Category Archives: QSL Gallery

BBC Atlantic Relay Station: John receives a surprise in the mail

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Cooper, who shares the following:

In today’s mail I received a big surprise. Not one, but two QSLs verifying BBC program transmission reception reports from Ascension Island that I sent them in 2014. At that time I was working on a NASWA Dx Award for verification of 50 SWBC Countries. I was able to verify Ascension Island through another station that BCed through their transmitters in 2015.

I guess it just goes to show you should never give up on hoping you can get a confirmation. I didn’t even do any follow ups because I was told BBC didn’t verify anymore. Apparently Babcock/BBC will if you give them time. It makes me wonder where the reception reports were hiding over the past three years?

That is certainly a long delay! Frankly, I’m impressed you received a response from the BBC–as you mention, they seem to no longer issue QSLs. What a great surprise.

Post readers: Anyone else have a long-delayed reply from a broadcaster? Please comment!

Spread the radio love

How to safely archive QSLs, postcards, photos, and printed memorabilia

4 Replies

Recently, an SWLing Post reader asked this simple question:

“If you were me, would you laminate a super-rare QSL card?”

The short answer–? Please don’t!

Never laminate a QSL card, photo, page or postcard

You should never apply heat-seal or adhesive (cold) seal lamination to a QSL card or any other paper memorabilia if your ultimate goal is to protect and archive it.

Why? Doesn’t lamination, for example, make your card impervious to moisture (and spilled coffee)? Sort of. So that makes it safe for the long term, doesn’t it? Well…not exactly.

These forms of lamination, over time, basically destroy printed media. In the short term, laminating your cards can look great, and will keep some of the coffee off (though it may still seep in the sides); in the long term, however, the (petroleum-based) plastic can “off gas,” causing a detrimental chemical reaction with the media it attempts to protect. Plastic can also be acidic. Coupled with the lamination heat (or the adhesive, in the case of cold-seal lamination) these processes can actually speed up the aging process “causing progressive deterioration and eventual embrittlement,” according to one archiving source.

I feel fairly passionate about this because, during my undergraduate studies, I worked for my university archives department where I was taught (by an excellent and knowledgeable archivist) to handle, document, index, and preserve sensitive documents, books, photos, cards, slides and other forms of media (known in the trade as “ephemera”). Many times, we’d receive important documents or photos from donors who had laminated them, believing they were archiving these items for future generations. Alas, we saw the results of the lamination damage first-hand: decades-old items that had been heat-laminated were separating and clouding up, often tearing apart the item inside. Our head archivist likened laminating to a self-destruct mechanism.

Take away? Lamination is a very bad idea for the long-term protection of any print media.

How to archive a QSL card––or any document, for that matter

Archival sleeves come in all forms. This one holds four cards and fits in a three ring binder.

Fortunately, there are effective (and fairly affordable) ways to properly archive and organize your QSL card collection, as well as other sentimental and/or valuable ephemera.

Look for archival transparent sleeves supplied to libraries. These are generally made of polyethylene, mylar/polyester, or another transparent archival material that passes the Photographic Activity Test (PAT).

In short: If you find an archival sleeve, from a reputable seller that passes the P.A.T. test, you’ll know it’s safe.

Archival products are acid-free, lignan-free, and chemical softener-free, thus should not interact or bind with the media you’re preserving as non-acid-free items are prone to do. With anything I wish to archive, I go with archival quality all the way.

For example, I make sure not only the clear sleeves or pages are archival, but that the binder or box containing the items are acid-free and of archival quality, as well. Any labels I use are archival, as well . That may seem like overkill to many, but it’s just what an archivist would do!

Storage of the media is also important; you don’t want to put your cards in archival sleeves and then leave them in a damp shed or shack where moisture can become trapped between your card and the encapsulating archival sleeve; mold could still develop. So a dry, somewhat temperature-controlled environment is key. Generally speaking, keeping ephemera indoors where you live may be a better option.

Sources of Archival Materials

A simple acid-free box can store hundreds of QSL cards in archival sleeves sleeves.

Archival products are more expensive than standard office products, but they’re worth it. Make sure you’re purchasing the best quality you can afford. Two of my favorite suppliers are Gaylord Archival and Light Impressions, though there are many other reputable ones out there.

Amazon and eBay offer sources of archival quality products, as well, and pricing can be more competitive than either of the retailers I’ve listed above.

As for myself, I only buy archival products from retailers that specialize in them. Both Light Impressions and Gaylord Archival have helpful staff you can call on the phone. They’ll help you find the best material for the preservation of your collection of QSL cards or whatever else you may want to protect.

I’d rather support Light Impressions with my purchase knowing that their standards are strict and their reputation rides on their products meeting strict archival standards. If you’re going to pay for something to protect your memorabilia, I say, go for quality!

And in the meantime…give the heat lamination a miss.

Good luck with your long-term archiving! And don’t forget to share those rare QSL cards with us here.

Spread the radio love

Richard’s 1998 St. Helena Day QSL Card

1940 Pearl Harbor QSL card

4 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Patalon, who shares the following QSL card via Twitter:

Cool #hamradio #QSL card from #PearlHarbor in 1940. Sobering to consider what was to come. #ARRL #SWL #dx #radio pic.twitter.com/uBLNWbTOPz

— @PrivateBriefing (@PrivateBrief) December 6, 2016

Thank you, Bill!

Spread the radio love

Radio-Dakar QSL card sells for $1,195 on eBay

13 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares a link to this Radio-Dakar QSL card that just sold on eBay for $1,195 US:

As Dan stated…“Holy Crap!”

Checking out the bidding history, it appears there was definitely a bidding war going on, with the buyers entering substantial bid increments.

This QSL card started out life on eBay at $9.50 with free shipping.

Amazing.

Spread the radio love

DZRP Radyo Pilipinas: advice on obtaining a QSL

2 Replies

I thought this little tidbit or two of information might be useful to those DX’ers seeking a QSL from DZRP Radyo Pilipinas.

DZRP broadcast in English and Filipino on several frequencies, as seen here: http://shortwaveschedule.com/index.php?station=1089

I found two email addresses listed for them, [email protected] and [email protected] which I’ve sent reception reports too, but I can’t say either of the two QSL’s I’ve gotten from them came because of the email address. What worked?

Contacting them on Facebook!

It took a few days, but sending the reception report to them via private/inbox message on Facebook got a reply with a promise of a QSL card each time!

Find them on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/DZRPRadyoPilipinas/

While writing this post, I found a third email address, [email protected], which I didn’t know about before. Radyo Pilipinas posted this one on their Facebook page in reply to a DX’er asking about reception reports and QSL cards.

Paul Walker is located in Galena, Alaska and is a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Be sure to check out Paul’s YouTube channel and SoundCloud channel where everything he logs is recorded and posted. Click here to read his other contributions on the SWLing Post.

Spread the radio love

Bob’s 1961 Radio Havana Cuba QSL Card and full text from DXers Unlimited on 55th anniversary

7 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Bob La Rose, who shares a QSL he received (see above and below) from Radio Havana Cuba after they had only been on the air a few days back in 1961.

Amazing, Bob! Thanks for taking the time to scan and share this report!

Also, many thanks to Arnie Coro, Host of Dxers Unlimited at Radio Havana Cuba, for sharing the full text/script from his May 1st 2016 anniversary edition of DXers Unlimited:

Radio Havana Cuba
Dxers Unlimited
Dxers Unlimited’s weekend edition for 1 May 2016
By Arnie Coro
Radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados, welcome to the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited, today l am happy to celebrate with you all the 55th Anniversary of Radio Havana Cuba… Yes amigos, it was on the first day of May of 1961, during the May Day celebrations when Cuba had just won the battle against the mercenary invasion that we went on the air using our present name Radio Havana Cuba… Two announcers, Orlando Castellanos and Fernando Alcorta announced to the world that Radio Havana Cuba, was on the air… Previously we had used the name Cuban Experimental Short Wave, but from May one of 1961, we are known worldwide as Radio Havana Cuba…

So today is a very special day… remembering those who have passed away after many years of valuable services to our station, like Pedro Costa the General Administration Manager, Carlos Estrada our Chief Engineer, and former Director Generals Marcos Behamaras. Orlando Fundora, Jose Antonio Caiñas and Alfredo Viñas. I also keep very nice memories of Angel Hernandez our bilingual announcer with the most effective voice for short wave radio that I can recall, and also I remember Manolo Ortega, reading our Spanish language editorials so that they could be heard clearly through his powerful voice…

Si amigos, I was there at the station 55 years ago as a young radio technician in charge of supervising the operations of our studios and transmitters that at that time included four Brown Boveri Swiss made short wave transmitters connected to a still under construction antennas farm, and the two studios borrowed from Radio Progreso until we could finish building our first studios .

The history of Radio Havana Cuba is full of very relevant moments, like the day that our Experimental Station announced to the world that the mercenary invasion that entered the Bay of Pigs had been defeated after sixty six hours of fierce combats .

With a lot of enthusiast and the impacting presence of a new generation of announcers, journalists , technicians, engineers and support personnel we are moving ahead to provide the best possible programming keeping our short wave transmitting facilities because we do believe on the use of international short wave broadcasting, while not disregarding the feeding of streaming audio to the Internet-

I am Arnie Coro, your host here at this special 55th Anniversary edition of Dxers Unlimited, that will continue in just a few seconds after a station ID..

Musical short cut

Yes amigos this is Radio Havana Cuba, using short wave frequencies at different times of the day on the 16, 19, 22, 25 ,31, 49 and 60 meters bands… and now our next radio hobby related item, a very popular section of this show under the name Antenna Topics , that is dedicated today , at the request of several listeners to a very effective Dxing antenna, low take off angle radiator, known as the HENTENNA, A great number of listeners from all around the world have written to me recently, asking to learn more about this Japanese antenna design , known as the HENTENNA, that seems to continue to be making headlines in radio publications around the world once again… But before telling you more about the mysterious HENTENNA…. A solar activity update… believe it or not, we are seen the solar flux moving up to very near 100 units for the first time in many weeks… following the typical ups and downs of the tail end of solar cycle 24… so propagation conditions have improved on the short wave bands …. Now back to the HENTENNA…

By the way, the first original report about the HENTENNA that went on the air here at Dxers Unlimited, dates back to 1999,more precisely, it went on the air the 12th of October of 1999, and according to my records, it then generated a lot of interest from our listeners, who were at that time, 1999, getting ready to enjoy the peak years of solar dream solar cycle 23 !!! >Never as powerful as super cycle 19, but nevertheless much better than the present very poor cycle 24.

So amigos here is at the request of Dxers Unlimited’s fans , a special Dxers Unlimited’s report on the HENTENNA, the Japanese elongated rectangular loop antenna with an easy match to coaxial cable feedlines of any impedance, be it 50, 60 ,75 or 93 ohms…or even 150 ohms !!! Of course that you can feed it with parallel transmission line of 300 to 450 ohms too, it is just a matter of minutes to find the perfect match for the feedline in use.

Let me start by saying that I recently built yet another HENTENNA for the FM broadcast band, and it is working nicely, having already picked up some Sporadic E skip DX stations from Mexico, the US and Puerto Rico during first few days of this year’s spring and summer E skip season.

Now you will have to learn something very unusual about the HENTENNA… the HENTENNA produces or receives VERTICALLY polarized waves when the antenna is placed horizontally; that is, with the long sides of the rectangular loop parallel to the ground. AND, if you want horizontal polarization, just flip the HENTENNA so that the long sides of the loop are vertical, and the short sides are parallel to the ground, something that is puzzling, but that’s the way it is amigos…

By the way, one of the world’s foremost antenna experts, Dr. L. B. Cebik, amateur radio operator W4RNL, did during his fruitful life an extensive analysis of elongated loops, and his findings are really fascinating. Dr. Cebik , now sorrily a silent key specialized in computer modeling of complex antenna systems, and his work with the HENTENNA and other similar elongated loops shows that the HENTENNA is a very good performer indeed.

In a few seconds, be ready to write down, the formulas for calculating HENTENNAS in the frequency range from 14 megaHertz all the way up to 220 megaHertz.

And now, as promised more about the japanese wonder antenna… the HENTENNA. Dr. Cebik’s computer modeling shows that the elongated loop HENTENNA has an edge over a regular square one wavelength loop and the regular elongated loop.

HENTENNAS for receiving FM broadcast signals are very easy to build, using a wooden or PVC pipe frame and copper wire. I built the one just
mentioned cut for 100 megaHertz, using PVC insulated no. 12 wire, the one that is typically used for home wiring.

The loop was closed by soldering with a butane torch, and using regular solder with rosin core… The reason for using the butane torch is that no soldering iron at hand here could handle the heavy wire PLUS the high speed heat transfer of the copper wire.

The loop for the 100 megaHertz antenna is 1.5 meters on the long sides of the rectangle and 50 centimeters on the short sides. The feed point for the 50 ohm cable is was found to be located about 55 centimeters from one of the short sides of the loop.

The antenna is installed with the long sides in a vertical position; for receiving horizontally polarized FM broadcasts. I tried both 50 ohms and 75 ohms coaxial cables, and could not detect any difference on the weakest station that I am picking up here regularly with the FM band HENTENNA.

Again, now please pay extra attention …if you want to make of these elongated loops for receiving, here are the measurements to use: for the long sides of the rectangle 1/2 of a wavelength at the operating frequency, for the short side, the length is 1/6 of a wavelength… and the connection point for the coaxial cable of 50 ohms impedance is a little more than 1/6 of wavelength from one of the short sides of the rectangle, and it must be found experimentally by locating the point that provides the minimum standing wave ratio.

HENTENNAS can be built for any frequency between 10 megaHertz and 300
megaHertz by using heavy WIRE, and for the frequency range from about 50 megaHertz to 500 megaHertz you may try building HENTENNAS with copper or aluminum tubing.

Hope to have you all listening to my middle of the week edition of Dxers Unlimited amigos and do enjoy the improved short wave propagation conditions now in progress, especially after your local sunset.

Spread the radio love