{"id":255,"date":"2018-11-27T21:15:33","date_gmt":"2018-11-27T20:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beta.iaru-r2.org\/?page_id=255"},"modified":"2020-02-01T11:21:14","modified_gmt":"2020-02-01T10:21:14","slug":"qsl-bureaus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.iaru-r2.org\/en\/on-the-air\/qsl-bureaus\/","title":{"rendered":"About QSL<\/span> Bureaus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The exchange of QSL<\/span> cards by radio amateurs is a practice that is almost as old as radio itself. It began as postcard reports of distant reception at a time when two-way contacts over significant distances were relatively rare and the reports were valued as the best evidence of a transmitting station\u2019s range. It developed into a social gesture \u2013 \u201cA QSL<\/span> is the final courtesy of a QSO<\/span>\u201d \u2013 as well as a means of documenting achievements.<\/p>\n

IARU<\/span> QSL<\/span> bureaus \u2013 national-level clearinghouses for cards sent in bulk from one country to another \u2013 came about initially because the addresses of individual stations were not widely available (in part because amateurs in some countries operated without the benefit of a license) and international postage for individual cards was relatively expensive.<\/p>\n

After World War 2 it was very difficult to obtain personal addresses for amateurs in the Soviet Union and most other Warsaw Pact countries; \u201cQSL<\/span> via bureau\u201d was the only reasonably available option. Callbook listings were incomplete for many countries. For many years the QSL<\/span> bureau system was reliable, inexpensive, and almost universal for countries with more than a handful of amateurs.<\/p>\n

In recent years several developments have impacted the QSL<\/span> bureau system:<\/p>\n