more capable of dropping those things.
I wanted to throw some fuel on the discussion because I would like to see more flames from more ham’s, what are we gonna do?!
Keep on the good writing, I love your blog!
73’s Jim
Hi Scot,
I think that it depends on the individual and, like most things associated with amateur radio, it depends on your likes and dislikes. Some like QRO and 75 mtr phone, some enjoy only QRP and CW, while still others are drawn to the digital modes. As for me, I will keep all of my cards. I enjoy paging through them from time to time. They help me remember some really great times. Like the time that a friend and I ditched class one day to climb a hill, string up a dipole, and work DX all day long. I still have cards from that day of fun.
I think that we can move forward while enjoying and remembering the past. It is after all what got us to where we are right now.
My cards don’t take up THAT much space 😉
Take Care es 73,
Vaughn N2BHA
Hi, I am not really a QSL-card collector. I had a lot of them in a box somewhere… but now they are gone. I moved twice and since then I can’t find them. The idea of E-QSL looks fine to me. But I noticed that a lot of amateurs don’t like it. What to do? I think I will use the E-QSL because it is easy to send them. Quick and neat.
For me it is much nicer to get an actual card. Many of them are quite unique and represent thought, time, and effort on the part of the person who sent them. They remind me of some pretty nice times that I have had as well. I guess I was more reacting to the notion that, because something is easier and cheaper to do, that it is better. Often times it isn’t.
If you are not a collector, what would be wrong with sending them and, when you receive a card from someone who, like you, took the time and effort to send one, enjoy and keep it for as long as you would like?
I am a software developer and enjoy speed and efficiency. I see how technology has made life easier and, in many cases, cheaper for people but I am concerned of late by what I see; a society that is willing to invest no more than 30 seconds in anything. Most of the things that I have valued the most over the past 46 years have required substantial investment of time and effort.
Take Care es 73,
Vaughn N2BHA
@Vaughn: Everyone who send me a paper QSL card will always get one in return. The problem with e-QSL could be when my PC crashes. That happens two times since august 2008. And when I haven’t got a recent backup, everything will be gone…
73, Paul
Hi, I like the HCJB qsl- must be a spoof? Where did it come from please?!
Chrissy
hi i have a few hundred calling cards in my possesion, would they be worth anything to collectors?