QSLs - I have thought on this one for many months... the subject of QSL cards. 

If you have an interest in collecting confirmations of an accurate reception report, many stations will send a QSL card back by email (or less often these days by snail mail). That is fine and is part and parcel for many of the hobby of short wave listening. I, myself, can take them or leave them. I occasionally send a report and if I get a QSL verification, I upload the card to this blog. I think it makes the blog more interesting and colourful.

But what if the station concerned does not verify with a QSL?

Then I put my transmitting hat on and consider maybe:
1) The operator is too busy with other activities to spend hours on confirming radio reports.
2) The operator does not have the expertise or knowledge to design an individual QSL card, or maybe:
3) My report was not detailed enough and did not help the station in any way.
4) The op does not want to bother sending QSL cards for reception reports that have come from one of the many SDRs in Europe. Is there any value in reporting how the Twente SDR receives the signal?

But when I am a listener my SWL hat is now on. Maybe I feel like this: 
a) I have sent a detailed and accurate report. Surely the station could at least have said, "Thank you"!
b) If the station does not want to QSL why do they give out an email address?
c) I have not received a card from that country / station / frequency / month etc. and I really need it!
d) Surely the op could make an effort to QSL!

Possible solutions:
- There is a competition now for stations that QSL and a prize for the one that gets the most votes. http://swcholland.com/?page=152 (Get your friends voting!) 
- I have seen a website that makes a list of the stations that do not verify (I am not keen on this!)
- I know some busy operators use QSL managers.
- Stations could indicate that they do not have the means to reply with a QSL.

I think I have come to the conclusion that:
~ If the transmitting station wants to verify with a QSL, then that is great, but if they do not, then we must respect their wishes and enjoy the programmes that so many "free" radio stations provide on the short and medium waves.
~ Nearly all of them spend hours researching, experimenting, erecting antennas and spending often considerable amounts of money on perfecting their studios to entertain the listeners, and we must be very grateful for that.

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