myQSL
October 7, 2009 3:19 PM Subscribe
"QSL cards confirm either a two-way radiocommunication between two amateur radio stations or a one-way reception of a signal from an AM radio, FM radio, television or shortwave broadcasting station. They can also confirm the reception of a two-way radiocommunication by a third party listener. A typical QSL card is the same size and made from the same material as a typical postcard, and most are sent through the mail as such." Here's a substantial collection of them.
Neat. I'm pretty sure these are all CB QSLs, though, not Amateur. I think all the callsigns are the old CB type (there was a time when you needed a license to operate on CB, although it wasn't as hard to get as an Amateur ticket).
Another interesting note about QSL cards is the system of QSL bureaus set up by the ARRL (in the US) and other national Amateur Radio organizations worldwide. Because sending a large number of postcards could quickly become prohibitively expensive, they basically created a private, bulk class of international mail. Instead of sending a card directly to an international recipient, you'd send it to your country's outgoing QSL bureau, and they'd bundle it with other cards bound for the same country and send them to that country's incoming-card bureau. There, the card would get sent via local post (sometimes requiring the recipient to send a SASE) to the destination. Always thought that was a neat postal-service 'hack'.
posted by Kadin2048 at 3:52 PM on October 7, 2009
Another interesting note about QSL cards is the system of QSL bureaus set up by the ARRL (in the US) and other national Amateur Radio organizations worldwide. Because sending a large number of postcards could quickly become prohibitively expensive, they basically created a private, bulk class of international mail. Instead of sending a card directly to an international recipient, you'd send it to your country's outgoing QSL bureau, and they'd bundle it with other cards bound for the same country and send them to that country's incoming-card bureau. There, the card would get sent via local post (sometimes requiring the recipient to send a SASE) to the destination. Always thought that was a neat postal-service 'hack'.
posted by Kadin2048 at 3:52 PM on October 7, 2009
I was wondering that, Kadin2048 - both about the call-signs and the CB-culture trend to the cards.
Beautiful collection. I'd love to know what years these were received. It makes me sort of nostalgic to think of all those people, reaching out blindly through the barrier of space to make a simple connection with a stranger. With the internet it seems so common-place but I still remember the mystery the first time I heard my dad my dad (an amateur radio operator) contacted someone from another country.
posted by muddgirl at 4:02 PM on October 7, 2009 [1 favorite]
Beautiful collection. I'd love to know what years these were received. It makes me sort of nostalgic to think of all those people, reaching out blindly through the barrier of space to make a simple connection with a stranger. With the internet it seems so common-place but I still remember the mystery the first time I heard my dad my dad (an amateur radio operator) contacted someone from another country.
posted by muddgirl at 4:02 PM on October 7, 2009 [1 favorite]
The CB QSL cards have a bit of a different flavor to them than Amateur ones, I think. Here's a big gallery of ham cards, just to compare. (It leans towards exotic DX and rare cards, but it's not totally unrepresentative.)
If I had to pin it down, I'd say that while CB QSLs are sort of like postcards, the ham QSL cards—particularly the old ones—aspire to be radiograms of a sort. With the CB cards, the message is the card; with the ham ones, there's more often a place for a signal report or other short message, and the decoration is more ornamental. Some of them do get pretty exotic, but they generally are a bit more utilitarian than the CBers'.
Another interesting thing I noticed about the CB cards is that some of them say things like "FCC Calls Only", indicative that there were some holdouts against the free-for-all that CB eventually became at its height.
posted by Kadin2048 at 4:21 PM on October 7, 2009
If I had to pin it down, I'd say that while CB QSLs are sort of like postcards, the ham QSL cards—particularly the old ones—aspire to be radiograms of a sort. With the CB cards, the message is the card; with the ham ones, there's more often a place for a signal report or other short message, and the decoration is more ornamental. Some of them do get pretty exotic, but they generally are a bit more utilitarian than the CBers'.
Another interesting thing I noticed about the CB cards is that some of them say things like "FCC Calls Only", indicative that there were some holdouts against the free-for-all that CB eventually became at its height.
posted by Kadin2048 at 4:21 PM on October 7, 2009
I actually had a CB license back in the day..... cells phones and the internet killed cb's and ham radio....
posted by HuronBob at 5:03 PM on October 7, 2009
posted by HuronBob at 5:03 PM on October 7, 2009
er... why would you need a postcard to confirm a 2-way radio link?
posted by mhjb at 5:08 PM on October 7, 2009
posted by mhjb at 5:08 PM on October 7, 2009
The requests for QSL cards typically include details of the quality of reception, reception location, weather conditions, etc., that help the QSL issuer tweak their equipment for better broadcasts and fix equipment problems they weren't aware of. It's sort of a netiquette thing in the radio world.
posted by jwells at 5:20 PM on October 7, 2009
posted by jwells at 5:20 PM on October 7, 2009
er... why would you need a postcard to confirm a 2-way radio link?
Because postcards are fun, dammit!
posted by zsazsa at 5:25 PM on October 7, 2009 [2 favorites]
Because postcards are fun, dammit!
posted by zsazsa at 5:25 PM on October 7, 2009 [2 favorites]
My father is a ham. One of my earliest memories is talking -- well, tapping -- to a guy somewhere in Antarctica. I was around 5 at the time, and I was probably more fluent in morse than speaking. (I was very shy and much preferred the written word to the spoken -- all my friends were books.) And those beautiful QSL cards with pictures of life in faraway exotic lands!
Let me tell you, there's nothing quite so mind-blowing for a kid as something like that. (This was in the early 70s before we had a telephone or a TV, and of course before computer networks.) Not only did I learn that the world was rather larger than I thought, all the messing around with electronics showed me that the universe makes sense and plays by simple rules.
Until I learned about quantum mechanics...
posted by phliar at 5:50 PM on October 7, 2009 [4 favorites]
Let me tell you, there's nothing quite so mind-blowing for a kid as something like that. (This was in the early 70s before we had a telephone or a TV, and of course before computer networks.) Not only did I learn that the world was rather larger than I thought, all the messing around with electronics showed me that the universe makes sense and plays by simple rules.
Until I learned about quantum mechanics...
posted by phliar at 5:50 PM on October 7, 2009 [4 favorites]
One of the best QSL cards ever was from back in the days when Spain was still under the Franco boot and Picasso designed one for the clandestine Radio Espana Independiente. See it here, down toward the bottom of the page on the right (hmm, I should go up to the attic to see if I still have my copy).
posted by adamg at 5:51 PM on October 7, 2009
posted by adamg at 5:51 PM on October 7, 2009
er... why would you need a postcard to confirm a 2-way radio link?
It may be hard to believe in our time of satellite communications and the Internet, but there was a time when two-way radio contact between any two points on the globe was by no means a foregone conclusion.
The Ionosphere literally works in mysterious ways, and differently at different frequencies and at different times of day, season, or sunspot cycle. It was useful to have a way of acknowledging and confirming the event, for personal, historical, or technological reasons.
I'll give you an extreme example. Back in the 1970s when I was first licensed, I knew a guy who participated in one of the most rarified of ham radio sub-hobbies -- moonbounce. Moonbouncers literally attempt to bounce VHF radio signals off the moon and back to earth to be received by another moonbouncing ham.
So Moonbounce Kelly had erected an enormous (signal attenuation in moonbounce is absurdly high) circularly polarized (a lot can happen to the signal on its way) antenna array on an azimuth-elevation rotator (to accurately aim the beast of course).
At an agreed upon time, Kelly and one of his pals (in, say, Australia) would point their antennas at the moon, fire up their rigs, and alternately call and listen. Once in while one would hear the other. Once in whileoplex they'd BOTH hear each other. Now if you had gone to all this trouble and had succeeded wouldn't you want some confirmation?
What's the point? Well the hams who invented QSLing in the early days of radio were asked that question all the time while they made the first confirmed two-way radio contact across the Atlantic. And across the continent. And across the Pacific. And with Antarctica. And via orbiting satellite. And with video. And so on. Exchanging QSL cards in confirmation of a rare, difficult, or unusual contact goes along with the radio hobby and the development of radio as a communcations medium.
Various hobbies-within-a-hobby are also facilitated by exchanging QSL cards.
To promote the radio hobby and improve the state of the art, the ARRL and other organization offer awards such as Worked All States (self-explanatory I hope) and DXCC for confirmed two-way contact with 100 different 'countries' (as defined by the International Telecommunication Union).
DXpeditions send hams to remote geographical locations that have been assigned a unique call prefix, but have few or even no licensed amateurs. This affords the opportunity to hams around the world to add a rare country (or what most would call a 'rock') to their contact list.
Field Day held annually in June is (in part) an emergency preparedness exercise, with various "contesting components" including quantity and geographical spread of contacts made during the exercise.
And finally, there is self expression, pride of place, and personal achievement.
posted by Herodios at 6:28 PM on October 7, 2009 [15 favorites]
It may be hard to believe in our time of satellite communications and the Internet, but there was a time when two-way radio contact between any two points on the globe was by no means a foregone conclusion.
The Ionosphere literally works in mysterious ways, and differently at different frequencies and at different times of day, season, or sunspot cycle. It was useful to have a way of acknowledging and confirming the event, for personal, historical, or technological reasons.
I'll give you an extreme example. Back in the 1970s when I was first licensed, I knew a guy who participated in one of the most rarified of ham radio sub-hobbies -- moonbounce. Moonbouncers literally attempt to bounce VHF radio signals off the moon and back to earth to be received by another moonbouncing ham.
So Moonbounce Kelly had erected an enormous (signal attenuation in moonbounce is absurdly high) circularly polarized (a lot can happen to the signal on its way) antenna array on an azimuth-elevation rotator (to accurately aim the beast of course).
At an agreed upon time, Kelly and one of his pals (in, say, Australia) would point their antennas at the moon, fire up their rigs, and alternately call and listen. Once in while one would hear the other. Once in whileoplex they'd BOTH hear each other. Now if you had gone to all this trouble and had succeeded wouldn't you want some confirmation?
What's the point? Well the hams who invented QSLing in the early days of radio were asked that question all the time while they made the first confirmed two-way radio contact across the Atlantic. And across the continent. And across the Pacific. And with Antarctica. And via orbiting satellite. And with video. And so on. Exchanging QSL cards in confirmation of a rare, difficult, or unusual contact goes along with the radio hobby and the development of radio as a communcations medium.
Various hobbies-within-a-hobby are also facilitated by exchanging QSL cards.
To promote the radio hobby and improve the state of the art, the ARRL and other organization offer awards such as Worked All States (self-explanatory I hope) and DXCC for confirmed two-way contact with 100 different 'countries' (as defined by the International Telecommunication Union).
DXpeditions send hams to remote geographical locations that have been assigned a unique call prefix, but have few or even no licensed amateurs. This affords the opportunity to hams around the world to add a rare country (or what most would call a 'rock') to their contact list.
Field Day held annually in June is (in part) an emergency preparedness exercise, with various "contesting components" including quantity and geographical spread of contacts made during the exercise.
And finally, there is self expression, pride of place, and personal achievement.
posted by Herodios at 6:28 PM on October 7, 2009 [15 favorites]
Kadin2048 - ...you'd send it to your country's outgoing QSL bureau, and they'd bundle it with other cards bound for the same country and send them to that country's incoming-card bureau. There, the card would get sent via local post (sometimes requiring the recipient to send a SASE) to the destination.
Yeah, my dad used to send a self-addressed envelope to some sort of central office once every couple of months, then get a small bundle of cards back. Most of his contacts were on the local VHF repeaters, but he got a few international connections.
phliar - Let me tell you, there's nothing quite so mind-blowing for a kid as something like that.
Yep. I never got my license, but my dad helped to run occasional "special event" stations where unlicensed people could go on air, properly supervised. The one that sticks in my mind is the night when, aged about 12, I stayed up with them until 4am and had a distorted, barely understandable contact with a guy in Lithuania. The longest-distance conversation I'd had up to that point was on the phone to my grandma 300 miles away, so speaking to Lithuania by radio was incredible. We just about managed to swap signal reports and callsigns before the signal dropped, but enough to get my first and best QSL card!
mhjb - er... why would you need a postcard to confirm a 2-way radio link?
Extra to what Herodios said, QSL cards sometimes get sent to confirm a one way contact, just as a sort of "I heard you from all the way over here!". A few people I knew who played with big aerials and powerful rigs got occasional cards from people in implausibly far-flung places saying "I heard your broadcast at [time] on [date], your signal strength and clarity were X and Y". Some nights the ionoshere has just enough bounce in it to carry you a long way, and it's pretty cool to know you've been heard so far away. In a similar vein, my dad occasionally sends a different style of QSL cards to commercial or governmental radio stations who broadcast worldwide. All sorts of countries have or had their own equivalents to the BBC world service (voice of russia, radio china, etc) blasting out to the world on shortwave. In exchange for a QSL with a signal report ("You're understandable but crackly in South Wales on [date] in [weather]") and some comment on the programme to prove that you actually did hear it, most of them would send back an information (propaganda?) pack, stickers, badges etc. My dad has a stack of this stuff; it's pretty cool to look at today, but before the internet and cheap travel made the wider world less mysterious, it was amazing to be getting these packages from such distant and exotic places.
zsazsa - Because postcards are fun, dammit!
A well-filled logbook is nice, but a wall of your shack covered in cool and diverse QSL cards is the real status symbol! I won the competition to design our scout troop's QSL card for the event ("jamboree on the air") where I spoke to Lithuania. I just loved the idea of my design being sent all over the world (well, Europe) and being kept in people's collections or stuck up on their walls.
posted by metaBugs at 6:52 PM on October 7, 2009 [3 favorites]
Yeah, my dad used to send a self-addressed envelope to some sort of central office once every couple of months, then get a small bundle of cards back. Most of his contacts were on the local VHF repeaters, but he got a few international connections.
phliar - Let me tell you, there's nothing quite so mind-blowing for a kid as something like that.
Yep. I never got my license, but my dad helped to run occasional "special event" stations where unlicensed people could go on air, properly supervised. The one that sticks in my mind is the night when, aged about 12, I stayed up with them until 4am and had a distorted, barely understandable contact with a guy in Lithuania. The longest-distance conversation I'd had up to that point was on the phone to my grandma 300 miles away, so speaking to Lithuania by radio was incredible. We just about managed to swap signal reports and callsigns before the signal dropped, but enough to get my first and best QSL card!
mhjb - er... why would you need a postcard to confirm a 2-way radio link?
Extra to what Herodios said, QSL cards sometimes get sent to confirm a one way contact, just as a sort of "I heard you from all the way over here!". A few people I knew who played with big aerials and powerful rigs got occasional cards from people in implausibly far-flung places saying "I heard your broadcast at [time] on [date], your signal strength and clarity were X and Y". Some nights the ionoshere has just enough bounce in it to carry you a long way, and it's pretty cool to know you've been heard so far away. In a similar vein, my dad occasionally sends a different style of QSL cards to commercial or governmental radio stations who broadcast worldwide. All sorts of countries have or had their own equivalents to the BBC world service (voice of russia, radio china, etc) blasting out to the world on shortwave. In exchange for a QSL with a signal report ("You're understandable but crackly in South Wales on [date] in [weather]") and some comment on the programme to prove that you actually did hear it, most of them would send back an information (propaganda?) pack, stickers, badges etc. My dad has a stack of this stuff; it's pretty cool to look at today, but before the internet and cheap travel made the wider world less mysterious, it was amazing to be getting these packages from such distant and exotic places.
zsazsa - Because postcards are fun, dammit!
A well-filled logbook is nice, but a wall of your shack covered in cool and diverse QSL cards is the real status symbol! I won the competition to design our scout troop's QSL card for the event ("jamboree on the air") where I spoke to Lithuania. I just loved the idea of my design being sent all over the world (well, Europe) and being kept in people's collections or stuck up on their walls.
posted by metaBugs at 6:52 PM on October 7, 2009 [3 favorites]
Well said, Herodios.
Also, about those CB QSL's.... in the US, at least, it's illegal to make contact with another CB station more than 150 miles away. There's also a power output limitation on CB radio transmitters- 5 watts AM, 12 peak watts SSB. This didn't (doesn't) stand in the way of a certain class of CB user determined to use the citizen's band as a substitute for the amateur radio bands. The amateur radio license has historically required tests on radio theory, regulations, and there has been a requirement to be able to transmit and receive morse code. Not so with the citizen's band, and that has resulted in a certain amount of - um - friction? between licensed amateur radio operators and CB'ers who use the citizen's band as an ersatz ham radio hobby. I think those CB QSL's are indicative of that subset.
73 DE W5GNF K.
posted by drhydro at 7:19 PM on October 7, 2009
Also, about those CB QSL's.... in the US, at least, it's illegal to make contact with another CB station more than 150 miles away. There's also a power output limitation on CB radio transmitters- 5 watts AM, 12 peak watts SSB. This didn't (doesn't) stand in the way of a certain class of CB user determined to use the citizen's band as a substitute for the amateur radio bands. The amateur radio license has historically required tests on radio theory, regulations, and there has been a requirement to be able to transmit and receive morse code. Not so with the citizen's band, and that has resulted in a certain amount of - um - friction? between licensed amateur radio operators and CB'ers who use the citizen's band as an ersatz ham radio hobby. I think those CB QSL's are indicative of that subset.
73 DE W5GNF K.
posted by drhydro at 7:19 PM on October 7, 2009
QSL cards sometimes get sent to confirm a one way contact. . .
Rat own! The Russian Woodpecker never replied to the QSL I sent.
posted by Herodios at 7:21 PM on October 7, 2009 [1 favorite]
Rat own! The Russian Woodpecker never replied to the QSL I sent.
posted by Herodios at 7:21 PM on October 7, 2009 [1 favorite]
Awesome. I spent my formative years stuck to a shortwave radio, desperately trying to get some SINPO information that I could mail to an address in the World Radio Television Handbook, so that maybe, inshallah, I could get a sweeeet QSL card from Radio Hungary, Radio Andorra, or Kol Israel (among other righteous stations) a couple of months later.
Has the internet dealt a blow to shortwave radio? Anyone? I haven't twiddled a radio dial in years, but I miss it so.
posted by John of Michigan at 7:37 PM on October 7, 2009
Has the internet dealt a blow to shortwave radio? Anyone? I haven't twiddled a radio dial in years, but I miss it so.
posted by John of Michigan at 7:37 PM on October 7, 2009
When I was a kid I used to collect shortwave QSL cards.
posted by mike3k at 8:01 PM on October 7, 2009
posted by mike3k at 8:01 PM on October 7, 2009
Has the internet dealt a blow to shortwave radio? Anyone? I haven't twiddled a radio dial in years, but I miss it so.
The last time I spent any appreciable amount of time listening to SW was during the first Gulf War in 1991-1992. One reason I didn't listen during the more recent business in the Middle East was that BBC World Service dropped coverage of North America just a few weeks before Sept, 11 2001.
On the other hand, Wilco (the band name itself being radio jargon) recorded Yankee Hotel Foxtrot around about the same time. The album name comes from (and includes samples of) one of many so-called "letter stations" (reputed to be associated with the Mossad) that can be heard on SW, whose broadcasts seem to consist only of a voice repeating a three-letter code or ID such as "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot".
So as of eight years ago, there was still Shortwave Radio In The News.
More recently. . . ?
posted by Herodios at 8:03 PM on October 7, 2009
The last time I spent any appreciable amount of time listening to SW was during the first Gulf War in 1991-1992. One reason I didn't listen during the more recent business in the Middle East was that BBC World Service dropped coverage of North America just a few weeks before Sept, 11 2001.
On the other hand, Wilco (the band name itself being radio jargon) recorded Yankee Hotel Foxtrot around about the same time. The album name comes from (and includes samples of) one of many so-called "letter stations" (reputed to be associated with the Mossad) that can be heard on SW, whose broadcasts seem to consist only of a voice repeating a three-letter code or ID such as "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot".
So as of eight years ago, there was still Shortwave Radio In The News.
More recently. . . ?
posted by Herodios at 8:03 PM on October 7, 2009
[THIS IS GOOD]
Nice post, good comments. I love learning about esoteric nooks like the Russian Woodpecker, and personal stories like phliar's and Herodios's.
posted by Slithy_Tove at 8:05 PM on October 7, 2009
Nice post, good comments. I love learning about esoteric nooks like the Russian Woodpecker, and personal stories like phliar's and Herodios's.
posted by Slithy_Tove at 8:05 PM on October 7, 2009
I'm just getting back into amateur radio after a few years not thinking about it too much. The 20th anniversary of loma prieta is coming up which is on my mind. I never sent or received a QSL card but I so wanted to when I was a kid. The whole idea of an IRC coupon blew my mind. Basically a coupon to buy a stamp that worked anywhere in the world.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 10:45 PM on October 7, 2009
posted by bottlebrushtree at 10:45 PM on October 7, 2009
Herodios: "On the other hand, Wilco (the band name itself being radio jargon) recorded Yankee Hotel Foxtrot around about the same time. The album name comes from (and includes samples of) one of many so-called "letter stations" (reputed to be associated with the Mossad) that can be heard on SW, whose broadcasts seem to consist only of a voice repeating a three-letter code or ID such as "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot". "
Actually, number stations are operated by a number of countries, not just the Mossad, and transmit a lot more than just three-letter codes.
The Conet Project - Recordings of Number Stations
MeFi on Number Stations
posted by grandsham at 11:06 PM on October 7, 2009
Actually, number stations are operated by a number of countries, not just the Mossad, and transmit a lot more than just three-letter codes.
The Conet Project - Recordings of Number Stations
MeFi on Number Stations
posted by grandsham at 11:06 PM on October 7, 2009
"Has the internet dealt a blow to shortwave radio? Anyone?"
Militaries around the planet still use HF to run plain voice comms combined with one time pads (that's what the majority of those number stations are: HF military nets). Of course, this all depends on the level of war you are talking about, say at a tactical level, a platoon might use line-of-sight (LOS) headsets, or at a strategic level among nation-state intelligence sharing they might use the internet, or satcoms. In between is a combo of LOS and others, but HF is often used, especially as a back up, or as often is the case when satcoms are down (from memory there was only so much bandwidth go around). Not sure if things have changed due to UAVs. I always imagined UAVs would be perfect for bouncing LOS comms around the place, as they negate the terrain.
posted by ollyollyoxenfree at 11:37 PM on October 7, 2009
Militaries around the planet still use HF to run plain voice comms combined with one time pads (that's what the majority of those number stations are: HF military nets). Of course, this all depends on the level of war you are talking about, say at a tactical level, a platoon might use line-of-sight (LOS) headsets, or at a strategic level among nation-state intelligence sharing they might use the internet, or satcoms. In between is a combo of LOS and others, but HF is often used, especially as a back up, or as often is the case when satcoms are down (from memory there was only so much bandwidth go around). Not sure if things have changed due to UAVs. I always imagined UAVs would be perfect for bouncing LOS comms around the place, as they negate the terrain.
posted by ollyollyoxenfree at 11:37 PM on October 7, 2009
Has the internet dealt a blow to shortwave radio?
More directly, broadband Internet over power line initiatives tend to emit powerful, broad-spectrum EM noise that drowns out shortwave communications over a depressingly large area, according to what I've read.
posted by Kalthare at 12:42 AM on October 8, 2009
More directly, broadband Internet over power line initiatives tend to emit powerful, broad-spectrum EM noise that drowns out shortwave communications over a depressingly large area, according to what I've read.
posted by Kalthare at 12:42 AM on October 8, 2009
Actually, number stations are operated by a number of countries, not just the Mossad, and transmit a lot more than just three-letter codes.
I'm pretty sure Herodios was referring to a particular station. The Mossad guess is, I gather, based on the speaker's accent and the general area it seems to have broadcast from. The specific broadcast in question is disc 1, track 4 of the Conet Project.
But there is a lot more to that broadcast, if you keep listening. "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" is just the interval signal.
posted by Kalthare at 12:52 AM on October 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
I'm pretty sure Herodios was referring to a particular station. The Mossad guess is, I gather, based on the speaker's accent and the general area it seems to have broadcast from. The specific broadcast in question is disc 1, track 4 of the Conet Project.
But there is a lot more to that broadcast, if you keep listening. "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" is just the interval signal.
posted by Kalthare at 12:52 AM on October 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
Yeah there isn't that much to it. The message was (with my comments in parenthesis):
YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF (continues on, this is the callsign doing the sked)
GROUP 10
GROUP 10 (how many five letter groups will be ahead)
TEXT
TEXT (prompting the receiver that message is ahead)
NLSVN UHNFY ZLNZF NTUME HABZV
IFDAM JHIGV VZSZO JHZGK ZLPJC (five letter groups, probably used with a one time pad, pretty short to contain anything world shaking).
END OF MSG
REPEAT
REPEAT
MSG MSG
GROUP 10
GROUP 10
TEXT
TEXT
NLSVN UHNFY
(first 2 five letter groups are repeated, and the msg then cuts to 'end of msg'. Either the guys recording this have cut the rest out, of if the station broadcast just those two, then it means they are the preamble to the msg, and hence the 'key' ((of sorts)) to what is contained within)
END OF MSG
END OF MSG
posted by ollyollyoxenfree at 1:47 AM on October 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF YHF (continues on, this is the callsign doing the sked)
GROUP 10
GROUP 10 (how many five letter groups will be ahead)
TEXT
TEXT (prompting the receiver that message is ahead)
NLSVN UHNFY ZLNZF NTUME HABZV
IFDAM JHIGV VZSZO JHZGK ZLPJC (five letter groups, probably used with a one time pad, pretty short to contain anything world shaking).
END OF MSG
REPEAT
REPEAT
MSG MSG
GROUP 10
GROUP 10
TEXT
TEXT
NLSVN UHNFY
(first 2 five letter groups are repeated, and the msg then cuts to 'end of msg'. Either the guys recording this have cut the rest out, of if the station broadcast just those two, then it means they are the preamble to the msg, and hence the 'key' ((of sorts)) to what is contained within)
END OF MSG
END OF MSG
posted by ollyollyoxenfree at 1:47 AM on October 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
All this talk of numbers stations reminds me of Cocteau's Orphee.
My grandfather was a ham (and he did moonbounce too!). His 'shack' was pretty awesome: a spare bedroom about 10'x12' full of equipment with a path from he door to his station.
posted by jdfan at 2:25 AM on October 8, 2009
My grandfather was a ham (and he did moonbounce too!). His 'shack' was pretty awesome: a spare bedroom about 10'x12' full of equipment with a path from he door to his station.
posted by jdfan at 2:25 AM on October 8, 2009
Has the internet dealt a blow to shortwave radio?
Private aircraft on long flights, and apparently boat trips as well, sometimes use email over HF radio (scroll down a bit) to keep in touch.
posted by exogenous at 5:20 AM on October 8, 2009
Private aircraft on long flights, and apparently boat trips as well, sometimes use email over HF radio (scroll down a bit) to keep in touch.
posted by exogenous at 5:20 AM on October 8, 2009
Is ham radio still around to the level that someone could get started out on it these days? And if so, are there any good online guides or books for people who want a good guide for beginning? How much would all the equipment set you back, assuming I went for stuff on eBay?
I'm mostly just curious at this point, but the MeFi thread on canning gave me a new hobby, so I figure I may as well consider giving this one a shot, as well.
posted by mccarty.tim at 5:37 AM on October 8, 2009
I'm mostly just curious at this point, but the MeFi thread on canning gave me a new hobby, so I figure I may as well consider giving this one a shot, as well.
posted by mccarty.tim at 5:37 AM on October 8, 2009
DXpeditions send hams to remote geographical locations
For an overview of hundreds of DXpedition QSL cards, check out the NCDXF slide show of DXpeditions they have supported. Another major supporter of DXpeditions is the YASME Foundation started by Lloyd and Iris Colvin, probably the only husband and wife ham team that went on expeditions to more than 100 countries and exchanged cards confirming their radio contacts with amateurs in more than 100 other countries from each of them. An extraordinary ham radio achievement.
Has the internet dealt a blow to shortwave radio?
The BBC World Service may serve a lot of podcasts these days, but they still broadcast 24/7 in many languages. They are a major source of western news in the Middle East and throughout Africa.
I still listen to the BBC World Service news on shortwave every morning with breakfast when I am camping away from civilization.
posted by Geo at 5:37 AM on October 8, 2009
For an overview of hundreds of DXpedition QSL cards, check out the NCDXF slide show of DXpeditions they have supported. Another major supporter of DXpeditions is the YASME Foundation started by Lloyd and Iris Colvin, probably the only husband and wife ham team that went on expeditions to more than 100 countries and exchanged cards confirming their radio contacts with amateurs in more than 100 other countries from each of them. An extraordinary ham radio achievement.
Has the internet dealt a blow to shortwave radio?
The BBC World Service may serve a lot of podcasts these days, but they still broadcast 24/7 in many languages. They are a major source of western news in the Middle East and throughout Africa.
I still listen to the BBC World Service news on shortwave every morning with breakfast when I am camping away from civilization.
posted by Geo at 5:37 AM on October 8, 2009
mccarty.tim: Is ham radio still around to the level that someone could get started out on it these days? And if so, are there any good online guides or books for people who want a good guide for beginning? How much would all the equipment set you back, assuming I went for stuff on eBay?
Ham radio still very much exists, though the average age is probably over 50 and rising. But new hams get licensed every day, so sure, you can start now.
Here are some resources on line:
Getting started with ham radio
American Radio Relay League, the all-singing, all-dancing organization for US-based hams.
If you know nothing about Amateur Radio, you should probably absorb these wp articles:
Amateur radio
ARRL
Ham radio is not one thing. Note the sidebar/links in the wp Amateur Radio article. Hams combine their radio operators license status and knowledge with other technologies and activities of interest. DXing we've discussed, but there's also:
Fox hunting and orienteering
Emergency communication and public service
Television, radio fascimile, and other exotic modes
Digital data communcation ('packet radio')
Satelite communication
Low power communication
Home-brew
Antenna experimentation
Vintage radio
Pure capitalism (swapfests)
The answer to how much will it cost depends on what you actually want to do. Moonbounce can be done more cheaply than in the 1970s but it's still out of site expensive.
If it's getting on the shortwave for DXing and chatting with nerds in other countries that interests you, you can get used equipment for a song that'll allow you to reach anywhere in the world (with luck and a tailwind). Here are a few from ebay:
o Drake (US made, from the 1960s through the 1980s)
o Icom
o Kenwood
But your local ham group is probably awash in good used equipment that isn't really for sale as such but which you could borrow or buy at a friendly discount for much less than these.
Be advised that ham radio is the amateur radio service and all three words apply. There are a ton of things you are not allowed to do, like benefit financially, advertise, advocate for a political candidate/cause, broadcast, use the wrong mode or frequency, etc. Hams mostly talk about technology, weather, family, other hobbies, etc.
You are signing up for a highly regulated government license that exists in recognition of its "value as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications", "contribution to the advancement of the radio art", "reservoir of trained operators and technicians", and "unique ability to enhance international goodwill".
73
posted by Herodios at 7:01 AM on October 8, 2009
Ham radio still very much exists, though the average age is probably over 50 and rising. But new hams get licensed every day, so sure, you can start now.
Here are some resources on line:
Getting started with ham radio
American Radio Relay League, the all-singing, all-dancing organization for US-based hams.
If you know nothing about Amateur Radio, you should probably absorb these wp articles:
Amateur radio
ARRL
Ham radio is not one thing. Note the sidebar/links in the wp Amateur Radio article. Hams combine their radio operators license status and knowledge with other technologies and activities of interest. DXing we've discussed, but there's also:
Fox hunting and orienteering
Emergency communication and public service
Television, radio fascimile, and other exotic modes
Digital data communcation ('packet radio')
Satelite communication
Low power communication
Home-brew
Antenna experimentation
Vintage radio
Pure capitalism (swapfests)
The answer to how much will it cost depends on what you actually want to do. Moonbounce can be done more cheaply than in the 1970s but it's still out of site expensive.
If it's getting on the shortwave for DXing and chatting with nerds in other countries that interests you, you can get used equipment for a song that'll allow you to reach anywhere in the world (with luck and a tailwind). Here are a few from ebay:
o Drake (US made, from the 1960s through the 1980s)
o Icom
o Kenwood
But your local ham group is probably awash in good used equipment that isn't really for sale as such but which you could borrow or buy at a friendly discount for much less than these.
Be advised that ham radio is the amateur radio service and all three words apply. There are a ton of things you are not allowed to do, like benefit financially, advertise, advocate for a political candidate/cause, broadcast, use the wrong mode or frequency, etc. Hams mostly talk about technology, weather, family, other hobbies, etc.
You are signing up for a highly regulated government license that exists in recognition of its "value as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications", "contribution to the advancement of the radio art", "reservoir of trained operators and technicians", and "unique ability to enhance international goodwill".
73
posted by Herodios at 7:01 AM on October 8, 2009
While not quite QSL cards, waterfall displays are another beautiful and mesmerizing aspect of the hobby. Software defined radio (SDR) is insanely cool and in its infancy. You can even listen to it over the net.
AE7 mumble mumble clear.
posted by okbye at 8:04 AM on October 8, 2009
AE7 mumble mumble clear.
posted by okbye at 8:04 AM on October 8, 2009
I spent my adolescence hunkered over a Hallicrafters S-120 almost every night, listening to the BBC, etc., but especially Radio Moscow, forbidden fruit in the early 60s. I was actually on their mailing list for years, quite suspicious behavior in suburbia at that time. I didn't have a baseball card collection like the other kids, but I did have a great QSL collection. I can't claim my mother threw it out when I went off to school, but I have no idea what happened to it.
posted by words1 at 9:09 AM on October 8, 2009
posted by words1 at 9:09 AM on October 8, 2009
Sudden gust of nostalgia. My dad was a CB hobbyist. I remember going to "CB Jamborees" as a kid, and a wall filled with these cards. If I haven't killed or corrupted the brain cells that hold that memory, I think our call sign was KKA 2264.
posted by cairnish at 10:43 AM on October 8, 2009
posted by cairnish at 10:43 AM on October 8, 2009
Hello--I'm the collector/creator of the site linked here. Thanks for the link and the Metafilter community interest. For a more tongue-in-cheek curated experience, visit the regular, non-Flickr version of the site at http://myQSL.org.
For the record, my collection focuses on CB radio QSL cards, not ham or shortwave or numbers stations. Although I'm happy if it spurs discussion of those other kinds.
I'm trying to compile an oral history of the 1960s-70s CB QSL craze, and by extension CB radio more generally, so if any of you have first- or second-hand knowledge of the culture, I would love to hear from you. Email info@myQSL.org.
posted by myQSL at 2:25 PM on October 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
For the record, my collection focuses on CB radio QSL cards, not ham or shortwave or numbers stations. Although I'm happy if it spurs discussion of those other kinds.
I'm trying to compile an oral history of the 1960s-70s CB QSL craze, and by extension CB radio more generally, so if any of you have first- or second-hand knowledge of the culture, I would love to hear from you. Email info@myQSL.org.
posted by myQSL at 2:25 PM on October 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
Oh, hey, hiyya mmc / myQSL. Thanks for the link to your full site. If I'd found it, I definitely would have linked it in the original post. Thanks for putting such a great collection on line!
posted by dersins at 2:38 PM on October 8, 2009
posted by dersins at 2:38 PM on October 8, 2009
Kalthare: "…broadband Internet over power line initiatives tend to emit powerful, broad-spectrum EM noise that drowns out shortwave communications over a depressingly large area, according to what I've read."
The ARRL (which is sort of like the NRA for amateur radio operators; it does lobbying, principally to the FCC, in addition to all of its more practical functions) has been doing a very good job keeping shitty BPL technologies in check. It should be pointed out that not all BPL systems are inherently bad—some have the amateur and other HF radio bands "notched" out, and were designed with input from the ARRL and other band users. But there are a few that just trampled over everyone else's spectrum and gave the technology a really bad name, and some utilities (who had made big investments in these shoddy systems) who were real dicks about the whole thing, necessitating a lot of time spent on lawyers to keep it from becoming the Death Of Radio.
I can happily report, however, that HF is still alive and well. (Actually, with the sunspot cycle starting to turn, it's actually getting better than it has been at any time in the past few years.)
mccarty.tim: "Is ham radio still around to the level that someone could get started out on it these days? And if so, are there any good online guides or books for people who want a good guide for beginning? How much would all the equipment set you back, assuming I went for stuff on eBay?"
Yes, yes, and not very much. Getting into ham radio is probably easier today than it has been at any time in the past. Although they had to do it pretty much over the dead bodies of some of the old guard, the Morse Code requirement has been dropped from all the license exams, and that was the toughest (IMO) requirement that really scared people away. So now the exams are just theory, operating practice and procedure, and RF safety.
The best way to get involved is probably to join or just show up at a local club. Chances are you'll be the youngest person in the room (ham radio, like many hobbies, tends to be heavy on retired people with a lot of free time and this is doubly so with clubs, but don't let it scare you off) but you'll likely find someone willing to loan you study materials and equipment so you can start listening. The ARRL publishes an introductory book called the "ARRL Ham Radio License Manual" which basically covers everything you need to know to pass the Technician exam. (There are also flash cards and online study programs but I think they're overkill, the test really isn't that hard, and there are online tools that do the same thing.)
The questions on the license tests are taken from a relatively small pool, so it's pretty easy to feel prepared (you can go through the entire pool of questions in an evening, if you want to make 100% sure you'll pass).
There are a ton of sub-specialties within amateur radio; it's not a monolithic hobby by any means. I know people who focus on contests, other people who are into microwave, people who run repeaters or whole repeater networks, others who are really into the public safety / disaster response role, and then some people who are really pushing the envelope with stuff like software-defined radio and DSP programming. I point this out in part just because it's cool, but also because it can require a bit of searching (and hanging out with different groups of people) before you find what aspects of it are most interesting to you.
On the topic of numbers stations, there have been reports that the couple recently arrested in DC for spying on behalf of Cuba received their instructions via shortwave radio, probably from a numbers station. So they are definitely not dead... (Note that article confuses shortwave radio listening with amateur radio broadcasting, which is dumb because the alleged spies didn't have transmitters. So ignore that part.)
posted by Kadin2048 at 3:05 PM on October 8, 2009
The ARRL (which is sort of like the NRA for amateur radio operators; it does lobbying, principally to the FCC, in addition to all of its more practical functions) has been doing a very good job keeping shitty BPL technologies in check. It should be pointed out that not all BPL systems are inherently bad—some have the amateur and other HF radio bands "notched" out, and were designed with input from the ARRL and other band users. But there are a few that just trampled over everyone else's spectrum and gave the technology a really bad name, and some utilities (who had made big investments in these shoddy systems) who were real dicks about the whole thing, necessitating a lot of time spent on lawyers to keep it from becoming the Death Of Radio.
I can happily report, however, that HF is still alive and well. (Actually, with the sunspot cycle starting to turn, it's actually getting better than it has been at any time in the past few years.)
mccarty.tim: "Is ham radio still around to the level that someone could get started out on it these days? And if so, are there any good online guides or books for people who want a good guide for beginning? How much would all the equipment set you back, assuming I went for stuff on eBay?"
Yes, yes, and not very much. Getting into ham radio is probably easier today than it has been at any time in the past. Although they had to do it pretty much over the dead bodies of some of the old guard, the Morse Code requirement has been dropped from all the license exams, and that was the toughest (IMO) requirement that really scared people away. So now the exams are just theory, operating practice and procedure, and RF safety.
The best way to get involved is probably to join or just show up at a local club. Chances are you'll be the youngest person in the room (ham radio, like many hobbies, tends to be heavy on retired people with a lot of free time and this is doubly so with clubs, but don't let it scare you off) but you'll likely find someone willing to loan you study materials and equipment so you can start listening. The ARRL publishes an introductory book called the "ARRL Ham Radio License Manual" which basically covers everything you need to know to pass the Technician exam. (There are also flash cards and online study programs but I think they're overkill, the test really isn't that hard, and there are online tools that do the same thing.)
The questions on the license tests are taken from a relatively small pool, so it's pretty easy to feel prepared (you can go through the entire pool of questions in an evening, if you want to make 100% sure you'll pass).
There are a ton of sub-specialties within amateur radio; it's not a monolithic hobby by any means. I know people who focus on contests, other people who are into microwave, people who run repeaters or whole repeater networks, others who are really into the public safety / disaster response role, and then some people who are really pushing the envelope with stuff like software-defined radio and DSP programming. I point this out in part just because it's cool, but also because it can require a bit of searching (and hanging out with different groups of people) before you find what aspects of it are most interesting to you.
On the topic of numbers stations, there have been reports that the couple recently arrested in DC for spying on behalf of Cuba received their instructions via shortwave radio, probably from a numbers station. So they are definitely not dead... (Note that article confuses shortwave radio listening with amateur radio broadcasting, which is dumb because the alleged spies didn't have transmitters. So ignore that part.)
posted by Kadin2048 at 3:05 PM on October 8, 2009
I loved shortwave radio as a kid, it's part of why I became a ham. Right now I don't have a rig set up, but I do connect to repeaters using EchoLink.
I wish I could find the QSL cards from all the stations I listened to as a kid. I also liked "DXing" TV and FM stations.
"73s and 88s where applicable," as a guy on a 2-meter ragchew net used to say.
posted by artsygeek at 3:53 PM on October 8, 2009
I wish I could find the QSL cards from all the stations I listened to as a kid. I also liked "DXing" TV and FM stations.
"73s and 88s where applicable," as a guy on a 2-meter ragchew net used to say.
posted by artsygeek at 3:53 PM on October 8, 2009
I also liked "DXing" TV and FM stations.
Artsygeek, another friend of a friend specializes in DXing ultra low power visitor information stations at state parks and such. Every once in a while the band will open up and he'll pick up traffic and parking info from Six Flags over Podunk, MO or or fire safety info from Remote National Forest, CO -- things like that. He's logged hundreds of these over the years. That's getting into real anorak territory, though.
posted by Herodios at 4:26 PM on October 8, 2009
Artsygeek, another friend of a friend specializes in DXing ultra low power visitor information stations at state parks and such. Every once in a while the band will open up and he'll pick up traffic and parking info from Six Flags over Podunk, MO or or fire safety info from Remote National Forest, CO -- things like that. He's logged hundreds of these over the years. That's getting into real anorak territory, though.
posted by Herodios at 4:26 PM on October 8, 2009
For those like us who are interested in alternate folk-art/culture, this collection of custom postcards is utterly absolutely amazing. Spent hours paging thru last night. Thank you myQSL!
posted by ovvl at 4:14 PM on October 9, 2009
posted by ovvl at 4:14 PM on October 9, 2009
mccarty.tim: diana eng has been posting to makezine about radio geekery.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:10 PM on October 9, 2009
posted by rmd1023 at 6:10 PM on October 9, 2009
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posted by dersins at 3:20 PM on October 7, 2009