On 8/22/2026 7:33 PM, [email protected] wrote:
The good news is that someone that works you from the US doesn't need to send their qsl via the ARRL outgoing qsl bureau, they can simply mail it via the USPS as before but I suspect that most people are still not aware that the USPS has resumed mail service to Ukraine.
The even better news is that thanks to LOTW, we no longer need to blow money and time on filling out and mailing cards that could be better used building our stations (or our living expenses). I won't send a paper card for a QSO that isn't confirmed in LOTW.
The Bureau has been broken for years, thanks to, among other things, the awards to JA amateurs for the shear NUMBER of paper cards they submit. When I work JAs in contests on multiple bands, I used to get a paper card for each QSO, and it took more than two years to reach me, because they so badly overloaded the bureau system. About ten years ago, posted on my QRZ page that I no longer responded to JA cards.
73, Jim K9YC _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
