A neighbor across the street was into HAM radio since the 1950's, he passed away years ago and his wife passed on about 6 months ago. I got a stack of his QSL cards from people all over the world. Long before computers I guess you sent these out to your online friends. How did this all work? Bob
Many hams are into making contacts over long distances. The more dedicated ones have these QSL cards printed and, when they make a new contact, the two hams exchange cards. Some post the cards on the walls of their 'shacks' (rooms/small buildings/garages where their radio equipment is housed). [Like computers, powerful ham radios used to be pretty darn big, so a lot of dedicated space was required - now most of the equipment can be set up on a table or installed in a car.] Other hams keep their QSLs boxed in index form. The practice of exchanging QSLs isn't as common as it once was, but is a cherished tradition - especially among older hams. FYI, there are still many contests each year in which hams compete to see who can make the most contacts, contact hams in the most states/countries or the farthest distances. Our little club will be participating in an interesting event on August 18th. Clubs in different locations will be setting up portable stations at historic covered bridges in their areas and will be contacting each other. The plan is for each station to offer refreshments and the public is invited - attendees (even those without licenses) will be able to speak to people at the other covered bridge stations as long as a licensed ham is with them. I'm not sure if this event extends outside the mid-west, but I could check if you're interested. As for ham radio itself, that's a pretty wide topic! Hams get into the hobby for many different reasons. I got started because I'm involved in something called "stage rally" and we use ham radios to communicate during races (which are 'off-road' and in locations where cell phones don't always work). Beyond being a simple 'hobby', many public-spirited ham radio operators also perform thousands of hours of public service work every year, assisting at disasters where other communications fail, searching for lost people, airplanes, etc. and working with the Red Cross wherever needed. There's a nice write-up on Wikipedia that goes into depth explaining ham radio at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio Final note: Getting into ham radio is much easier these days! You no longer need to know Morse Code to get a license, and you don't even have to own any equipment unless you want to. License testing is either free or very affordable in most locations and it's hard to imagine an area that doesn't have a local club that's happy to help interested people get started (searching Facebook is probably the easiest way to find one...). Dave B. KD8NYN
Dave, alittle off topic but I’ve always liked to share this story. Long but worth the read. Subject: 1000 Marbles The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable. A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the basement shack with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning, turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it.I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice.You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with something about "a thousand marbles". I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say. "Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital." He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities". And that's when he began to explain his theory of "a thousand marbles". "You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years. Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now,stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part. It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail", he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right here in the sack next to my gear. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focus more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight. Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time.It was nice to meet you, Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. 75 year Old Man, this is K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!" You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off.Guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss."C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast."What brought this on?", she asked with a smile."Oh, nothing special,it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles.... "
@Petejoe I don't think your post is off-topic for ANYONE! Thanks for taking the time to tell the story... Dave B.
Love the story. As far as the original post, qsl cards are still sent, but a lot of the confirmation of contacts,which is what they are,is electronic now. I'm one of the nuts that is hooked on the long distance communications called dx, overseas contacts. I need to get some more cards printed-I changed call signs and haven't done that yet. I have a couple of old Drake tube radios (early 60's vintage) and every once in a while, I will fire them up just to listen, even though I have a newer expensive Icom 7600 for my main radio. It's still an awesome feeling to get a card from another country, and talk to people in places I will never be able to afford to see. And I second the fact that it is easy to get into the hobby now. Pretty much everywhere has a local club of old timers that love to help newbies. Bob AC5RM
Were the cards mailed in an envelope or just as a postcard? Some have the call letters in place of an address, was there some super secret way the post office knew were the HAM guys were? I know the license plates had a lightning bolt in the center to ID them. Bob
My father in law was K4YPF. Central Virginia fireman, so he said K4 your poor fireman. He was in Air Force Mars, and got calls from service men & women overseas, he then would call their family saying they were o.k., happy birthday, etc. I always thought that was great.
Stan's HAM radio tower, a few houses up from us, it has been there for as long as I can remember and I'm 67. Imagine the crap you'd have to go through today to put up the same tower. First week of December he'd climb up to the top and attach a 3x3 foot star with lights, our star of Bethlehem. Good times. Bob
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