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QSL Managers
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| "VIA QSL MGR" - QSL Managers |
Sponsored by WINQSL
You heard that rare DX station tell the pile-up that cards are being accepted by his QSL
Manager, but the QSB was coming in and you didn't quite catch that callsign. No
fear! QRZ is here! The QRZ QSL database contains manager references to over
68,000 DX callsigns. Enjoy and Good DX Hunting!
This search page accepts partial callsigns too! For example, to find all QSL managers
for 4U0 callsigns, you can simply enter '4U0' in the callsign box. The system will also
search for the managers as well - just type in the manager's callsign and see how many
stations he QSL's for.
Updates
Please email all QSL route or manager updates to DF6EX
Our special thanks to Manfred Meier, DF6EX, for providing the QSL
Manager database.
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| QSL Bureaus and Services |
Sometimes, when it's tough to locate a direct address or a QSL Manager for a DX station, a
"bureau" or "service" can be used instead. Depending on the
bureau or service, there will likely be some restrictions and/or costs involved with using
it. Although typically slower than QSL'ing direct, the use of bureaus and services
will often offer a greater chance of getting your hands on that elusive QSL card!
QSL Bureaus
QSL Services
- Airmail and Nesting Envelopes, and Foreign Stamps!
Available from:
Bill Plum
12 Glenn Road
Flemington, NJ 08822-3322 USA
Telephone: (908)788-1020
Fax: (908)782-2612
Call to request a price sheet to be faxed to you.
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- F5CCO's Free E-Mail QSL
Request Service
- Irish Radio Transmitters Society
- James Mackey - Rubber Stamps, QSL Cards, Foreign Postage,
Envelopes, Etc.
James Mackey
P.O. Box 270569
West Hartford, CT 06127-0569 USA
Telephone: (860)521-7254
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- QSLCard.Com - Electronic QSL card exchange on the
Internet
- WF5E
Outgoing QSL Service - Private QSL Bureau - much quicker than conventional bureaus!
Are you trying to figure out
what country a particular callsign is from? Take a look at ITU's Table of Allocation of Int'l Call Sign
Series!
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| QSL Card Designers and Printers |
Not all of us have the artistic ability to create our own attractive QSL cards.
However, you're sure to find a company below which can produce everything from simple and
inexpensive cards, to fancy multi-color glossy cards with custom pictures and text!
Looking for a way to organize
and/or display your QSL cards? Check out Hamstuff by W7NN!
Wanna' try your hand at designing your
own QSL card? Check out WB8RCR's
QSL Maker!
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| Tips for QSL'ers |
DX stations, especially the rare ones, receive thousands of QSL cards. So, if you
really want a return on your QSL, then it is imperative that you package your outgoing QSL
card properly.
Consider who is receiving your card...
Are *you* considered "rare DX" to the person who is receiving your QSL card?
Especially in the case of stateside hams, most times the answer to this question is an
emphatic "no". If this is the case, and if you expect a return
QSL, you must make provisions for that return. At an absolute minimum, include a
self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) to help ensure a returned QSL card. If you
send your QSL card as a postcard, you can expect not to see a return QSL in most cases.
(If you do, consider yourself lucky!)
Packaging
your outgoing QSL (direct or via QSL Manager)
- Correct date and time on
the QSL - It is
important that the exact date and time are entered on your outgoing QSL card. If you make
an error, you risk getting your card back from the QSL Manager with "NIL" (Not
In Log) written on it. If you do get the DX stations' QSL card despite an
incorrect date/time, consider yourself fortunate ... the QSL Manager took the time to
search the log for your QSO! One of the most common reasons why dates and times are
incorrect is that the QSL'er has failed to use UTC date and time!
- QSL Card Design
- As suggested by Bob Locher, W9KNI, in his book "The Complete DX'er", it
is advantageous to have your callsign on the same side of your QSL card as the QSO
information. By doing so, the QSL Manager doesn't have to flip back and forth from one
side of your QSL to the other as he/she verifies QSO information. This decreases the
chance that the QSL Manager might get your callsign wrong. Nobody wants to get back a QSL
card from a rare DX station, just to find that it's not YOUR callsign on the card!
- Pre-glued SASE Envelopes
- Can you imagine having to lick three hundred envelopes in one day? By using SASE's that
are pre-glued, you are making the QSL Manager's job much easier. These types of envelopes
have a "wax-paper" strip along the pre-glued portion. All the QSL Manager has to
do is to peel off the strip and seal the envelope. [Note: For the most part, I have seen
such envelopes coming only out of Japan ... it will be nice when they are more readily
available in the U.S.]
- Use a piece of wax paper -
Include a sheet of wax paper on the inside of the nested envelope. This prevents the
envelope from "self adhering" during transit to the DX station or Mgr.
This is especially useful when sending to tropical areas or when you know the
envelope is traveling via air where moisture can be present. (Thanks, Dale H. Cole
K9TTT, for the tip!)
- Return Address on SASE's
- Many SASE's received by QSL Managers do not have return addresses on them. Since the QSL
Manager deals with many SASE's, it's unlikely he/she is going to put their own address as
a "return address" on the envelope. It is suggested that the QSL'er put the QSL
Manager's address on the top-left corner of the SASE. This is cheap insurance to help keep
your QSL card out of the postal service's "dead letter" file.
- Pre-stamped SASE
- If you are able to obtain the correct postage stamps for the country of the card
recipient, it is suggested that you affix the stamps to the SASE. There are two benefits
to doing this:
(1) You make the QSL Manager's job easier, since he/she will not have the extra task of
doing postage for your card
(2) Your card will likely be sent out as soon as it is processed (it won't have wait in a
queue for postage).
NOTE: If you pre-stamp your SASE, be sure to affix enough postage. And, if you do not
pre-stamp, as always you must include appropriate compensation to cover all postage
expense!
- Direction of the fold of
the SASE- In many cases, you are required to fold your SASE so that it
will fit into your outgoing envelope. When you insert the folded SASE into the envelope,
do so with the "fold" downwards. In other words, don't allow the fold to be up
at the top of the inside of the envelope.
If the fold is at the top, then the SASE could possibly be sliced in half as the QSL
Manager uses his/her letter opener. As a QSL Manager, I have sliced several SASE's in half
-- although they can be taped back together, it's not much fun to go dig the tape out and
perform surgery.
- Callsigns on Envelopes
- Unfortunately, in some countries, postal workers have earned a less than honest
reputation. In these cases, any envelope that is identified as containing "ham radio
contents" could be stolen. Apparently, these thieves have discovered that stealing
green stamps (dollar bills) that are often included in the envelopes can be a profitable
business. So, if your "To" envelope or SASE will travel through potentially
"unsafe" postal systems, your envelope will have a better chance at making it
through if you avoid putting your callsign on the outside of it.
However, it is a good idea to put your callsign on this INSIDE flap of the
SASE. That way if the QSL manager gets your envelope mixed up with another envelope,
he doesn't have to research your name to find out what callsign it belongs to.
Written inside, under the flap, mail thieves won't see it! (Thanks, N6VHF, for the
tip!)
- Avoid sending
your card as "registered" or "certified" mail- When a card is sent as registered or
certified, it is inconvenient for the QSL Manager to have to go down to the Post Office to
retrieve it. And, since it takes a bit longer to receive the card (as it awaits the QSL
Manager at the local Post Office), this process delays the return of your awaited QSL
card. The only time that you should send registered or certified mail is if this process
is the only way of guaranteeing that the envelope is handled properly through your
country's postal system.
- Include
collectible stamps in your envelope - If you have any domestic stamps that
are less common in your country, and if the QSL Manager, to whom you are sending the QSL
request, resides in another country, include these stamps in your envelope. Chances are
good that the QSL Manager collects stamps, and he/she will likely appreciate your
contribution to the collection.
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