Author - Tim Beaumont

United Radio QSL Bureau are sponsoring the QSL management of GB1SWC a Special Event Station at The Beacon Museum, Whitehaven will host a variety of special events throughout the weekend of 11th – 12th March 2017 to support local charity Samaritans of West Cumbria and to raise awareness of the work undertaken by Samaritans.

In addition to the scheduled beacon exhibits on display, members of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) will broadcast voice and digital mode transmissions from Amateur Radio Station GB1SWC. As well as live tracking of the International Space Station and other interactive demonstrations such as a Morse Code Game, there will be sending and receiving of Television pictures and digital information over radio waves.

If radio conditions are favourable members of the public will also be invited to exchange greeting messages on air with licensed stations in the UK and abroad.  

Suicide kills three times more people than road traffic accidents and West Cumbria has one of the highest suicide rates in the UK. Local volunteers from Samaritans will be on hand during the weekend to explain the work of their organisation and can be available to talk with anyone in private and in confidence if needed.

Nationally Samaritans respond to more than 5 million calls for help a year and it is only through the public’s kind donations and our trained volunteers that ensures we are always there for anyone struggling to cope.

Over the last few years there has been some dramatic changes to how we all request our QSL cards. In Direct QSL requests it is quite significant that we  are now requesting over 90% of these using OQRS as opposed to sending a direct letter. This data is measured here by our own OQRS system. This means that you not only get your QSL card much quicker by using OQRS, it also saves us a lot of time in processing your QSL request.

An added feature is the “Busted / Missing Call” form in which you can make an inquiry all in-house without emailing the QSL manager.
Some of you are confused about the “QSL Via” field – This is ONLY to be used if your bureau QSL is to be sent to YOUR QSL manager. It is NOT for your email address or for any greetings message and it most certainly should not be to write M0URX or your QSL request will just come back to me!

There is still much work to do in educating DX chasers on how to use OQRS. In particular we are experiencing a lack of use from the “Bureau” users, for DXpeditions, IOTA, Holiday stations and many rare DX stations, you should NOT be sending your QSL cards through the bureau. We need you to utilise the OQRS service.

Please – Always check on QRZ.com for QSL info!

Here at the United Radio QSL Bureau we practice “Responsible QSL’ing” and we ask you to do the same.

We are particularly concerned about QSL’ers and Contesters from JA, DL, OH, OK, UA who continue to “QSL ALL” QSOs from their log and perform QSL card dumps into their respective IARU QSL Bureaus. This practice is an example of irresponsible QSL’ing. The cost in both time and money to process such vast amounts of QSL cards is quite honestly staggering! Worst offenders of such behaviour are well known contest stations and we ask you to please STOP dumping your logs into the QSL Bureaus of the world. It is of course done for “Branding” purposes of the contest station so that the stations that they work remember the call sign and work them again in the next contest and the next and the next and then of course another dozen QSL exchanges are generated automatically by the QSL dumping of the contest station. This of course is very self-defeating, why? Most contest stations either do not pick up their bureau cards or they have a QSL manager deal with them, so the operators will probably never even see who has sent the QSL cards so the “branding” exercise is very flawed. Not to mention all the QSL cards that are sent to non-affilated call signs which all then have to be returned to the contest station. More waste!

The waste that this creates is quite huge, yet every single one of those useless requests has to be checked into the logs here just in case one of them is a “GENUINE” bureau request. This can take hundreds of man hours every year that is just here with the work I do. SO around the world there will be thousands and thousands of hours wasted processing the bureau cards from contest stations that are not requested or wanted or even want a reply back. This is beyond selfish, it is down right not acceptable! The money used by the world IARU Bureaus to ship all these cards that are not requested or wanted could be much better spent. Think about it!

Much investment has gone into Online QSL Request System development to save time in processing QSL requests this is very evident with the bureau requests, we do not have to wait three years to receive your card. Your QSL will be sent on our next dispatch to your IARU Bureau. Please help us in reducing the bureau waste! Thank you!

Ron Vadeboncoeur VE3REV is QRV in Senegal as 6W1SU operting from Dakar.
QSL cards are available for request on OQRS Please do not send us any bureau cards, use OQRS.
LoTW will be uploaded when I get each log upload.

Ron has asked that you read the following while you are in the pile up!

Hello! I have been licenced for 20 years as VE3REV and moved to Dakar, Senegal in August 2016 for 2+ years. I have not been very active, therefore, still consider myself a “Novice”. So, I ask for the following when making a QSO:

1) Be Tolerant: I may not be a good operator, yet, but I WANT TO LEARN;

2) Be Patient: I will be in Dakar for two or three years and will be active from 6m down to 80m. If you don’t work me the first time, there will be many other chances! Operating phone only but hoping to tackle CW later;

3) Be Polite: I have never worked pile ups before. If they occur, I will try to “manage” them the best I can using prefix numbers, geographic location, etc. I dislike QSOs being broken by over-zealous operators, so if you cut in at an inappropriate time, you just might get ignored…being Canadian, I must conclude by saying “Sorry” 🙂

4) Be Supportive: I gladly accept constructive criticism and advice. Feel free to email me.

Equipment: 

Kenwood TS850S (thanks to VE9CB)
ICOM 551D 6m with IC-PS20 power supply 
Yaesu FL1200Z amplifier
MA5B 3-element trapped yagi 10/12/15/17/20m
6m 6JXX6 6-element yagi (thanks to F6EPY)
40m and 80m dipoles

• Location: [Pretty sweet I’m told] In downtown Dakar (Le Plateau) with a clear, western view of the ocean 250m away, looking directly at Les Iles des Madeleines. Antennae located on building roof about 50m above ground and 65m above sea level. Look forward to working the world! 73 Ron 6W1SU – VE3REV

An issue that we are faced with every day is people saying that they have lost QSO details, had a HDD crash or that their dog ate the log.
We are continually challenged about our response.

I consulted ARRL DXCC, LoTW to get some guidance on our responsibilities on this matter and here is their response:

“I spoke to DXCC and Norm Fusaro to see if anything was actually WRITTEN regarding this issue.
Like LoTW, there is not anything written.  It is a matter of Ethics.

The reason for not giving out the QSO information is so that persons cannot claim credit for a QSO that was not actually made.  It is protection of the data and the integrity of the DXCC program.   

This is to keep the QSO information genuine for a prestigious and sought-after award.  

If someone contacts you, and they use LoTW, the data of the QSO is in their LoTW account.  If they need their QSO/QSL log file, it can be obtained from Rick Murphy’s LoTW site at:  http://www.rickmurphy.net/lotwquery.html

If they do not use LoTW, this is another issue.  You are correct in not just giving out the QSO information if they ask without providing any information themselves.”

The answer is quite simple. Back up your ADIF log. Also, set up accounts with Club Log & LoTW, upload your logs regularly and then you will always have a record and backed up data of your log. Our policy is in line with the ethics of the DXCC Award Program and we will not give out QSO data, there is no excuse for losing your data. Back it up! We ask that you do not ask us for QSO data as we are not in a position to give the data to you.

150 letters for FH/HB9AMO Pierre, Mayotte Island will be posted on Wedneday 28th December 2016.

240 Bureau cards have been processed waiting for the next Bureau dispatch.

You can still request your QSL on our OQRS. 
Please do not send us any Bureau cards as they are not required. Thank you.

150 letters for FH/HB9AMO Pierre, Mayotte Island will be posted on Wedneday 28th December 2016.

240 Bureau cards have been processed waiting for the next Bureau dispatch.

You can still request your QSL on our OQRS. 
Please do not send us any Bureau cards as they are not required. Thank you.

A look back through 2016 has seen some significant advances in our QSL work at the United Radio QSL Bureau.

Incoming QSL Bureau – The first of which was an agreement with the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) to allow us to continue to receive incoming QSL cards for non-members of the RSGB society that use our QSL service, this was after two years of negotiation and renegotiation. During that time our incoming QSL cards were counted and separated into two piles, member call signs and non-member call signs. It was agreed that approximately 50% of the QSL cards I was receiving were for call signs that were not RSGB affiliated call signs. Both parties agreed that this could not continue and we agreed on some conditions to move forward.

1. That for all call signs member or non-member affiliated we would ask that all Bureau requests must be made by OQRS.

2. That all QRZ.com profiles and DXpedition websites that text would be included to advise that all Bureau requests MUST be made by OQRS.

“M0URX continues to take all reasonable steps to deter users of his service who are not RSGB Members from sending cards to the RSGB QSL bureau”

That United Radio would continue to send ALL outgoing Bureau cards to the IARU Bureaus at the expense of M0URX. Only cards permitted to be sent to the RSGB were to RSGB members within the United Kingdom.

Read More

PZ5V – 110 Direct QSL cards will be posted on Thursday 15th December.

245 Bureau cards processed ready for the next dispatch

The QSL has been designed for Pierre FH/HB9AMO for his recent activity from Mayotte Island. The QSL will be in the print room on Monday. Direct QSL cards will be posted out on December 28th. 
QSL Via M0URX OQRS
Please do not send us Bureau cards – Use OQRS if you need a card via Bureau. Thank you