Hi Tom!

I haven't had any cards made since I left my parents' home now over 30 years
ago. 

Arguably there are now easier ways to do the job than there was back then,
such as LOTW, but as we've often discussed here, convenient though such
facilities might be, it isn't without significant access barriers that we
still need to solve. LOet's face it. We have to solve those because they are
our problem.

With all that said, I have tried to send a QSL whenever one is requested,
but only when one is requested is there an obligation. In the cases when
this has happened, I'm not saying the person got something fancy. What they
got was a local post card representing the area in which the contact was
made, and I dictated the relevant information that would satisfy the award
people. The obligation need not be onourous.

Still, I can't forget the thrill that came from receiving a braille QSL card
when I was 16. It didn't come from a famous person, famous at least in
another field, but it came from a sighted guy with the call W8HZA.

Besides that memorable QSL card, I think of John every day because I'm now
the owner of the Heath kit CW keyboard that he used when arthritis forced
him to stop using his clean bug fist. While speaking of bugs, I have to
mention W8JWX because the bug sitting on my desk was once his. Doc is
memorable because he was the guy that taught me American Morse on the air.

73,
Dave    

-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Tom Behler
Sent: Tuesday, 16 June 2015 6:06 a.m.
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Return QSL Card Obligations

Jim:

Well, this is somewhat refreshing to hear.

I think we all try to do what is right, and like you, if someone directly
asks me for a card, or sends me one with a SASE and a clear request to
return QSL, I do so.

But I have received so many unsolicited cards over the past number of years
that I'm finding it impossible to keep up.

Add to this that at least some degree of sighted assistance is required to
return printed cards, and it gets unmanageable.

Anyway, I'll certainly be interested to hear what others have to say on the
topic, and will respond additionally if I think I have something else
meaningful to add.

Tom Behler: KB8TYJ


-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Jim Shaffer
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2015 1:50 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Return QSL Card Obligations

My thoughts on this are that I'm under no obligation to return a QSL card
unless I ask for a card, or offer to return one.  In fact, if asked on the
air, I inform the other station that I don't even have any cards, which is
currently true.  When I took my amateur tests, I didn't sign up to be a
corresponding secretary, grin.
--
Jim, ke5al
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Behler
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2015 11:41 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Return QSL Card Obligations

Hello, everyone.



I realize that I'm bringing up a topic here on which there will be many
differing opinions, but it is becoming an increasing problem for me, and I
suspect I'm not alone.



The problem is with printed QSL cards, and the extent one should feel
obligated to reciprocate with a return QSL.



Back in the day, I was actually pretty good at return QSLing, although I'm
sure some of the cards I received slipped through the cracks.



Even today, I'm good at return QSLing for cards that I receive for which I'm
directly asked to return qsl.



However, in recent years, I have gotten many qsl cards (including quite a
few from the buro) on which there is no indication that a return qsl is
needed.  Of course, the polite thing to do would be to send return qsls, and
I even have a QSL template in Microsoft Word format that I can use.  But
that requires sighted assistance for printing and such that is just not as
available to me as used to be the case.



One of these days, I intend to get fully up and running on LOTW, and my hope
is that electronic QSLing will solve some of this issue, but for now, I'm
not exactly sure when that will happen, due to the many other projects I
have on my plate which must take precedence.



To be honest, I'm feeling somewhat guilty about not return QSLing for the
many cards I have now received, which is why I'm writing this e-mail.  I
just wonder what others have done over the years.



Tom Behler: KB8TYJ









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