QSLing Methods
There are three different ways to QSL:
Each method is discussed below.
Paper QSLs
At the dawn of amateur radio, there were a small number of radio amateurs, transmitters were generally low powered (not more than a few watts output), and receiver and antenna designs were in their infancy, so QSOs were not as frequent as they are today. QSL cards were exchanged as a way to remember the QSO and to thank the person you chatted with.
Exchanging QSL cards is still very popular today. Some amateurs use low cost, one-sided cards printed using one colour of ink; at the other end of the card spectrum is the two-sided card with a full colour picture or pictures on one side, and QSO information on the reverse.
Advantages of Paper QSLs
Disadvantages of Paper QSLs
Exchanging Paper QSLs
There are four methods of exchanging paper QSL cards:
Exchange By Hand
While this method of exchange is the most personal, it is limited to exchanging QSL cards with those people you come into physical contact with.
Direct
With this method, you mail your card, along with an SASE, or SAE and green stamps or International Reply Coupons to cover return postage. Obviously this method can get very expensive very quickly. Because of the cost, this method should be reserved for only those cards which are especially important to receive.
Bureau
Many national radio organizations maintain both an outgoing and an incoming QSL bureau. First of all, to send cards out via your country's outgoing QSL bureau, you must be a member of your national amateur radio organization. After you have a number of card to send, you forward them to the outgoing bureau. Each organization has different cost structures; the bureaus in some countries will handle some number of cards free of charge each year, then charge for additional cards; bureaus in some other countries charge a fee by the card or by weight of cards. In any case, the charges are much lower than sending cards direct.
The outgoing QSL bureau sorts cards according to the incoming QSL bureaus. When a sufficiently large number of cards are ready for an incoming bureau, the cards are packaged up and mailed to that bureau. Depending on the policies of the outgoing bureau, cards may be mailed to an incoming bureau as frequently as several times per year, or for countries with few cards to be sent, the cards may be collected for a number of years before being mailed. I have received return cards within three months using the bureau system, and occasionally have received cards back ten years after sending my card. If you really must have a QSL card from another station, send your card by a method other than the bureau.
When sending your cards to the outgoing QSL bureau, the callsign of the station (or the station's manager) should be written in the upper left corner on the back side of the card. If you sent two-sided cards, make sure that the callsign for the receiver is prominently displayed on the card. Sort the cards according to incoming QSL bureau, and then by callsign.
As an alternative to using the outgoing QSL bureau in your country, you may send your cards directly to the incoming bureaus of the countries your cards are destined for.
When cards are received by an incoming QSL bureau, they are sorted by callsign. After a certain number of cards are received for a callsign, they are mailed to the recipient. To receive these cards, the recipient must have registered with the incoming bureau and provided the bureau with either SASEs, SAEs or printed mailing labels, and stamps or cash for postage. Each incoming bureau has different requirements, so be sure to check with your bureau to determine what they want. In some countries, you must be a member of the4 national organization to use the incoming bureau; in most countries, membership in your national organization is not a requirement to receive cards through the incoming bureau.
QSL Managers
A QSL manager is a person who handles the QSLing duties for another radio amateur or station. QSL managers are used by multi-operator DXpeditions, amateurs in countries that do not have an incoming bureau, by amateurs in countries where the mail system is less than reliable, and by amateurs who feel that QSLing is part of the hobby but are not interested in doing the work themselves.
While a few QSL managers will answer bureau cards, the majority only answer QSL requests received direct, with sufficient funds to handle postage, and possibly printing. See QSLing Tips for more information about getting replies from QSL managers.
Electronic QSLs
As an alternative to paper QSLs there are two ways to QSL electronically: eQSL, and Logbook of the World. Both provide relative ease of use, with many logging programs having integrated interfaces for transfer of QSO information to both; the limitation in both cases is in their acceptance by various awards committees.
eQSL
eQSL was started in 1998, and as of January 2011, there are more than 185 million QSOs in its database. Users may be informed whenever one of their QSOs has been confirmed, and may also download a QSL card image for that QSO. eQSL validates your license, typically by requiring you to scan and forward a copy of your license before an account is set up. There is no cost for the basic package which allows you to choose one background from a selection of about a dozen for your QSL card. This is the card that the other station can download for QSOs with you. There are also bronze, silver, and gold memberships each with increasing cost and benefits, including having a larger selection of backgrounds for your card, loading an image of your own for the card, and participating in the awards program.
eQSL has an awards program of its own design, and a few awards organizations, most notably CQ Magazine, accepts eQSL confirmations for their awards.
Please note that card images downloaded from eQSL and printed by you are not accepted by awards organizations as proof of contact.
Logbook of the World
Logbook of the World (LotW) was started by, and is administered by the American Radio Relay League. As of January 2011 there are more than 350 million QSOs in its database. Validation of your license is more stringent than for eQSL, and sending QSOs to LotW requires signing the log file using a digital certificate. Many logging programs make exchanging QSOs with LotW quite easy. The most complex part is the requirement to renew the digital certificate each year.
There is no cost to uploading and downloading QSO data. There is a charge to use confirmed QSO data to claim awards. At this time, only DXCC and WAS awards use LotW. In the future, additional awards may use LotW confirmations, but none are available at the time this page was written.
No card images are available for LotW; the only information is in confirmed QSO data returned to you by LotW.
Email and Other QSLs
You may also email the other station and include a QSL card image with QSO data on it. The other station may print the card if he wishes, but the card cannot be used for claiming awards.
At least one radio amateur who is not interested in QSLing has set up a form on his website for you to enter QSO information; once the information is entered, you can download and print the resulting card. Needless to say, this card cannot be used when claiming awards either.