QSLing or NOT !

I saw a post the other day that was about a QSL request to a special event station that came back with the dreaded returned QSL and a NOT IN LOG tag. Many of you have been in this hobby as long or longer than I have and you know the pain of collecting those much wanted and needed QSLs.

Back in the day ( before the internet) it was not as easy, no QRZ.com, no manager list on line, no OQRS, no PayPal, no LoTw, no eQSL...and on and on. It was Bureau, direct, or manager but finding the manager was a list published in CQ magazine so you sometimes had to wait a month or two. The Bureau was just as slow then as it is now, IRCs were more readily accepted and your green stamps were stolen about as often as today.

With that being said some DX stations, and many US stations are just bad at sending QSL cards. I will only go into detail on a couple in the recent past we will pass on the many in the past 40 years.
The big DXpeditions are great logs uploaded to see if your contact was good, EZ QSL routs and so on. But lets take the case of the guys trying to get those cards from maybe not so rare places but none the less needed .

WAS : This is the award most of us get first, now you can get eWAS, and LoTw (ARRL) WAS and you can get cards ( I like cards ) but even with that many don't upload to eQSL or LoTw.....and many don't return mail cards....it is just how it is....Yes you may have to work a state three times to get a card, I don't get it but it is true, like you I send a receive QSL with great pleasure...so what is wrong with the others ? Got me !!

I have a couple of QSL stories most of you can relate to, I should use there calls but won't as I am a nice guy....mostly. I have many more rare DX stations in my QSL box than Jamaica, but the station I worked there was the only one I had he was a vacationing VE....very long story short....sent $$ and SAE ..... sent PayPal payment couple of years later and today...yes today... got a card in the mail four years later at a cost of $7 dollars...but I did get it !! So I guess this is the don't give up story.

The other is a station in N. Ireland not that rare at all but once again the only one I have....His QRZ page says...I do not collect cards but if you send me $3 US and an SAE with your QSO information I will send a card.....Well after two such letters being sent, and two email requests to see what happened to my $6 no reply ....none. It is true some guys are just taking our money.

LoTw: I am a new comber to LoTw in the past couple of years...it is a great tool but just remember this...I have uploaded 2500 contacts in that time and have 1100 QSLs so less than 50% it could be better. I have a pile of not in log requests like many of you have sent multiple requests for that elusive last state for 6M WAS ....and some will never come, NEVER ....but don't give up most guys will QSL and you will get most of the ones you need, but some you will have to work again it is just how it is....

Get on have fun and enjoy what you have and QSL always...73 Jim K7JAN

100 Watts and a wire ....

I stumbled on to the 100 Watts and a wire page a few weeks ago on FB, I have been following it now for those few weeks and I am so pleasantly surprised with this site. It is so very cool to see posts from new hams that are excited about building antennas, working DX, getting WAS and overcoming CC&R restrictions ... I am so happy to see all this enthusiasm.

Most of you will excel and pass me by with an Extra ticket I am sure, I have been an Advanced class for 30 years, if you do not know what that class is do some research....Above General below Extra...and still FUN !! I hope you all climb the ladder and enjoy all that this hobby has to offer.

I want to pass on another CC&R antenna that may be of some use to some of you. I have used this antenna stationary mobile on FD and now from my home QTH as a way to get on 30 Meters. My random wire fed with the same UnUn described below just don't like 30M....Hummm you know how it is.

This antenna uses a JacKite pole found on line, search Jackite pole in Google, they come in several lengths, I have the 30ft model. I simply add the appropriate length of wire fed with the 9 to 1 UnUn and let her rip, the pole is a 4ft tube that easily extends to 30ft. EZ up and down so up at dark down at QRT time. 23 feet of wire works 10-40m very well, 40 m works best with a 23ft counterpoise. but not required for the higher bands.

The UnUn, I have built many of these and you can too....

The core is a T130-2

The pole is lite weight and can be mounted in many ways, we have used Velcro straps, pipe clamps, and Zip Ties your choice. The photo below is my friend Tim KD7WD using this antenna attached to a fence post with Velcro straps.

This is a shot of me operating stationary mobile FD with the pole attached to my Jeep.

Well I hope you will give this a try, a great portable antenna and a good nighttime stealth antenna from the dreaded HOA. feel free to contact me @ dek7jan@gmail.com Best 73 Jim.