South Cook Islands E51A - E51MMM - E51NNN: Nov 8, 2007

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Top Band Operations - JA

Yosi, JA3AAW, provided the following information about 160m meter operation in JA:

JA stations can transmit only 1810 - 1825 kHz.

There is QRM on the following frequencies in most JA areas:
1818, 1820, 1827, 1832, and 1836 kHz. We will try to avoid transmitting on any of these frequencies.

73, George K5KG / E51MMM
QSY to E51 in 3 days and counting!

DOs and DONTs of QSLing

Having just completed the answering of 1300+ cards that have been received, I offer the following DOs and DONTs of QSLing:

DO use envelopes with peel and stick flaps. They speed up sealing of envelopes.

DO put your call sign in bold, large print on the same side as the QSO information.

DO enclose enough postage or an IRC to cover the cost of return postage. IF this isn't possible, send the card anyway with a self addressed envelope.

DO avoid extraneous enclosures. Personal notes, canceled stamps, etc. should be avoided unless critical. Sometimes they are nice, but slow down the process.

DO NOT enclose a small return address label instead of an envelope.

DO NOT use envelopes without glue. They have to be taped shut, and that is a real pain!

DO NOT seal envelopes so tightly that they can't be quickly opened with a letter opener.

DO NOT mix cards to or from different call signs. They really slow down the processing of cards.

DO NOT fold or "hide" IRCs or Green Stamps so intricately that they are hard to unfold when opening.

QSLs

There is no QSL bureau in the Cook Islands. All QSLs must go to K5KG, either directly with an s.a.s.e. or via the W5 QSL Bureau, attn K5KG.

Direct QSL requests must be sent to:

George Wagner, K5KG
5113 Higel Avenue
Sarasota, Florida 34242 USA

The QSLs have been designed and printed. We began the process of answering 1300+ QSLs beginning in late January 2008. As of Feb 4th, '08, nearly all cards have been answered. We continue to receive 6 to 10 cards daily by direct mail. We have not yet received any QSL requests via the W5 QSL bureau.

73, George