In May 2015, I was helping my parents clean out their attic. Among the detritus – old luggage, Christmas ornaments, and dust – my mother had me look through a plastic bin of papers, photographs, letters, and forms which she had received from her brother’s partner upon her brother’s death. In it, we found postcard-sized pieces of card stock which had dates on them from the 1920’s and 1930’s. Unsure as to what they were, we searched them on Google and discovered they were postcards which my grandfather had received from different amateur (ham) radio operators around the world.1 The postcards all had station numbers on them with dates, locations, band widths, receiver names, plus handwritten text, and oftentimes, decorative images representing their place of origin. These cards we found were entitled QSL cards.2

 

I discovered the custom in the ham radio world is to exchange postcards when contact is made with a ham radio operator with whom there had not been contact before. My grandfather’s collection contained cards from all 50 states plus 90 other countries and areas in the world. At first, we were interested in the cards for their monetary value. But then, I became interested in them as a scholar; I wanted to learn more about these ham operators who sent postcards to each other when it seems that the radio contact was the main goal. In addition, I was curious as to whether the tradition of exchanging the QSL cards was still in practice today.

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The text on the cards alone could share the technical information; the date/time, the frequency, and the transmitter used could all be exchanged between hams who had connected. Yet, the cards revealed that the hams often used two or more colors and added images, quotes, and in at least one instance from the collection, musical notes. My academic interest in this combination of text and design forms the basis for my research: What is the rhetorical meaning of these cards, and how do they assist in forming a community? Also, what is the significance and meaning of how the cards are designed with their text and image? This study will examine the history of the cards, the language used on the cards, and the visual design of the cards through a lens of social semiotics.

 

Asking these questions while applying the lens of social semiotics provides us with some possible answers: the meaning behind the cards “works” because of the combination of the three modes of communication of text, image, and color. The cards work, individually, to transmit technical information and they work collectively to become “wallpaper.”3 In addition, the cards ultimately work to strengthen the ham community.

           

Preliminary inquiry revealed that although some scholarly research exists on the rhetorical significance of “normal” postcard discourse, not much has been written outside of the ham radio community about ham radio communication and the resulting QSL postcards. Traditionally, the trend has been to look at QSL cards as strictly a communicative tool. However, Kristen Haring, in her book Ham Radio’s Technical Culture, refers to QSL cards as the “visual reality” of the “ethereal, fleeting, auditory conversations” held between hams (30). While Haring focuses on the importance of QSL cards as a confirmation of discourse for the ham community, my own work focuses on the rhetorical methods and value of that visual discourse. This essay provides a background of the ham radio and QSL card culture and shows, through academic research of postcards and social semiotics, a rhetorical interpretation behind the QSL cards.

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The application of rhetorical and semiotic theories about community, communication, and language show that QSL cards merit study in the world of rhetoric in addition to that of typical postcard discourse. The information that is presented on my grandfather’s cards, the community of ham radio and the communication that exists: visual, verbal, coded, and alpha-numeric, expresses a more precise and particular meaning than traditional postcards and their exchange.

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Although I used different scholars’ research to apply their theories to QSL cards, not all of fits perfectly. Jan-Ola Östman argues that postcards are a type of media discourse and are neither fully private nor fully public, and Bjarne Rogan claims that postcards are souvenirs and collectibles which exhibit a ritualistic communication style. Although their theories help to illuminate the rhetorical value of the QSL cards, the cards have their own scholarly value, and these and other scholars have long overlooked the significance of the QSL postcard and where it fits into the study of postcards in general. In addition to viewing the QSLs through the lens of media discourse and communication style, this study also applies social semiotic, discourse, and community theories to prove the value of QSLs in the realm of academic research.

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1. According to the ARRL (American Radio Relay League), the term “ham” was a slang term coined by commercial operators who, frustrated with the crowded radio waves, would refer to the amateur radio operators who created interference "hams." Amateurs picked it up and applied it to themselves. However, according to Charles Hirschy, a ham radio operator, the term “ham” was used to describe the way the hand looked as an operator was tapping out Morse Code on a transmitter: a closed fist with the forefinger extended to tap on the paddle. Kristen Haring wrote that in addition to these definitions, amateur radio was shortened to “am. radio” which then shifted to “ham radio” for ease of pronunciation (xvii).

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2. QSL is part of the Q code which was invented for radiotelegraph transmissions and is interpreted to mean “I am acknowledging receipt [of the message]” (Lewis).

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3. “Wallpaper” is the term used by ham operators to describe how many display their collected cards: hanging them on the wall to cover it like wallpaper (Dunnehoo 22).

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