Category - Blog

UKSMG Six News Posted

14 May 2020

One of the jobs here at the United Radio QSL Bureau is making sure that the UKSMG magazine “Six News” is posted safely to their mailing list.

Here i am at the queue at the local Post Office sending Six News 143.

As we are now at the start of a new Sporadic E season in the Northern Hemisphere it is the perfect time to get on six, and to find out what the UKSMG has on offer, you can find out more information on the UK Six Metre Group by clicking the link. 

“Six Metres can be exciting and frustrating in equal measure, but it’s  never dull.  And despite what you might have heard, it’s far from dead despite the poor solar maximum.  Working DX on 50MHz is never going to be as easy as on 20m, but that’s the whole point – if it was easy, it wouldn’t be half as much fun!”

PDXG Press Release ZL9

13 May 2020

For Immediate Release Press Release #1 May 13, 2020
New Zealand Sub Antarctic Islands DXpedition  (OC-037)

The Perseverance DX Group (PDXG) has some unfinished business. Several PDXG members participated on the 2012 ZL9 activation that was cut short by weather. 

After their successful VP8PJ South Orkney Islands 2020 DXpedition, PDXG is pleased to announce their intention to activate the New Zealand Sub Antarctic Islands (ZL9), Clublog #24 most wanted, in the 2021-2022 time frame.

The plan includes 160-10m operation, CW/SSB/RTTY/FT8, with emphasis on 160, 80, 60, 40 and, propagation dependent, 12 and 10 meters.    

The landing permit process is pending and discussions with transportation partners have begun. However, the Covid-19 lock down has caused significant delays and uncertainty.
Additional information will be published as it develops.
Questions to: [email protected] 
73, PDXG Leadership Team

QSL’s from Previous PDXG DXpeditions can be requested by clicking the links below. 
VP8PJ Signy Island, South Orkney Islands 2020
VP6D Ducie Island 2018
TX3X Chesterfield Islands 2015
VK9MT Mellish Reef 2014

VP8PJ QSL cards arrive from Printer

12 May 2020

VP8PJ QSL cards arrived from the printer today. Thank you to Max ON5UR for the excellent work! so the job of labeling the cards and stuffing the envelopes begins!

Please remember ALL cards requested up to the mailing date will all be sent in the mailing and a press release from the VP8PJ team to the DX Bulletins will inform you when the job is done. OQRS is open so you still have time to make your QSL request.

VP8PJ OQRS Click Here:

VP8PJ QSL Schedule

9 May 2020

The VP8PJ cards are printed and were shipped from ON5UR QSL Print Services in Belgium to Tim M0URX in the UK. Tim has the tracking numbers and after Customs processing expects the cards to be delivered soon.

The envelops, labels and pre-printed postage are prepared and awaiting the cards. Once in hand the “stuffing” process will begin. Until the Covid-19 lock down in the UK is lifted Tim will probably have to do this work alone, it will take longer than usual to complete.

The initial mailing will include all the VP8PJ confirmation requests in the system through the mailing date. Buro cards will be bulk shipped directly to the inbound buros early next year.  73, GS K5GS

Welcome to the Bespoke OQRS

3 May 2020

Welcome to the Bespoke OQRS (Online QSL Request System) of M0URX – United Radio QSL Bureau. By clicking the banner below you will find all the logs in our care. You can request your Bureau or Direct QSL cards from here.
This is a Bespoke OQRS system developed by our team headed by HA5AO Pista. Together, we have configured and incorporated the tools that the QSL Manager, DX’pedition teams and the DX’ers need all in one place to bring you the QSL to your door!

VP8PJ QSL Preview

23 April 2020

The VP8PJ QSL card designs have been approved and the production started at ON5UR QSL Print Service. Being done over the Internet made the process easy and seamless during the Covid-19 lock down.  There will be three full colour cards, each designed by Dave K3EL.

– VP8PJ folded card – various scenes of the island.
– VP8PJ Bureau and overflow card.
– ZL1NA/MM – RV Braveheart anchored – Borge Bay – Signy Island.

Mailing Schedule?
This week as the designs were sent to the print room, I printed off all the address and QSO labels from OQRS, and prepared all the envelopes ready for the mailing. You will see that the OQRS now puts the “Status” of these QSL as “Direct Sent”
The mailing will not be sent until ALL QSLs are ready and there will be a press release made when the competed mailing is sent.  As soon as the cards arrive from the printer I will stuff the envelops and take to the post office. As a reminder, all VP8PJ confirmation processing is handled by Tim M0URX, from the UK. OQRS Open – see links above.
Bureau cards will be placed in the bureau system in early 2021.

 

 

5Z4/G3AB Log uploaded

15 April 2020

5Z4/G3AB Log uploaded to 26 Apr 2020 11:24 UTC. OQRS Open

Log is not complete. Log updates will be sporadic. Please be patient and always check “Last QSO in Log” data before you raise a ticket.

Andy reports to me that: he is now using JTDX for FT8 and will now be signing off each QSO with “RR73”

VP8PJ QSL Update

12 April 2020

On Friday, April 10th the VP8PJ QSL card design was sent to Max (ON5UR QSL Print Service) for review and setup. After our final review is complete the cards will be printed and shipped to Tim M0URX for distribution. Thousands of QSO and mailing labels have already been processed and are ready for placement on QSL cards and direct mail envelops. Buro cards will be placed in the system in early 2021.

Of the 83,783 QSOs in the log, 30,548 have been claimed and processed for placement on QSL cards,  there are no busted call requests in the work queue – to date, all 731 have been investigated and answered by Tim M0URX. LoTW uploads for all donors and anyone that submitted an OQRS for a Direct Mail card have been processed. Requests that came in after the last upload (and this morning) will process in the next cycle. The upload process is run daily.

As stated on the website (sorkney.com) QSL page, the complete log will be uploaded to LoTW 6 months after the DX-pedition.

Let’s be realistic, the Covid-19 crisis has disrupted the world. Businesses are closed and every facet of our life has been upended. Please be patient, the cards will be mailed as soon as possible. OQRS and LoTW are processed daily. There is no need to send e-mails asking about the QSL cards. 73, GS K5GS

Another Year of Posting QSL’s

10 April 2020

It is always interesting to see how much mail the UK QSL managers network post in a year, with the bottom of the solar cycle it is inevitable that the figures are lower this year. However as you see in the table below 17,658 items were posted. This includes the larger parcels sent to the IARU Bureaus over the last year.
The year ahead could be quite challenging as International freight availability is at a premium as Covid-19 grounds large fleets of aircraft that would normally carry International mail from one country to another. This will inevitably push prices higher in the coming year.
United Radio are doing everything we can to ensure our QSL cards get through.