A NOTE ON QSLING

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A Note on QSLing

By Don Moore
A slightly edited version of this article was originally published in the August, 1990 issue of The Journal of the North American Shortwave Association in the Latin Destinations column.

Now onto a not-so-pleasant topic. As usual during my station visits, I browsed through the stations' reception report files. I can't say it was a pretty sight. Most reports were shoddy, demanding, and in general not worthy of an answer. I couldn't believe how many were written on fill-in-the-blank forms. Some people even sent postcard reports. Others wrote in English to stations like Radio Reloj which only broadcast in Spanish.
As DXers, we have to learn some manners, or more and more stations are going to stop QSLing. When reporting to small Latin American stations, be polite and, if you can't type, write neat and legibly. Be sure to include a few little souvenirs, like postcards. Most of these stations aren't trying to be heard in North America and any reply they send you is purely a favor. Unless the station has English programming (like RFPI, TIFC, or Adventist Radio in Costa Rica), write in Spanish. There are only two ways to write a good Spanish reception report. One is to learn the language with near fluency. The other is to buy a copy of the Spanish Language Lab from Tiare Publications (213 Forest St, Lake Geneva, WI 53147 - include return postage). Finally, once that QSL arrives, be sure to send a thank you note. ""The Thank You Lab"" (available from the NASWA reprint service) has all the sentences you need for Spanish & Portuguese 'thank-yous'.

This website is maintained by Don Moore,
Association of North American Radio Clubs
DXer of the Year for 1995.
My Address Is In This Graphic

General Latin American Menu	Main Menu	What's New	Best of this Site	Radio History
A Note on QSLing By Don Moore A slightly edited version of this article was originally published in the August, 1990 issue of The Journal of the North American Shortwave Association in the Latin Destinations column. Now onto a not-so-pleasant topic. As usual during my station visits, I browsed through the stations' reception report files. I can't say it was a pretty sight. Most reports were shoddy, demanding, and in general not worthy of an answer. I couldn't believe how many were written on fill-in-the-blank forms. Some people even sent postcard reports. Others wrote in English to stations like Radio Reloj which only broadcast in Spanish. As DXers, we have to learn some manners, or more and more stations are going to stop QSLing. When reporting to small Latin American stations, be polite and, if you can't type, write neat and legibly. Be sure to include a few little souvenirs, like postcards. Most of these stations aren't trying to be heard in North America and any reply they send you is purely a favor. Unless the station has English programming (like RFPI, TIFC, or Adventist Radio in Costa Rica), write in Spanish. There are only two ways to write a good Spanish reception report. One is to learn the language with near fluency. The other is to buy a copy of the Spanish Language Lab from Tiare Publications (213 Forest St, Lake Geneva, WI 53147 - include return postage). Finally, once that QSL arrives, be sure to send a thank you note. ""The Thank You Lab"" (available from the NASWA reprint service) has all the sentences you need for Spanish & Portuguese 'thank-yous'. This website is maintained by Don Moore, Association of North American Radio Clubs DXer of the Year for 1995.