VK5 WIA QSL Bureau News – April 2021

6+ kg of cards sorted waiting distribution

AREG is pleased to announce that the next load of cards has arrived from the WIA National Inwards QSL bureau and is in the process of being sorted. Over 6 kg of cards are waiting sorting in the bureau at this time.

Over the next 2-3 months opportunities to collect cards will be made available at the North East Radio Club Buy’N’Sell in Adelaide on Saturday April 17th, as well as at the AREG General Meeting Friday June 18th.

WIA members will have their cards posted to them by the end of June as their yearly card mail-out. Should you want your cards sooner, please email: vk5qslbureau@areg.org.au and we can see what arrangements can be made.

Members of affiliated clubs will start to receive their cards in early July through their local radio club. Non members will need to contact Grant VK5GR at the VK5 inwards QSL Bureau and make arrangements to send a self addressed and stamped envelope or mail bag (check beforehand as some people have LOTS of cards waiting).

Cards will be stored for 12 months before being disposed of so if you are not a member of the WIA or an affiliated club, you need to make arrangements to either collect in person or send a mailbag for return postage.

WIA VK5 QSL Bureau Sort underway for 2020

The yearly WIA VK5 QSL Bureau sort for 2020 is now underway. Considering the reduced opportunities to meet in person, this sort will be followed by the once a year mail-out to WIA members of their cards (as included in your WIA membership). It is hoped to send all current VK5 WIA members your QSL cards in the next 4 weeks.

Non-members who are members of a WIA affiliated club should make sure their details have been passed to the VK5 QSL Bureau Manager, Grant VK5GR, via your club secretary so that your cards can be included in the mailing to your club.

If you are not a member of the WIA or an affiliated club, but still want to receive your cards, please email vk5qslbureau@areg.org.au to make suitable arrangements. Cards can be collected in person by arrangement, or can be mailed if a self addressed pre-paid satchel is provided. If you wish to inquire as to whether you have cards waiting you can also contact us at the above address.

Operation of the VK5 WIA Inwards QSL Bureau is carried out on behalf of the WIA by the Amateur Radio Experimenters Group Inc!

If you wish to send outbound cards via the WIA bureau and are a member of the WIA please use the national Outwards bureau address:

WIA Outwards QSL Bureau
PO Box 66
Boolaroo NSW 2284

WIA VK5 Inwards QSL Bureau – New Operational Details Announced!

The Amateur Radio Experimenters Group is wia-logo-image_1_hirespleased to announce that it has finalized the new arrangements for the WIA VK5 inwards QSL bureau. Grant VK5GR is the current volunteer VK5 bureau manager from AREG. The club will be following the existing WIA QSL policy and will continue to encourage all amateurs that use the QSL Bureau to join the WIA.

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Specifically, the arrangements will be:

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  • All outgoing WIA member QSL cards are to be sent to the national outgoing QSL address (the AREG will not be handling outbound cards):
    WIA Outwards QSL Bureau
    P.O. Box 66
    Boolaroo
    NSW 2284

Incoming QSL Cards to the VK5 Bureau

  • Incoming cards for WIA members are to be sent to the national incoming QSL address (not the AREG PO Box as previously advised by the WIA)
    National Inwards QSL Bureau
    P.O. Box 2040
    Bayswater Vic
    3153 Australia

Information for VK5 WIA Members

  • VK5 WIA members will continue to receive cards in the mail once a year to their registered WIA membership address. To update this address, please contact the WIA National Office
  • VK5 WIA members can nominate an affiliated WIA club to receive their cards for distribution on their behalf. This will likely increase the frequency that cards will be distributed.
  • VK5 WIA members can also arrange an off cycle collection of their cards at an AREG club meeting by prior arrangement (please give at least two to three weeks notice so that we can ensure that your cards are at the meeting for collection). Email vk5bureau@wia.org.au if you wish to pick up your cards at an AREG meeting this way

Information for WIA Affiliated Club members

If you are not a WIA member but you are a member of an affiliated WIA club in VK5, you can still receive your QSL cards via your club secretary.

The individual club secretaries are responsible for keeping the VK5 QSL Bureau manager up to date with your club membership status. Every time a club mail out is planned, the bureau manager will check with the secretary for their latest membership lists.

Information for non-members

Non members of the WIA or an affiliated club who have QSL cards arrive here at the bureau need to make sure they are collected at least once per year, or they will be destroyed. Once a year, cards will be taken to an AREG meeting in Adelaide for non-members to visit and collect them. Cards will also be made available at the yearly AHARS Buy’n’Sell event.

If non members wish to have their cards posted to them, they must forward a self addressed pre-paid 5kg mailing satchel or if there are less than 20 cards in the bureau, they must send a self addressed heavy letter stamped ($3.30 at time of writing)  envelope. No other form of non-member collection is accepted by the VK5 bureau. Email the bureau manager first to confirm the volume of cards to be collected.

Ideally, non-members are encouraged to become members of the WIA to help cover the cost of their incoming use of the QSL bureau.

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Andrew VK5XFG, Sharon VK5FSAW, Gary VK5FGRY and Andy VK5AKH sorting cards with Chris VK5CP and Grant VK5GR

 

AREG to manage VK5 QSL Bureau

QSL cards come in to the VK5 QSL Manager from the WIA National QSL Bureau around every 3 months. Upon arrival, they require some sorting and then forwarding out to the various VK5 clubs. Stephan VK5RZ has been admirably performing this role for a number of years. He has, however, had to resign from the position due to commitments he has with study. AREG commends Stephan on the effort he has put into the bureau and wishes to express our appreciation for the work he has put into the role.

AREG Accepts the Challenge!

The members of AREG, many of whom have an active interest in HF DX operating and QSL cards, decided that this was a function that the club ought to take on as a service to the VK5 amateur radio community. As a result of a motion at the last AREG general meeting, AREG has indicated it’s willingness to accept the task to the WIA board.

Please note: as soon as the administrative tasks are completed to effect the transfer, new details for the bureau will be announced here and in all relevant amateur media. Until then, please hold off making inquiries as we are not yet in a position to respond.

AREG QSL Gallery

As VK5ARG itself gathers more cards, the club is maintaining a QSL gallery of cards it has received on it’s website for members to see the results of their  handywork! Why not go and check out the AREG QSL Gallery while you are here?