A QSL card is a written confirmation card sent by radio amateurs (hams) to verify the radio communication they have made. SWL (Short Wave Listener) cards are also part of this culture. Although digitization is increasing, paper QSL cards will always have a special place. The cards contain information such as the date, time, frequency, and signal report of the communication. QSL cards are valued by collectors and history enthusiasts as part of the culture of amateur radio.
The QSL Museum is an archive that digitally exhibits the QSL cards of radio amateurs (hams) in Turkey and around the world. Its purpose is to shed light on the history of amateur radio in Turkey, preserve the culture of amateur radio, and pass this culture on to future generations.
In 2012, when he was only 15 years old, TA7H Furkan ÖZEN, a radio amateur (ham), developed a strong interest in QSL cards. For years, his dream has been to establish a museum with the thousands of QSL cards collected. Years later, the QSL Museum emerged in order to realize this dream.
The management of the website and the storage and archiving of the QSL cards are carried out by TA7H Furkan ÖZEN.
Each QSL card is stored in a dry, clean, and humidity-free environment to be placed in photo albums. All QSL cards are archived in Giresun.
Thousands of QSL cards come from all regions of Turkey and various countries around the world. The cards are categorized by call sign, date, country, and theme. Approximately 80 thousand QSL cards are waiting to be scanned.
The cards are scanned at high resolution and transferred to the digital archive. In this process, two Canon CanoScan LRS 400 scanners are used. Each card is tagged with call sign, date, and country information so that users can easily search.
The museum currently operates entirely in a digital environment. Our goal is first to open an exhibition; in the future, to establish a physical museum and present the collection to visitors.
Yes, you can send cards to our collection. Each QSL card is very valuable and will be preserved under the best conditions in this virtual museum and physical archive. All postal and shipping costs will be covered by us.
Only QSL cards that have been delivered to our physical archive are included in our digital museum. Since we do not want the cards to remain only as a visual record without being physically archived, uploads of externally scanned cards are not permitted. The main purpose of our museum is to physically safeguard these cards and ensure that they remain as they were on the first day even after 50 years.
Volunteerism and passion lie at the heart of amateur radio. In this regard, the museum is a completely non-profit initiative with no commercial income whatsoever. In order to enrich the archive, we occasionally purchase QSL cards from international platforms (eBay, etc.) with our own means. Although your valuable QSL card donations are our greatest motivation for the growth of the collection, if you would like to transfer the cards you have in return for a fee, you can contact us at iletisim@furkanozen.com.tr or by phone at 0552 580 28 61
The cards you send can be viewed on our website after they are included in the digital archive. Thus, both you and other visitors can examine the cards.
In addition to sending cards, promoting our museum digitally and recommending the site to your friends is also very valuable to us. We look forward to your suggestions about the website and your visitor comments.