Tag Archives: QSL Cards

Bill’s Shortwave Listener QSL Cards

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Meara who shares the following article from the SolderSmoke Podcast:


Some Short-Wave Listener QSL Cards

I haven’t received many, but I always like QSL cards from shortwave listeners. Someone out there is listening!

The top one is from recent contact. It arrives from Hungary via the W2 QSL bureau. Here is Tamas HA00001:

https://www.qrzcq.com/call/HA0002SWL

https://www.c3.hu/~ha0khw/ha00001.html

The middle one is from my youth.  in 1975 Nick in Moscow USSR heard my contact with OD5IO.   I didn’t remember the contact with Lebanon.  It turns out that the operator was K4NYY (who is now a silent key.  See https://www.qrz.com/db/K4NYY/?mlab=).

The bottom one pre-dates me by more than twenty years. It comes from Berlin in 1936. W5AIR was heard working EI7F. on 20 meter CW. Does anyone have any info on this SWL?

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Pirate Radio QSL Card

Beautiful emailed QSL card from Undercover Radio

This QSL card just came today from a broadcast on Halloween, station Undercover Radio. There were a number of broadcasts that night, but this was by far the most unusual that I heard!

 

Robert Gulley, K4PKM, is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Robert also blogs at All Things Radio.

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Radio Slovakia International’s 2023 QSL Cards

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia, who shares the following article originally published on the Radio Slovakia International website:


QSL 2023

Our 2023 edition of QSL cards are all united within the main motto “30 years of Slovakia – 30 years of RSI”. The photos depict important buildings in the Slovak capital, Bratislava.

Building of the National Council of the Slovak Republic

Building of the Government Office of the Slovak Republic

Residence of the President of the Slovak Republic

Bratislava Castle

Slovak Radio Building

Building of the National Bank of Slovakia

Source: RTVS
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2023 W9IMS Special Event Station Details!

W9IMS Accelerates into Another Special Event Season – with a Chance for an Indy Racing Certificate 

By Brian D. Smith

It’s back to the track for collectors of W9IMS cards and certificates.

The first of this year’s three special events tied to the major races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will begin at midnight Eastern Time (0400 UTC) this Sunday, May 7, and continue through 11:59 p.m. (0359 UTC) the following Saturday, May 13.

And for hams and SWLs, your chance for a 2023 Checkered Flag Award begins – and could end – with it. To earn the certificate, you’ll need to contact or tune in W9IMS during all three special events this year: the Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 (May 22-28) and the NASCAR 200 at the Brickyard (August 7-13).

Catch W9IMS during Grand Prix week and you’re one-third of the way to Victory Lane. Miss it and you’ll have to wait till 2024 for another shot at the certificate.

So when and where do you find W9IMS? Any time of the day or night is possible, but prime time is from 6 to 10 p.m. (2200-0200 UTC) weekdays, and the prime bands are 40 and 20 meters (generally around 7.245 and 14.245 MHz). And this year, improved solar conditions could prompt a rare move to 15 and 10 meters, likely around 21.350 or 28.340 MHz.

The choice of frequencies will be gametime decisions based on a variety of factors, including QRM, band openings and the number of calling stations. So your surest move is to check W9IMS spots, which are frequently posted on DX Summit (www.dxsummit.fi).

While some on-air times are unscheduled, you can also increase your odds by going to the W9IMS QRZ page (www.w9ims.com) and clicking the Grand Prix link under the heading “2023 Operating Schedule” – which displays the shifts that operators have already signed up for.

If time is running short, listen for happy hour – the last blast on Race Day (May 13 for the Grand Prix), usually starting at 11 p.m. Indy time (0300 UTC). That’s when W9IMS ops traditionally switch to contest-style QSOs and exchange only signal reports so they can work as many stations as possible. But remember that W9IMS special events can end early if the station encounters sparse QSOs or adverse solar or weather conditions.

Should you manage to bag W9IMS, don’t celebrate for too long: The Indianapolis 500 special event begins on May 22, only 9 days after the end of Grand Prix week. Then comes the longer wait till the NASCAR race in August.

You’ll qualify for a new and unique QSL card for each W9IMS event you log, regardless of whether you snare all three in ’23. But why not complete the set and nab the certificate – starting with the first race this coming week?

Hams and SWLs alike are eligible for any and all W9IMS cards and certificates; you can even QSL via the bureau. And if you forgot to send in your information from a previous year, it’s still possible to obtain nearly all of the previous cards and certificates. Consult the W9IMS QRZ page for full details.

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Radio Waves: QSL Book, Ham Radio in Taiwan Civil Defense, Radio Silence in Venezuela, and ARRL Handbook 100th Edition

Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!


New Book: QSL? (Do You Confirm Receipt of My Transmission?) (Standards Manual)

A collection of over 150 “QSL cards”, QSL? chronicles a moment in time before the Internet age, when global communication was thriving via amateur, or “ham”, radio operators.

Discovered by designer Roger Bova, the distinctly designed cards follow the international correspondence of one ham, station W2RP, who turned out to be the longest-standing licensed operator in The United States.

Click here to read more.

If China declares war, these ham radio enthusiasts could be crucial (LA Times)

TAIPEI, Taiwan — On Tuesday nights, BX2AN sits near the Xindian River, motionless but for his thumb and middle finger, rhythmically tapping against two small metal paddles. They emit a sound each time his hand makes contact — from the right, a dit, or dot; from the left, a dah, or dash, the building blocks of the Morse code alphabet.
“Is anyone there?” he taps.

The replies come back in fits and starts: from Japan, then Greece, then Bulgaria. Each time, BX2AN, as he is known on the radio waves, jots down a series of numbers and letters: call signs, names, dates, locations. Then he adjusts a black round knob on his transceiver box, its screens glowing yellow in the dark.

There can be no doubt that this is his setup. That unique call sign is stamped across the front of his black radio set, scrawled in faded Sharpie on his travel mug and engraved in a plaque on his car dashboard. On the edge of his notepad, he’s absent-mindedly doodled it again, BX2AN.

In the corporeal world he is Lee Jiann-shing, a 71-year-old retired bakery owner, husband, father of five, grandfather of eight and a ham radio enthusiast for 30 years. Every week, he is the first to arrive at this regular meeting for Taipei’s amateur radio hobbyists.

[…]The self-governing island, about 100 miles east of China, is weighing wartime scenarios in the face of growing military aggression from its vastly more powerful neighbor. If cell towers are down and internet cables have been cut, the ability of shortwave radio frequencies to transmit long-distance messages could become crucial for civilians and officials alike. [Continue reading…]

Radio silence grows in Venezuela as government shutters dozens of stations (Reuters)

CARACAS, Oct 26 (Reuters) – In July officials from Venezuela’s telecommunications regulator entered the Moda 105.1 FM radio station, in the northwestern state of Cojedes, accompanied by members of the national guard and demanding to see all the station’s licensing.

Hours later they stopped it broadcasting – making Moda one of at least 50 stations in Venezuela’s interior which have been closed so far this year by the Conatel regulator because it says they lack valid licenses.

The accelerated closures are a new step in efforts by the government of President Nicolas Maduro to control information and give state media hegemony over communications, journalist guilds and non-governmental organizations say, continuing a policy begun under his predecessor Hugo Chavez. [Continue reading…]

The ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications100th Edition (ARRL)

We have arrived at a milestone. The 100th edition of The ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications is here: Handbook 100. How do you celebrate the most widely used one-stop reference and guide to radio technology principles and practices? By continuing to fill the pages of another edition with the progress and achievement of radio amateurs. Handbook 100 is written for everyone with a desire to advance the pursuit of wireless technology. Here is your guide to radio experimentation, discovery, and innovation.

What’s Inside

Each chapter is filled with the most up-to-date knowledge representative of the wide and ever-expanding range of interests among radio amateurs. There are practical, hands-on projects for all skill levels — from simple accessories and small power supplies to legal-limit amplifiers and high-gain antennas.

Key topics:

  • Radio electronics theory and principles
  • Circuit design and equipment
  • Signal transmission and propagation
  • Digital modulation and protocols
  • Antennas and transmission lines
  • Construction practices

Updated with new projects and content, including:

  • An all-new chapter on radio propagation covering a wide range of bands and modes
  • New and updated sections on electronic circuit simulation
  • New cavity filter and high-power HF filter projects
  • New coverage on digital protocols and modes
  • New material on RFI from low-voltage lighting and other sources
  • Revised sections covering new RF exposure limits
  • New content on portable station equipment, antennas, power, and assembly
  • New material on ferrite uses and types
  • New section on how to use portable SDR to locate sources of RFI …and more.

Click here for more information and to place an order.


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W9IMS: A Radio Run at the Indy 500

W9IMS: A Radio Run at the Indy 500

By Brian D. Smith, W9IND

You can’t win the Indianapolis 500 until they wave the checkered flag – and you can’t win a W9IMS Checkered Flag Award unless you contact the Indy 500 special event.

You’ll have that opportunity from now through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, May 29 in Indianapolis (0359 UTC Monday, May 30) as W9IMS fires up daily on 20 and 40 meters SSB. usually on or around 7.245 and 14.245 MHz.

The Indy 500 special event is the second of three W9IMS operations commemorating the major auto races at the Speedway. The first event of 2022, which ended May 14, honored the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, and the third will run from July 25-31, during the week preceding the NASCAR Brickyard 200.

Both hams and SWLs are eligible for the Checkered Flag certificate and the three individual QSL cards, all of which boast new designs for 2022. To earn the certificate, however, you must work (or tune in) W9IMS during all three of this year’s special events – and it’s too late to catch the first race. But even if you miss the trifecta, you can still claim collectible QSLs from the other races.

Tips on finding W9IMS:

  1. Check DX Summit (www.dxsummit.fi) for spots listing the current frequency or frequencies of W9IMS, if any. By typing “W9IMS” in the search box at upper right, you can customize it to show reports for only Indianapolis Motor Speedway special events.
  2. Go to the W9IMS web page (www.w9ims.org) and look for the heading, “2022 Operating Schedule.” Click on the Indianapolis 500 link, which opens into a weeklong schedule listing individual operators and their reserved time slots. Your odds of catching W9IMS on the air improve significantly during these hours.
  3. Prime operating time on weeknights is 6 to 10 p.m. Indy time (2200-0200 UTC). However, W9IMS can appear anytime, even on two bands at once, between now and 0400 UTC Monday, May 30.
  4. Remember that the published schedule can be shortened by adverse circumstances, such as noisy band conditions, local thunderstorms or a lack of calling stations. Don’t wait till the final hour to chase W9IMS!
  5. Operators often get on the air at unscheduled times. That’s why DX Summit is your best bet for locating W9IMS’s current spot(s).
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