My Grandfather was an avid CB (Citizens Band) Radio enthusiast in the 80s and 90s. After he passed away, we went through his collection of QSL cards. When CB radio operators made contact with each other (they could be anywhere in the world), they would send each other a "QSL" Card - a written record of a two-way radio communication.
"QSL" is a type of Q Code used in radio transmission. It can be both question and answer:
QSL? "Are you receiving me?"
QSL. "Yes, I am receiving you."
The cards are generally in postcard form. Often home made and incorporating interesting art styles, they're full of character and personality. Me and publisher Dan Bernard found them fascinating, so we compiled them into a book. A small sample of the cards is online at https://bandit010.com
There were hundreds of cards in my Grandad's collection, from all over the world. From the Faroe Islands to Western Australia, it's incredible to think that from a small garage in Hampshire he was able to communicate with people literally across the globe using only radio waves.
The speed and ease at which we communicate these days can make this seem trivial, but back then I can imagine it was thrilling to search, eventually find a weak signal from thousands of miles away, and really work to make contact with the operator on the other end.
Despite there being a thousand ways to instantly dispatch video to each other these days, there is still a large CB radio community exchanging QSL cards. The largest CB Facebook group I found has over 165,000 members.
My Grandad's callsign was Bandit 010, hence the book is titled:
Bandit 010 - The artwork of CB Radio
https://bandit010.com
10-7 (signing off)
Purchase the Art of CB Radio
"QSL" is a type of Q Code used in radio transmission. It can be both question and answer:
QSL? "Are you receiving me?"
QSL. "Yes, I am receiving you."
The cards are generally in postcard form. Often home made and incorporating interesting art styles, they're full of character and personality. Me and publisher Dan Bernard found them fascinating, so we compiled them into a book. A small sample of the cards is online at https://bandit010.com
There were hundreds of cards in my Grandad's collection, from all over the world. From the Faroe Islands to Western Australia, it's incredible to think that from a small garage in Hampshire he was able to communicate with people literally across the globe using only radio waves.
The speed and ease at which we communicate these days can make this seem trivial, but back then I can imagine it was thrilling to search, eventually find a weak signal from thousands of miles away, and really work to make contact with the operator on the other end.
Despite there being a thousand ways to instantly dispatch video to each other these days, there is still a large CB radio community exchanging QSL cards. The largest CB Facebook group I found has over 165,000 members.
My Grandad's callsign was Bandit 010, hence the book is titled:
Bandit 010 - The artwork of CB Radio
https://bandit010.com
10-7 (signing off)
Purchase the Art of CB Radio
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