250 Incoming Bureau cards arrived from the RSGB Bureau on July 9th 2020.
Category - Blog
As of July 3rd VP8PJ cards mailed on May 21st are still being received. Apparently, some postal services were seriously impacted by the Covid-19 lock-downs.
Please be patient for your mail delivery provider to deliver your QSL cards, this is out of our control at this time. You will get the QSL. Thank you.
Still waiting? If you go to VP8PJ log search, Search for your call sign and click “Request QSL” you will see the status of your QSL request.
Direct QSL & OQRS Direct should all be marked as “SENT”
Sometimes it can be very difficult to verify if a SWL request is genuine or the information is gleaned from internet sources. So I am asking the SWL community to help me make it a bit easier to verify your requests.
I am very pleased to report that SWL is still a very large part of Amateur Radio with several SWL reports coming in every week
The SWL QSL claimant should provide a list of 3 stations consecutively worked by the DX to verify that the QSL card claimant genuinely heard the DX.
Date, time frequency and mode listed with each report.
Any details about your station also welcome.
1) SWL QSL requests can be requested by email, with the required information to validate the SWL
2) I will add the Qs to the log as SWL and email the SWL claimant.
3) The person claiming the SWL must then go through OQRS to request the QSL for either Bureau or Direct.
Incoming SWL Bureau cards will continue be accepted if the call is an RSGB registered call sign, so always check the QSL Policy of the DXpedition. To keep the workload and cost to an acceptable level. I ask SWL’ers to email me and NOT send Bureau cards.
Please follow the same QSL instructions on this page here:
Any QSL without sufficient funds for a reply will be sent via Bureau.
Yes, that is today’s headline. In January 2021 new mandatory worldwide security regulations will be implemented in ALL countries.
Some countries already adopted these mandatory requirements in 2019. Briefly, all international parcels must have a completed electronic customs data (CN22/CN23/Pre-advice).
Although QSL cards are “Printed Matter” exempt from the requirements (non commercial), when the parcels reach customs in the destination country and the parcel displays no pre advice documents then customs can and ARE today either returning the parcel to the sender or destroying the parcels as a security risk.
Here’s a real example: I have attempted multiple times this year to contact the Brazilian Amateur Radio society to ask them for help. Every parcel I sent to Brazil is refused entry because it does not have the required data “from” the IARU Bureau system. I have received no reply from Brazilian QSL Bureau.
I raised this matter with the IARU and was told that because no IARU Bureaus have raised a concern that the problem does not exist.
If the IARU will not implement the changes required to meet worldwide postal /customs regulations then what does this mean for the future of the IARU Bureau system?
Really a pleasure to receive this email this evening…..“Thanks very much for your great job!
VP8PJ was all time new one for my son Sven DJ4MX (18 years old).
Best regards from Munich.
73, Sven DJ4MX and Mario DJ2MX”
If you are still waiting for your QSL to arrive please sit tight. I am getting reports of mail arriving every day. Covid-19 staffing issues have slowed delivery.
May has produced some of the best Sporadic E conditions for many years here in the Northern Hemisphere, with conditions between Europe to North America and the Caribbean and also Europe and Africa.
PJ4DX Steve in Bonaire reports. “After only ever working around the Caribbean plus a few NA / SA stations on 6m, on the 29th it opened up to Europe. Thanks to Bert for the phone call alerting me to the opening. Best DX was LY3W at over 9000km and I think I heard a 5B4 which would have been over 10,200km if we had made the QSO. Astonishing conditions – I can understand why they call it the Magic Band (I also call it the Frustrating Band!)”
PJ4DX OQRS
OY1OF Ólavur in the Faroe Islands also reports, “Good opening on 10m, 6m, 4m.”
OY1OF OQRS
A log update has been made this morning to the 5Z4/G3AB log on OQRS. Andy informs me that he will try to get the CW log update to me as soon as possible. So please be aware that the log is NOT complete and I ask you not to use the Not in log button for CW QSOs at this time.
CW Log has now been uploaded.
We are in some very different times with the effects of Covid-19 and QSL mailings are no different. At this time there are significantly less aircraft flying between all the countries in the world. This means that the capacity for mail freight on the aircraft still flying is at a raised premium and as you can imagine in a world of supply and demand the price goes up and up. So we are hit with a flight surcharge on all our international post. I have looked into this very carefully and i have found ways to absorb this extra cost so that we can keep our QSL and OQRS costs unchanged. With dollar exchange rates very favourable and PayPal’s Micro-Payments reduced charge it is unlikely to have any effect on the costs of QSL requests today.This of course remains a very fluid situation and I will inevitably continue to review this for the foreseeable future.
VP8PJ South Orkney and ZL1NA/MM QSL cards have been posted this morning 21st May, please give 7 – 14 days for delivery. Where Covid-19 restrictions remain delivery maybe delayed.
All direct (both online and postal, Foundation and Donors) QSL requests received up to today have been posted.
I would like to get feedback on our QSL’s arriving in your country, photos are welcome!
Just to give you a progress report on the VP8PJ QSL stuffing .. I am working on last box of envelopes so all going well! Once this box is done I will clear down the OQRS to make sure all VP8PJ QSL requests are processed in this mailing. Almost done! All being well i would like to get the completed mailing in the post by Thursday 21st May.VP8PJ OQRS Open to get your QSL in this posting! The team will post a Press Release once the mailing is in the post!