QSL Cards

Overview

A QSL card is a postcard-sized confirmation that a two-way contact took place. It carries both call signs, the date and time in UTC, the band, the mode and the signal report, and it is traditionally exchanged by post either directly or through a national bureau.

Paper cards remain the accepted evidence for many award programmes, although electronic confirmation services now handle the majority of routine confirmations and are accepted by most major awards. Many operators run both: electronic confirmation for speed, and paper cards for the ones that mean something.

Bands and modes

Band coverage

Modes

Safety note

Using it well

• Print the UTC time, not local time — this is the most common card error.
• Use a bureau address rather than a home address for routine exchanges.
• Keep a simple index of cards sent and received so follow-ups are possible.
• Check the award rules before relying on electronic confirmation alone.