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Spring 2004 Issue |
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As self-appointed QSL manager to ET, The SETI League will issue this card for confirmed reception of any electromagnetic emission emanating from beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. Extra-Terrestrial QSL cards are available for the detection of signals in a variety of categories: natural, manmade, and some day, maybe even alien. |
Postcards from Beyond
If you are a regular reader of this column, perhaps by now I’ve convinced you to join the search for the ultimate DX. Then again, perhaps not. Quite a few of you have said to me, “It doesn’t matter if I work Alpha Centauri or not. Those guys never QSL.” Some of my readers are new to ham radio and may be wondering, “What’s a QSL?” Since early in the last century, amateur radio operators have observed a tradition of exchanging postal cards to commemorate their on-the-air contacts. So-called QSL cards (named for the International Morse Code signal for “confirmation”) are used as proof of successful radio contact with stations, some of which are in rare and distant locations. Many operators who mount major DXpeditions or contest efforts employ the services of a QSL Manager to distribute their much sought-after cards. Now, as the world’s radio hams prepare for the eventual reception of signals from civilizations far out in space, the question arises as to how those succeeding at the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) will ever receive a QSL card.
To my knowledge, no ham has yet submitted to
the DXCC administrators a card verifying contact with an alien world.
Furthermore, we hams in The SETI League have decided that has to change,
which is why we have just stepped up to the plate and volunteered our
services as QSL Manager to ET (Extra-Terrestrial). To encourage amateur
participation in the growing fields of radio astronomy and SETI, we are
offering special cards to commemorate confirmed reception of a variety of
extra-terrestrial signals—manmade, natural, and even alien. Any SETI enthusiast documenting radio reception of an artificial satellite, manned or unmanned space probe, natural astrophysical phenomenon, or Earth transmission bounced off the moon or another planet is eligible to apply for a QSL card from The SETI League, Inc. The cards, bearing our club callsign, W2ETI, indicate the nature of the signal being confirmed. Reception must have been accomplished with equipment normally used for, or capable of being used for, radio astronomy. In addition, the signal must be received directly from a source in space, not via relay or retransmission (for example, simply watching satellite TV, placing a telephone call that is being routed through a satellite, or determining your location with a hand-held GPS receiver will not count for a QSL card). Even so, many amateurs do indeed have the capability to directly receive qualifying signals. I expect we’ll be sending out many such cards.
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