Using Verification Reply Cards to Increase QSL Return Rates

Getting the confirmations needed for many awards is always a challenge, especially for awards – such as CQ’s USA Counties Award (USA-CA) – that involve contacts with stations that aren’t used to having QSLs requested. WB4UHI has developed a method that helps improve his response rate.

MARK HUGHES

While I have been a county hunter for years, I still need QSL cards from about 350 counties to complete CQ’s USA-CA All Counties award. To increase my QSL return rate, I always include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) with my QSL certificate (Figure 1). The certificate includes information on the Battle of Kings Mountain, the turning point of the American Revolution in the south. The battle was fought a few miles from my farm. While the certificate originally increased my QSL rate, the return rate has slowly decreased. I have discovered many hams do not have QSL cards. I’ll often hear: “I’ll send you a card when I get some QSLs printed.” A few hams offer to send me an electronic verification. Because of vision problems, I cannot use…

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CQ Amateur Radio (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 2023

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