MY GENERAL QSL-ING POLICY.

Please note that I no longer collect paper cards from the RSGB QSL bureau. Using the OQRS facility on my web site is therefore very strongly recommended and much preferred. You can also send direct through the mail but please include adequate postage and a good quality C6 sized self addressed envelope (SAE) (114 mm x 162 mm, 4.5" x 6.4") for its return. Self addressed labels and UK postage stamps are NOT welcome.

Most logs are searchable from the individual station's page and I implore you to make use of this facility before requesting QSLs. In the event that you cannot find your QSO in the log search, please Contact me with your QSO details and I will do a manual check. In the event that you ignore my recommendation and make a direct QSL request for a QSO that is not in the log, then I will treat your payment as a much appreciated donation towards to cost of running this web site.

If sending via the postal system, please send only US dollars. Dollar bills are much preferred but please note that $2 ($3 via OQRS) are required for an airmail reply to anywhere in the world (except the UK). Small denomination notes and coins of other currencies (including 5 Euro notes) are not exchangeable at UK banks and thus worthless. Given the bank charges, small value cheques not drawn on UK banks are also worthless. Applications not including adequate return postage will be returned via the bureau if possible.

Direct QSL requests are treated as a priority and my aim is to process and mail the replies within a reasonable time of their receipt, subject to the logs and cards being available, or as soon as possible afterwards.

OQRS requests for a reply via the RSGB bureau are treated as a lower priority and are processed when I have time. There may be a considerable delay in you receiving such QSL(s), as the world-wide bureau system is very slow and inefficient. Due to the large volume of bureau cards that I handle, I only tend to send outgoing cards to the RSGB three or four times per year. Consequently, a delay of several years is to be expected.

I will reply to every first time QSL request received. Duplicate requests for a reply via the bureau generally fall into the category of indiscriminate QSL-ing and are generally ignored. If you have not received your first card within a reasonable time, what makes you think a second one will be delivered? Under such circumstances, please request a direct reply or be a little more patient.

QSL cards not clearly requesting a return QSL will not be answered. If you use the OQRS system to request a bureau card, please do NOT send a duplicate card via the bureau, as it will not be collected and achieves nothing more than clog up the bureau system unnecessarily.

Assuming they check with the log, I will only confirm those QSOs listed on your card, not every QSO listed for you in the DX station's log, so please make sure you apply for ALL the QSOs you need confirmed, preferably on a single card. I firmly believe that the purpose of the QSL is to confirm that two way contact took place. Indiscriminately confirming all the QSO’s in the log leads to the possibility of the applicant receiving confirmation of a QSO which he didn’t actually make, possibly due to the DX station operator’s logging a busted call or QRM at the time of the QSO. This can lead in turn to the operator of the correct version of the busted call being refused a QSL for an otherwise valid QSO.

Busted calls are callsigns incorrectly logged by the DX station. A DX station’s logs cannot and never will be 100% accurate. Given the involvement of humans and computers (and even paper logs) there are simply too many ways for a callsign or other information to get into the log incorrectly. However, DX-ers should realise that they have no “right” to a QSL card if the callsign is not correct in the log. I recognise this problem and will often give the benefit of the doubt to a station with a similar, but not exact, callsign taking into consideration similar Morse characters or phonetics, always provided that the date, time, mode and frequency for the claimed QSO check accurately against the log. Time is the most important of these parameters, and it is thus essential to maintain accurately your own logs in Universal Time Co-ordinated (UTC). You cannot reasonably expect me to search through a log of some tens of thousands of QSO’s for a busted call if you do not provide me with accurate data to work from. If you are not in the log for any reason, I will return your card with the bad news.

13th November 2019.