So when I read about GlobalQSL in John Harper AE4X's blog my immediate thought was: Why haven't I come across this before? As you'll see if you follow the links, it's a service that prints QSLs on demand and sends them to the bureau. You export your log to an ADIF file, upload it to the service, pay, and the job is done. As with regular printing services there is a minimum order of 100 QSLs and the price drops if you send 1,000 or more. You can also order blanks to be sent to yourself for direct QSL requests.There is a free QSL designer program (for Windows) that you can download from the GlobalQSL site and use to design your card. As you can see from the sample above (and others on the site) the results are very professional and leave nothing to be desired. You can order 10 samples sent to you from your design for $8 to test the quality.
I created an account (it's free), logged in and found that there were 14 QSLs already printed and sent to me. I think GlobalQSL is a brilliant idea that retains the convenience of electronic QSLing but allows you to satisfy those contacts who prefer to receive real QSL cards.
You can have up to 8 active accounts at any one time, all linked to the primary account, each account handles a different callsign, so you can manage an DXpedition, 2 special events, your home QTH and a /P for instance. The 1000 cards (or 100) are just shared amongst these and as you have a card sent, it deducts from the total. You can send multiple QSOs on one card and that is still only one card cost.
ReplyDeleteAlthough not explicitly stated, I checked and you can order 10 samples of any of your cards to use to send direct, so not just for quality check. You can't order 1000 cards to be printed and sent to you, largest batch of those is 100.
They always send you one free card airmail for each card you design, so you can check it before you use it.
Yes it's a great service. I signed up and even before I'd sorted out anything else, there system tell you they have cards for you that are waiting to be sent out or have been sent out, so the more people use GlobalQSL the more you know whats coming your way :-)
73 de M0XDF
This was one aspect I was a little unclear about. If you QSL to someone who is not a member presumably it is sent via the bureau and they will QSL to you in the normal way. If they are a GlobalQSL member then the cards are sent direct from GlobalQSL, but only in minimum batches of 100 (or did I misunderstand)? That would be a bit of a disadvantage for those who don't make a lot of contacts, especially if only a small proportion are members - you might not get the cards for years.
ReplyDeleteMust admit I haven't used it yet - very busy.
ReplyDeleteCards are available to view from GlobalSQL members.
Cards are sent in batches of a min 4000 or 2 months to the country Bureau (not sure what happens when there isn't a bureau). So cards are stored electronically until there are at least 4000 cards for a location or it's been 2 months since the last batch to that location, then they are printed and shipped as a batch. So you are guaranteed a shipment to a location every 2 months, but some places, like Europe, US etc will probably get a shipment weekly since 4000 cards isn't much to them.
Unless you spend more money to provide for postage, all cards go the above route, including those from GlobalQSL members. If you pay extra, they will ship GlobalQSL member cards to you.
or....just take a "digital picture" and "edit" it with your Microsoft "Paint Program". Customized for every contact and absolutely "FREE". The recipient can print it, save it to their hard drive, or delete it. Makes no difference.
ReplyDeleteI do this for my 30 meter contacts and works very well.
I use Global-QSL since 2008, it is a great service and perfect for small editions. Okay - it is a little bit more expensive but saves a lot of time and work.
ReplyDeleteI do not collect QSLs but I know that a lot of HAMs love QSLs. So I decided to make "QSL-Life" easy and send out my SOTA activations via Global QSL.
Greetings from Sweden,
Mario SC4CCC (DC7CCC)
www.adventureradio.de
Thanks, Mario. I plan to use Global QSL myself as soon as I have some decent photos. Your adventure radio site looks interesting - I'll have to go back when I have more time with the Google Translator. :)
ReplyDeleteThe "Global QSL Graphic Editor" is a little bit strange to use. That's the software for creating and uploading the QSL card. But when I understood all, it's quite easy.
ReplyDeleteWell, I decided to "blog" in German, because there is enough english info about "outdoor-HAM-Radio" on the web. Maybe it's a wrong decision ... I don't know.
73 ...