The meaning, standards and living culture of the QSL card — amateur radio’s most treasured document.
What is a QSL card?
In amateur radio there are abbreviations known as Q codes. QSL means “received and understood.” To confirm a contact, operators exchange postcard-like QSL cards, so the contact is verified by both sides. These cards record the band or frequency used, the time and date of the contact, the report, and finally the mode of transmission (such as SSB or CW).
International size
The international standard size for a QSL card is 140 × 90 mm (5.5″ × 3.5″), with a maximum weight of three grams. Your card may be smaller, but it should not be larger, as large cards make sorting, mailing, boxing and banding more difficult.
The first cards in our country
From confirmation to award
QSL cards are valuable documents that shed light on the history of amateur radio and the QSOs that have been made. In the past, the physical cards used to confirm contacts were one of the essential requirements for earning prestigious awards such as the DXCC (DX Century Club).
Today, printing and postage costs together with technological progress have pushed the QSL-card tradition into the background. Thanks to online systems such as LoTW (Logbook of The World), QSOs can now be confirmed digitally within seconds, and awards like the DXCC can be reached without sending a physical card.
A Culture and Vast Archives
Despite all this digitalisation and technological progress, collecting QSL cards is not merely a confirmation mechanism but a deeply rooted culture. Amateurs all over the world still exchange physical QSL cards with great passion, keeping this tradition alive and giving it the importance it deserves.
To prevent these historic documents from being lost and to pass them on to future generations, there are important archives and collectors carrying out remarkable work around the world: