RSID: <<2025-10-09T23:31Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>
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Welcome to program 421 of Shortwave Radiogram.

I'm Al Holt in Alachua, Florida USA.

Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:

  1:46 MFSK32: Program preview (now)
  2:43 MFSK32: The QSL card: what it is and where it came from
  7:30 MFSK64: This week's images
28:26 MFSK32: Closing announcements


 

Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

We're on Bluesky now: SWRadiogram.bsky.social

And X/Twitter: @SWRadiogram

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The QSL Card
source: Wikipedia

A QSL card is a written confirmation of either a two-way
radiocommunication between two amateur radio or citizens band
stations; a one-way reception of a signal from an AM radio,
FM radio, television or shortwave broadcasting station; or the
reception of a two-way radiocommunication by a third party
listener. A typical QSL card is the same size and made from the
same material as a typical postcard, and most are sent through
the mail as such.
QSL card derived its name from the Q code "QSL". A Q code message
can stand for a statement or a question (when the code is
followed by a question mark). In this case, 'QSL?' (note the
question mark) means "Do you confirm receipt of my transmission?"
while 'QSL' (without a question mark) means "I confirm receipt
of your transmission."

History

During the early days of radio broadcasting, the ability for a
radio set to receive distant signals was a source of pride for
many consumers and hobbyists. Listeners would mail "reception
reports" to radio broadcasting stations in hopes of getting a
written letter to officially verify they had heard a distant
station. As the volume of reception reports increased, stations
took to sending postcards containing a brief form that
acknowledged reception. Collecting these cards became popular
with radio listeners in the 1920s and 1930s, and reception
reports were often used by early broadcasters to gauge the
effectiveness of their transmissions.
The concept of sending a postcard to verify reception of a
station (and later two-way contact between them) may have been
independently invented several times. The earliest reference
seems to be a card sent in 1916 from 8VX in Buffalo, New York
to 3TQ in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (in those days ITU prefixes
were not used). The standardized card with callsign, frequency,
date, etc. may have been developed in 1919 by C.D. Hoffman, 8UX,
in Akron, Ohio. In Europe, W.E.F. "Bill" Corsham, 2UV, first
used a QSL when operating from Harlesden, England in 1922.

Usage in shortwave listening

International shortwave broadcasters have traditionally issued
QSL cards to listeners to verify reception of programming, and
also as a means of judging the size of their audiences, effective
reception distances, and technical performance of their
transmitters. QSL cards can also serve as publicity tools for
the shortwave broadcaster, and sometimes the cards will include
cultural information about the country.
The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program has
occasionally requested reception information on its shortwave
experiments, in return for which it sent back QSL cards.
Standard frequency and time stations, such as WWV, will also
send QSL cards in response to listeners reports. Other shortwave
utility stations, such as marine and aviation weather
broadcasters, may QSL, as do some pirate radio stations, usually
through mail drop boxes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QSL_card

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Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 ...

 

RSID: <<2025-10-09T23:37Z MFSK-64 @ 9265000+1500>>
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This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net
 

This week's images are from my collection of QSL cards received
during my early days of shortwave listening in the late 1960s.
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The first QSL card I received: BBC, United Kingdom,
January 22, 1967, 2300-2359 UTC, 9765 kHz.

Sending Pic:174x250;




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Deutsche Welle, W. Germany: March 28, 1967,
0135 UTC, 6075 kHz.

Sending Pic:138x200C;


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Radio Japan, ”30th Anniversary QSL”, April 9, 1967,
1000-1030 UTC, 9505 kHz.

Sending Pic:148x203C;



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Radio Berlin International, E. Germany, July 2, 1967,
0100 UTC, 9730 kHz.

Sending Pic:146x203C;


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RAI, Radio-Televisione Italiana, Italy, July 17, 1967,
0100-0120 UTC, 11810 kHz.

Sending Pic:140x200C;





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Radio Canada, February 22, 1967,
2300 UTC, 5990 kHz.

Sending Pic:207x114C;


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Radio Nederland, Holland, February 2, 1967,
2200-2209 UTC, 15220 kHz.

Sending Pic:139x200C;




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Radio Cairo, Egypt, March 23, 1967,
2200 UTC, 9475 kHz.

Sending Pic:200x134C;



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Radio Denmark, June 14, 1967,
1215-1315 UTC, 15165 kHz.

Sending Pic:163x200C;




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ORU, Brussels, Belgium, September 9, 1968,
9615 kHz.

Sending Pic:200x140C;




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Radio Clube De Moçambique (Mozambique), 1967,
11780 kHz.

Sending Pic:200x136C;
 

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Radio Sofia, Bulgaria, March 30, 1967,
2130 UTC, 9560 kHz.

Sending Pic:124x212C;



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Radio RSA, South Africa, March 29, 1967,
2337 UTC, 9705 kHz.

Sending Pic:145x205C;
 

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Shortwave Radiogram returns to MFSK32 ...


 

RSID: <<2025-10-09T23:57Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>
 

This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK32 ...


Transmission of Shortwave Radiogram is provided by:

WRMI, Radio Miami International, http://wrmi.net

and

WINB Shortwave, http://winb.com


Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

http://swradiogram.bsky.social

X/Twitter (for now): @SWRadiogram

On behalf of Kim Elliott, I'm Al Holt. Please join us for the
next Shortwave Radiogram.
 

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