Art, > > I have no access to a buro so you will need to send direct...... as > > postage costs are getting worse you will require 2 ircs or $4usd or > > $4euro for postage for the package. Address is below. > > That's what I have lately got in reply to my e-mail request for buro > QSL. Since there is 2 USD step, as I see, who will be the first one > requesting 6 dollars or 6 Euros for a confirmation? Is the postage in > Australia THAT expensive? And does VK-buro work THAT bad?
Whoever sent you this should be reported to ARRL as being "unsportsman- like." Looking at the Australian Post Office web site reveals that the tariff for international air mail (letter to 50 g) to most of the world is 1.80$ (AUD). Looking at www.oanda.com, the current conversion rate between the USD and AUD is 1.336 ... thus the cost is about $1.35 US to mail three or four cards from Australia to anyplace in the world (one IRC or two GS should be sufficient). As to the bureau ... in much of the world, those who are not members of the national society do not have access to the bureau. Quite frankly, as slow as it may be, every QSL manager should still be required to be a member of his/her national society and respond to bureau cards (even if it takes a couple years) ... particularly with demands like this! > Conclusion: LoTW rules. Absolutely! Of course, there are the managers/expeditions that are not putting QSOs on LotW until they receive the card (even though their logs have been available for the on-line searches since day one! That also runs counter to the spirit of LotW. 73, ... Joe, W4TV (ex K4IK) Subscribe/unsubscribe, feedback, FAQ, problems http://njdxa.org/dx-chat To post a message, DX related items only, dx-chat@njdxa.org This is the DX-CHAT reflector sponsored by the NJDXA http://njdxa.org
