{"id":53576,"date":"2022-08-01T06:34:25","date_gmt":"2022-08-01T10:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=53576"},"modified":"2022-08-01T06:34:25","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T10:34:25","slug":"a-most-unusual-qsl-card","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/08\/a-most-unusual-qsl-card\/","title":{"rendered":"A most unusual QSL . . . card?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM<\/strong><\/p>\n

Okay, I realize this is ham related, but I thought it was fun, and I hope you do too.<\/em><\/p>\n

On a quiet Saturday morning in May, the \u201cBig Gun\u201d Motorola 1250 (which is used for running the Commuter Assistance Net<\/a>) is quietly scanning through half a dozen frequencies.<\/p>\n

The scanning stops on the 147.330 repeater, and a computer voice announces: \u201cEcholink activated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huh, that’s unusual, I think.<\/p>\n

According to echolink.org, here’s the scoop on EchoLink:<\/p>\n

EchoLink\u00ae software allows licensed Amateur Radio stations to communicate with one another over the Internet, using streaming-audio technology.\u00a0 The program allows worldwide connections to be made between stations, or from computer to station, greatly enhancing Amateur Radio’s communications capabilities.\u00a0 There are more than 350,000 validated users worldwide \u2014 in 159 of the world’s 193 nations \u2014 with about 6,000 online at any given time.<\/em><\/p>\n

A few seconds later, a male voice with a distinct British accent drops a call on the repeater: \u201cGB2022ER.\u201d<\/p>\n

What?!! A Great Britain call sign with multiple numbers in the middle? What\u2019s going on?<\/p>\n

I reply: KB2GOM.<\/p>\n

Mark, the British ham, tells me he is running a special events station with a special call sign to celebrate the Queen\u2019s Jubilee. He tells me I am the very first contact for the special events station. I tell him that he is my very first Echolink contact.<\/p>\n

We chat for a bit, exchange good wishes and sign off.<\/p>\n

A bit later, I look him up on QRZ and send Mark an email. Since I am his first contact for the special events station, is there a QSL card available? He replies that he will see what he can do.<\/p>\n

A few weeks later, an envelope arrives with this coaster inside:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For a moment, I felt like James Bond:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Also inside were these postcards:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In all, it made me smile.<\/p>\n

Bottom line \u2013 moral of the story, if you will \u2013 you never know what\u2019s going to happen on the radio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Okay, I realize this is ham related, but I thought it was fun, and I hope you do too. On a quiet Saturday morning in May, the \u201cBig Gun\u201d Motorola 1250 (which is used for running the Commuter Assistance Net) is quietly scanning through half a dozen frequencies. The scanning stops […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[545,3,894],"tags":[9915,4102,9323,248,4110],"class_list":["post-53576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-qsl-gallery","tag-gb2022er","tag-ham-radio","tag-jock-elliott-kb2gom","tag-qsl","tag-qsl-gallery"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-dW8","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":53045,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/06\/armed-forces-day-qsl-card\/","url_meta":{"origin":53576,"position":0},"title":"Armed Forces Day QSL Card","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"June 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"On May 14, 2022, this blog published an announcement of the Annual Armed Forces Day Crossband Test. The blog included a link to a PDF file that listed all the details, such as times, frequencies, and military stations that were participating (including some that were aboard ships), and there was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Accessories"","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Armed-Forces-Day-QSL-card-001-002-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Armed-Forces-Day-QSL-card-001-002-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Armed-Forces-Day-QSL-card-001-002-1024x768.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54905,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/12\/in-search-of-the-unique-the-weird-the-unusual-a-reader-participation-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":53576,"position":1},"title":"In search of the unique, the weird, the unusual . . . a reader participation post","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"December 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM There is a richness in human experience, and I want to sample it. When I worked the world on the HF ham bands, I considered myself a \u201cconversation hunter.\u201d I wasn\u2019t content to simply make a contact, exchange signal reports, and move on; I wanted to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/short-dipole-002-001-1024x734.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/short-dipole-002-001-1024x734.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/short-dipole-002-001-1024x734.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57826,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/09\/introducing-the-i-listen-project\/","url_meta":{"origin":53576,"position":2},"title":"Please Share: Introducing the \u201cI listen\u201d project","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"September 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM To paraphrase a line from John Fitzgerald Kennedy: \u201cAsk not what your station can do for you, ask what you can do for your station.\u201d Think of this as a reverse QSL program . . . but I get ahead of myself. I was perusing the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/I-listen-001-001-1024x615.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/I-listen-001-001-1024x615.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/I-listen-001-001-1024x615.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52852,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/05\/a-practical-application-of-ham-radio-the-commuter-assistance-network\/","url_meta":{"origin":53576,"position":3},"title":"A Practical Application of Ham Radio \u2013 the Commuter Assistance Network\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"May 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Disclaimer: this isn't about shortwave; it\u2019s about 2 meter ham radio, but it\u2019s something I thoroughly\u00a0love doing in the world of radio. About 40 years ago, a Citizens Band operator named Ed Barnat started a loose-knit group called Tri-County Assistance. Its purpose was to detect problems\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Funny"","block_context":{"text":"Funny","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/funny\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/94-coverage-map-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/94-coverage-map-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/94-coverage-map-001.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/94-coverage-map-001.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34169,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/09\/voip-hurricane-net-details\/","url_meta":{"origin":53576,"position":4},"title":"VoIP Hurricane Net details","author":"Thomas","date":"September 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dennis Dura, who shares the following information about the VoIP Hurricane Net in which he is heavily involved: **VoIP Hurricane Net will activate starting at 9 AM EDT Thursday Morning through 11 PM EDT Saturday Evening for Dangerous Hurricane Florence which is expected to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Voip-Weather-net-e1537009556124.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Voip-Weather-net-e1537009556124.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Voip-Weather-net-e1537009556124.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55246,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/01\/surprise-surprise\/","url_meta":{"origin":53576,"position":5},"title":"Surprise, Surprise!","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"January 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM If you had been monitoring 29.620 around\u00a0 1615Z on January 5, 2023, it\u2019s just barely possible that you could have heard me leap out of my chair and do the \u201cAstonishment Dance,\u201d while yelling: \u201cAre you kidding me?!! Is this even possible?!!\u201d Let me set the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/photos-for-SWLing-blog-001-001-1024x624.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/photos-for-SWLing-blog-001-001-1024x624.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/photos-for-SWLing-blog-001-001-1024x624.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53576\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}