                           HOW TO SEND FOR QSL CARDS

QSL cards are postcards, often colorfully printed, sent out by short wave 
stations verifying reception of their signal.  A QSL card is a sort of "thank 
you" sent by the station to a listener for giving information about how 
well the signal is being received, and for showing interest in the programs. 
Many SWL's (Short Wave Listeners) collect them in albums.

To request a QSL card from a station, identify the program listened to, 
giving a few details of its content for verification, the time (in UTC) and 
its frequency. Also include a SINPO report (see below). There are many books 
available listing the addresses of international short wave stations, such 
PASSPORT TO WORLD BAND RADIO and WORLD RADIO TV HANDBOOK (see BIBLIO.TXT), 
and many times the stations themselves broadcast their addresses. Addresses 
of a few of the better known stations are given at the end of this file. 
Sending an International Reply Coupon (IRC) with your request will usually 
expedite a reply and is a courtesy always appreciated by the staff of an 
underfunded radio station in a poorer country. Be patient. It may take 
months to get your QSL cards. Some stations may not even respond to your 
requests, but many will. 

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                                   UTC

The international broadcasting community keeps time by a universally 
accepted standard system, independent of local time zones. It was once 
called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), but has since been renamed Universal 
Coordinated Time (UTC). The initials are from the French version of same, 
Universel Temps Coordin. 

To calculate UTC, add 5 hours to EST. Add one extra hour for each additonal 
time zome westward (for example, 6 hrs. for CST, etc.). Subtract one hour if 
you are using Daylight Savings time. 

=============================================================================

                               THE "SINPO" SYSTEM


The SINPO system is the internationally accepted method of making reception 
reports when writing in for QSL cards.  SINPO is, of course, an acronym.

S = Signal strength
I = Interference level
N = Noise level
P = Propagation [how often the received signal oscillates]
O = Overall sound quality

For each of the above categories, report signal quality rated from 1 to 5 as 
follows.

5 = excellent
4 = very good
3 = acceptable
2 = poor
1 = terrible

The category 'O', or overall sound quality is a summary of the other four, 
but the rating for it may not exceed the lowest of the 'I' and 'N' category 
ratings.  For example, if S=5, I=3, N=2, P=5, then O may not be greater than 
2.


The information contained in SINPO reports from listeners helps broadcast 
engineers at the station determine how well the signal is received in the 
intended listening area. They can then decide whether to change broadcast 
times, increase or decrease signal strength or modulation, etc. 

=========================================================================

   MAILING ADDRESSES OF SELECTED INTERNATIONAL SHORTWAVE STATIONS

    [Write to them for QSL cards and English Language schedules]


BBC World Service
Bush House
London WC2B 4PH
England

Deutsche Welle
Raderberggrtel 50
P.O. Box 10 04 44
D-5000 Kln 1
Germany

Radio Austria International
A-1136 Vienna
Austria

Radio Canada International
P.O. Box 6000
Montreal, Canada H3C 3A8

Radio France Internationale (RFI)
B.P. 9516
F-75016
Paris
France

Radio Japan
Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK)
2-2-1 Jinnan
Shibuya-ku
Tokyo
Japan

Radio Nederland
English Section                       
PO Box 222
Hilversum, Netherlands 1200JG

Radio Moscow
Moscow, Russia

Radio Nacional de Espaa (Spanish National Radio)
Casa de la Radio
Prado del Rey
28023 Madrid
Spain

Swiss Radio International
P.O. Box CH-3000
Berne 15, Switzerland

Voice of America 
330 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20547

Voice of Free China (Taiwan)
P.O. Box 24-38
Taipei
Taiwan, Republic of China
