Yes I hate paper QSL. I made that clear in my previous post. More precise: I hate tons of QSL cards coming in that need to be processed, confirmed and answered. It’s not even the cost, it’s the time for such a boring job. Anyway, sometimes a card can be nice. Like getting a QSL card for a new state on a rather difficult band…
On December 24, 2003 I worked K6NA who is in California, on 80m. I don’t work into W6 on 3.5MHz on a regular base. I’ve got the proof here: MP3. That was a pretty good QSO for a Christmas present. I used a barefoot (100W) TS-850 and a 80-20-15-10 parallel (fan) dipole antenna, with the feedpoint only 10m high and the ends only 3m above the ground. Yes, the early days @ ON5ZO. It was a clear case of grey line propagation at my sunrise and I was so glad to work him. California on 80m with my small setup! I sent my QSL card with the appropriate bribe green stamps but no card was ever seen. I wrote him an email with the MP3 attached and his reply was that he was behind in direct QSL but that he could not remember having seen my card. K6NA is esteemed pretty low since then.
Today there was a direct card in the mail. The address said ‘CA’. Yet another 20m QSO with California. Yet another fellow contester in need for ON. I open the envelope and look at the card. It says “3.5 MHz”. Huh??? Yes, an 80m CW QSO with California finally confirmed with a good old paper QSL card. It was a QSO made in WAE CW only 8 days ago. I never suspected a W6 QTH behind a K0 call… But there you go. Our hobby is full of surprises. Thanks to the OM for the QSO and the QSL.