BILLY-YC6NE

South Africa can send airmail for less than 1 USD. Most countries in Europe can’t do that. We can barely do that in the states. PayPal charges 3.9% + .30 for international transactions, which equates to about 50¢ for $5. There may be exchange fees, but nothing to justify charging $5 for a card.

No, ARRL and RSGB IOTA can not force anything on him, nor any other person or group. But those award programs do have every right to set rules for participating in their programs, and they have every right to disqualify any participant or any operation from their awards. RSGB IOTA did just that last October, when they disqualified C91VM. This operation was demanding $5 for their card. The IOTA committee later agreed to accept their card when this operation dropped that demand. As individuals, we have every right to be concerned about unreasonable requests to mail us a card. By giving in to these requests, what’s to stop some people or groups from requesting (actually demanding) more.

If it’s worth $5 to you for his card, then fine. I have nothing against donations to defray expenses, but that should be voluntary. In this case, it’s either donate, or you don’t get a card. DXpeditions solely for the purpose of operating radio can be expensive. Going some place for work purposes is not in that category.

73, Hal K4HB

It’s quite simple – if you don’t like what Pierre is asking for, don’t send him a QSL request. It was his choice to operate from ZS8, and his decision about what smount reasonably covers his expenses in bring you the QSO and QSL. Neither you, nor ARRL or IOTA have any business trying to force anything on him. If you don’t like it, wait for someone else to activate ZS8.

I really amazes me how some “DXers” thing they have some god-given right to be worked and QSLed at their choosing.

~Iain / N6ML

PS. I have not yet worked ZS8. If I get lucky enough to work Pierre, I’ll make a decision on whether the QSL is worth $5 to me. I suspect it will be.

Donations are pouring in because you did something right? The only thing you did right in this regard was to appear at a location that’s in demand on the DXCC list. There’s people who will pay whatever it takes to get a card, and apparently you know it. As Dragan also stated, the ARRL and IOTA should respond and take action.

Your activity and information about costs to send from South Africa has been added to this page. http://www.k4hb.com/scheme.html

73, Hal K4HB

What you are doing in regard to your Qsl policy is WRONG, period. You are demanding $5 for a Qsl card and you are not giving us other alternatives/routes but the “5 bucks” one. I myself have donated money to almost every dxpedition in the last 2-3 years… TX3A, K4M, K5D, T32, P29 just to name few… but they NEVER demanded my 5 or 10 dollars, it was all done on a voluntary/good will basis. They gave me an option, if I wanted to get my Qsl faster $3-$5 dollars donation, if I still wanted my Qsl direct but with a little delay $2, or if I wanted my Qsl via buro. You must be either relatively new to the HAM radio or completely ignorant when you don’t make difference between donation or demand. Your Qsl policy is completely against the radio HAM spirit rules and instead of giving me lesons here please login to your QRZ.com page and make the neccessary corrections.
If you were asking not demanding donations I would probably be the one among many others to send you $5, if I worked you of course.

73 Dragan K0AP, Z32XX

I hope at least IOTA committee takes an action and does not approve this activation until the guy changes his mind. Just like in the case of C91VM IOTA activations last year. The DX community must put behaviors like this to an end.

73 Dragan K0AP, Z32XX

Interesting, I wont confirm it though since they are trying to extort people out of $5 bucks, they can keep the card.

Good thing I dont care about chasing countries

Enjoy radio, 73 !

Matt – KQ7W

“We arrived on Marion Island on Thursday late afternoon. Transfer was by a Kamov helicopter (a Russian moster!) and a Bell 212. Friday 9 April was hell. We had very heavy seas and I was a sick as a dog! Eventually got some “mutti” from the ship’s doctor. We blew one of the ship’s two motors on Saterday morning (10th), making the voyage a day longer, but we arrived safely. The food on board was 5 star, I guess I picked up another 5 or 10 kg. What the hell, I have 13 months to loose it again.

The choppers were busy transfering people and freight on Thursday and Friday. Everyone is now on Marion Island. The other chopper is a Bell 212, the bigger brother of the famous Huey chopper made famous in Vietnam. The next few days will be busy with unpacking our containers, installing a new HF radio system and doing maintenance at the huts. We still need to pump 167000 liters of diesel from the ship into the tanks required to run the generators. If all goes according to plan, the ship leaves for Cape Town mid-May.

I will update you all as I go along. If you get no answer within a day or so, then I will return it once I get from the field.

Cheers from Marion Island…..By the way, themp was a cool 4.8 degC
today……Brrrrr. Dis bleddie KOUD hier!!!!”

LINK

Where are the equipments of ZS8T Petrus. Probably not very used, he was not active…

ICOM America donated an IC7000
Spiderbeam donated a 5 band HD yagi
NCDXF donated funds to obtain an Ameritron AL80 Amplifier, with a SteppIR Vertical.
Tigertronics donated a Signalink USB digital interface