QSL bureau
| QSL bureau | |
|---|---|
| What it is | A volunteer system that forwards QSL cards in bulk between countries |
| Also called | The "buro" |
| Cost | Far less per card than mailing direct |
| Drawback | Slow: months, sometimes years |
| In the US | |
| Outgoing | ARRL Outgoing QSL Service, for ARRL members, fee by weight |
| Incoming | ARRL DX QSL Bureau System, one bureau per call district, open to all US amateurs |
| Incoming cost | Envelopes or prepaid credits on file with the bureau |
A QSL bureau, often written buro, is a system for exchanging QSL cards between countries in bulk rather than one card at a time. Instead of mailing a card to each station, a ham sends a batch of cards to an outgoing bureau, which sorts them by destination country and ships them in large packages to the national bureau at the other end. That bureau sorts them again by call sign and passes them to the individual hams. Most bureaus are run by national amateur radio societies and staffed by volunteers. The system is cheap, but it is slow: a card sent through the bureau may take many months, and sometimes more than a year, to complete the round trip.
Outgoing cards from the US
In the United States, the outgoing side is the ARRL Outgoing QSL Service, run by the ARRL for its members. A member collects cards for foreign stations, sorts them by country prefix as the service's instructions describe, and mails them to ARRL headquarters with payment. The fee is based on the weight of the package rather than the number of cards, which makes it far cheaper per card than mailing each one direct. The current rates and sorting instructions are published on the ARRL website.
The outgoing service handles cards for foreign stations only. Cards for other US stations go direct.
Incoming cards in the US
Incoming cards arrive through the ARRL DX QSL Bureau System, a network of volunteer-run bureaus, one for each US call district, with separate bureaus for some areas outside the continental US. Unlike the outgoing service, the incoming bureaus are open to all US amateurs; ARRL membership is not required.
Cards are sorted by call sign, and each ham uses the bureau that serves his or her call district, normally the one matching the number in the call sign. To receive cards, a ham keeps a supply of self-addressed, stamped envelopes on file with that bureau, marked with the call sign, or buys envelope credits where the bureau offers them. When enough cards accumulate, or at regular intervals, the bureau mails them out. Cards that arrive for a ham with no envelopes on file are held for a time and may eventually be discarded, so it pays to keep an envelope or credit on file even before expecting any cards.
Each bureau's address, envelope size and current procedures are listed on the ARRL website.
Bureaus elsewhere
Most countries with organized amateur radio have a bureau, usually run by the national society, such as the RSGB in the United Kingdom or JARL in Japan. Rules vary. In some countries the bureau serves only members of the society, and cards for nonmembers may be held or returned. A few countries have no bureau at all, or one that works irregularly, and cards sent to them through the system may never arrive. For those, and for any contact where speed matters, the alternatives are a direct card, a QSL manager or an electronic confirmation.
QSL information for a station, including whether it accepts bureau cards, is usually given on its QRZ.com page or in the "QSL via" line of its announcements. Many DX stations and DXpeditions confirm through Logbook of the World and use the bureau only for paper cards.
Using the bureau well
- Mark cards clearly. Write the other station's call sign on both sides of the card, with "via bureau" or "QSL via" information if a manager is involved.
- Use standard-size cards. Bureaus handle cards in bulk, and oversized or folded cards slow sorting.
- Answer bureau cards by bureau. A station that sent a card through the bureau usually expects a reply the same way.
- Be patient. Volunteers sort huge numbers of cards by hand, and shipments between countries are infrequent. A missing card is more often delayed than lost.
For awards such as DXCC, many hams now use electronic confirmations for speed and keep the bureau for collecting cards they want to hold.