QSLs in the Computer Age

For decades, bulk-printed QSLs have been used to send hard-copy confirmation of QSOs. But taking advantage of the PC and Internet will open up whole new dimensions in custom QSLing! It also eliminates a lot of headaches if you change call signs.

Your home computer makes it easy to create a one-time personal QSL after each contact. By drawing on the capabilities of modern word processors, pulling artwork from the Internet, and adding your own scanned photos, the end result will be a special QSL that's sure to draw attention. If you log tends toward foreign DX, you can even translate your QSL messages with one of the automatic translators found on the Web. The end product can be zipped out as an e-mail attachment for instant--and postage-free--delivery. (Keep in mind, however, that DXCC and many other awards do not yet accept electronic QSL cards as valid confirmations.--Ed) In my own case, using my PC to make individualized QSLs meant I never skipped a beat in my QSLing when I recently obtained the call sign WA7S via the vanity call sign program.

The key to this process is putting together a "template" (essentially an automated style sheet) using word-processing software such as Microsoft Word. Once you've made up the template, it's a simple process to fill out that form after each QSO, and print the resulting QSL for mailing.

A WA3DPL "Halloween" design card.

Templates are quite versatile. For instance, if you have more than one antenna, you can include a form field in your template with a drop down list of your antennas. Then after a particular QSO, just click on the antenna you used, and that's the one which will show up on the final QSL. This technique also works for lists of rigs, multiple QTHs, and the month, time, band, power and RST.

What ham doesn't love his or her own call sign? In MS Word you can use the WordArt function to plaster your call on the QSL in big fancy letters. A separate form field makes it easy to drop in the other ham's call in bold letters.

A WA7S QSL design card pointing up the author's "other hobby: horses."

Pictures are great attention getters. If you have a scanner, you can put your own photo(s) in the template. But even without a scanner, there are many sources of free clipart. For example, the Microsoft Office 97 CD-ROM includes silhouettes of each state. Many Amateur Radio clubs have logos which can be copied from their Web pages with a simple right-click copy (including the ARRL's diamond and others, available on the League's Logos and Photos page). Most major equipment manufacturers include great rig photos on their Web sites that you can similarly past into your QSL template.

From my QTH in Washington, I frequently work DX in Spanish-speaking countries. But, your friendly comments to the other ham can be translated into French, German, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish, using the free Web-based translator provided by AltaVista, http://babelfish.altavista.com. These automatic translations are not always perfect, but they'll do. I haven't found an automatic translator for Japanese, but due to the kind help of Tetsuo Sgow, JA1AZS, and my nephew Kevin, you can find a few ham-specific phrases translated at my Web site, http://www.qsl.net/wa7s/Japanese.html.

Occasionally you might want to follow up an interesting QSO by sending an electronic copy of the QSL to the other ham as an e-mail attachment. Many hams' e-mail addresses can be found in Internet Web pages provided by QRZ, Buckmaster's World Wide Web, AltaVista, or other sources. You have two options here. If you prepared the QSL in Word, you could attach the finished Word file to the e-mail. But remember that the other ham will have to have Word software on his or her computer to view the attachment.

The author's WA3DPL QSL card e-mailed to AWE Editor Rick, N1RL, who was mobile at the time in Pennsylvania.

Alternately, you can scan the printed QSL, save it as a JPEG to reduce file size, and attach the JPEG to your e-mail. The other ham would have to have JPEG viewer software, but most Internet users already have that capability. (Most Web browsers can be used to view JPEG files. The images in this article are JPEGs. -- Ed)

A QSL to W6BAK made using the screen-capture method.

While I usually snail-mail a hard copy of the printed QSL, occasionally I'll just e-mail it. In these cases you don't even need a printer or scanner: just use a screen capture utility to pull the digital QSL right off your PC monitor, and attach the JPEG file to the e-mail. The other ham gets a great-looking, instant QSL, while the QSO is still freshly in mind, with no printing or postage costs. If you'd like to try this creative new art form but hesitate to start from scratch, you can download a starter template and modify from there. You'll find a Microsoft Word download file--and other template construction tips--at my QSLs Web site, http://www.qsl.net/wa7s/.

Author Bob Inouye, WA7S/h, on the trail. [All photos courtesy of the author]

Editor's note: Bob Inouye, WA7S (es-WA3DPL), got his Novice ticket when he was in 7th grade in Philadelphia. After heading west, he spent 20 years as a lawyer. He's now a court commissioner ("a kind of judge," he says) with the Yakima County Superior Court, in Washington. Apart from 2-meter FM, he's strictly CW. "Most summer weekends the wife and I can be found in the outback with our horses, riding the trails, relying on the H-T for emergency communication," he says. While his wife is not a ham, he says she has had occasion to appreciate the H-T backup, such as the time last summer when his horse, Smokey, got injured in the William O. Douglas Wilderness "and I had to walk out on foot." Contact the author at wa7s@arrl.net.

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