Last updated 2016-03-22
This QSL policy evolved over three decades of being a QSL manager. It is my best effort at maintaining a reliable QSL service, without having my entire life dominated by QSLing paperwork. I have dispatched over 250 000 QSL cards.
I fully accept that a minute percentage of individuals may be inconvenienced and may have to resort to sending a direct request, but I have accepted this compromise to eliminate a lot of custom paperwork associated with a handful of problematic requests.
1. All logs will be submitted to the Logbook of the World as soon as possible. Other electronic QSLing systems are not considered. Some logs may be available in ClubLog. Future logs will have an OQRS there.
2. All direct requests will be answered. If sufficient return postage is provided, the replies will be by air mail. Do not use registered mail.
3. Bureau cards will be answered for three years after the QSO. OQRS is preferred where available. Some ZS6EZ QSOs will be confirmed pre-emptively ("Please QSL") if I desperately need your card.
4. For DXpeditions from 2015, I'll set up an Online QSL Request System. The log will be available for checking on ClubLog.
A more detailed explanation is provided below. If you have any doubts, you might get some comfort from the fact that ZS6EZ was a finalist in the Golist's Top 5 QSL Managers competition for 2003 and 2004.
Anyone who sends a direct air or surface mail request with sufficient return postage and a self-addressed envelope, will get a direct response by air mail. Every effort is made to ensure a reasonable turnaround time.
Note: When you determine what "reasonable" turnaround time is, take into account how much time passed between the QSO and the QSL request. If you waited a decade or two before sending a request, surely it's inappropriate to get excited within weeks...
Direct requests without sufficient postage and an SAE may be returned via the bureau if deemed necessary.If a direct request is not in the log, a serious effort is made to find near-matches at or near the time indicated. If the contact cannot be found, the card will be returned to the originator with an explanatory note. The return will be sent directly if enough postage and an SAE have been provided. I have deviated from this policy in a handful of cases where the originator is blatantly requesting a bogus QSL; in such cases, the request simply lands in the trash. As an example I might mention an Israeli 'DXer who has routinely requested DXpedition cards for several bands on which no contacts took place. There can be little doubt that his actions are deliberate and unethical, and he cannot expect sympathetic treatment. It is a pity that he appears at the top of several awards lists.
No registered mail is accepted. I do not routinely have problems with mail loss, so registered mail is quite unnecessary. Registered mail to a box number must obviously be collected at the counter. I collect my mail at night, when the counters are closed. I do not see my way open to use my precious vacation time to go to the post office in office hours for a hobby. It's a 45 km round trip into dense city traffic.
All direct requests without sufficient postage and SAE are simply verified for correctness in the log. If the log entry is correct, and a bureau card has been sent, no further action is taken. If the entry is broken, it is fixed. If the contact is not in the log, the card is returned via the bureau. If the contact is in the log, the following paragraph will take care of you.
Incoming bureau cards are answered for three years. Up to 2012, all non-duplicate QSOs were routinely confirmed via the bureau. From 2013, I'm more selective.
You can check my logs here:
The ZS6EZ log is only complete from 1992 to the date indicated. I only update this log occasionally.
The ZS6BCR is log is complete to the date of my callsign change in 1992.
All incoming non-duplicate bureau requests were answered via the bureau until 2005.
All bureau requests were answered for at least five years after each operation. See important notice about ZS9Z below!
All non-duplicate contacts for which direct requests were not received in the first six to twelve months, were confirmed via the bureau. No incoming bureau requests are answered.
All incoming bureau cards will be answered for three years after the operation (to 2017-07).
An OQRS will be set up on ClubLog. No bureau cards will be answered.
You can read all about ZS8MI and other operations from Marion Island elsewhere on this Web site.
I have all ZS8MI logs. The last activity was in 2004. I have QSL blanks, courtesy of the NCDXF, and can help with confirmations. The logs are also on LotW. If your QSO has not been matched, please let me know. There are problems with time stamps on many QSOs in some years.
I held the callsign ZS9Z from 1988 to 1994, until Walvis Bay was given to Namibia and the DXCC entity was deleted. The callsign was used repeatedly from Walvis Bay, and once as ZS9Z/ZS1 from Penguin Island.
For contacts from 2001, talk to
the new owner of the callsign.
I've started building a list of known pirate operations with
callsigns that I manage. I will gradually build this list from
scattered records, based on incoming cards that share a date,
time, frequency and mode but the station concerned was not on the air.
If your QSO falls into this time span, don't bother trying to confirm
the QSO. It is not in the log!
For a long time, I dreamt of being able to do all my QSLing
through the Internet. That way, I would not have to spend evenings
at home sticking labels, licking envelopes and tearing stamp
perforations. I also wouldn't have to occupy lots of shelf space
with cardboard boxes. Instead, I would have a few CDs on a bookshelf.
Around 1994, I wrote on my Web site: Electronic QSLing shows
great promise, and I expect that within a few years you will be
able to get DXCC credit within minutes of your QSO. Around 2000, several people made early starts with electronic
QSLing systems. However, none of these systems met the basic
requirements for a legitimate system. They focus on replacing
the picture postcard rather than on confirming the QSO. I'm sure
we all agree that picture postcards are nice, but I'm equally sure
we also all agree that the primary purpose of a QSL card is confirm
a contact. All the early systems failed dismally in this respect.
Perhaps the best of the early systems is
eQSL.cc,
established by Dave Morris
N5UP. Dave's system is slick and provides nice picture
postcards, but to my mind suffers from several long-term practical
problems. During 1999, I wrote a piece on
electronic QSLing, highlighting some of the important issues
and proposing a standard for electronic QSLs, based on the existing
Cabrillo format. Although some of the information is now dated,
the basic principles are still valid. Because of this article, I became involved in discussions with
ARRL during the design of the Logbook
of the World. LoTW does not provide picture QSLs, but it does
confirm contacts conveniently and reliably. eQSL.cc is much better
as a means of exchanging picture postcards, but it has major loopholes
when being used for confirming contacts, and the ARRL would be
irresponsible to accept those "confirmations" for DXCC. LotW quickly grew into a useful system. I jumped at the chance
and submitted all the electronic logs I had, including more than
160 000 QSOs. I have subsequently typed in all my paper logs,
bringing the total to more than 260 000. A complete list is
in the QSLing Status Report. During September 2000, I decided to stop answering email
enquiries about QSLs. Over the preceding several months, I had wasted
much time on this practice, as a few individuals who boorishly
demanded information continued to harrass me. One individual,
whose card had been was sent but did not reach him, had the
audacity to complain about the fact that he'd sent 23 emails
over a period of a few weeks. Unfortunately, answering email requests is time consuming. Time is
a commodity that is in short supply. In addition, enquiries tend to become
more and more boorish with time. I have had to put up with invective
that peeled the paint off my walls. Frankly, I'd much rather spend the
energy answering the heaps of mail that arrive, or maybe even doing
something that I enjoy! So: Sorry about this, but if you have a problem with a QSL, please
resort to the time-proven technique of snail mail. As I do not
routinely have problems with mail loss, no more than a handful of
people will be inconvenienced. My only mailing address for ham radio purposes is: Chris R. Burger No registered mail is accepted! If you absolutely,
positively feel that you cannot live without sending me registered
mail, please make arrangements by email for another address that
you can use. I have a business address at which registered mail
can be received in emergencies. Return to ZS6EZ's Radio Page
Known pirate activity with managed callsigns
ZD9IR
ZS8D
ZS8IR
Electronic QSLing
Email enquiries
Mailing Address
Box 4485
Pretoria
0001 South Africa.