Why is it that only one award is available to short wave listeners ? I have been a SWL dxer for 40 years and have never had a problem getting awards from other dxing organisations. Just because I choose not to get a amateur radio license should not have anything to do with it. We are all involved in a beautiful hobby and discrimination of a certain section of that hobby should be illegal.
I do not understand your thinking on this matter nor do many swl dxers around the world.
John Ramsay SWL2/1956

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SWL2/1956 John Ramsay

Welcome

Do you know how many times swls have already been asking this question?

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IT2024SWL oscar marazzini

Perhaps another way to look at it is since this is a confirmation process designed for amateur radio operators, it's amazing that it offers any awards to short wave listeners.

What are the other amateur radio electronic conformation systems that allow shortwave listener participation?

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73 de Jeff VE6EFR

are there other amateur radio electronic confirmation systems, beside eQSL.cc?

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IT2024SWL oscar marazzini

Sorry, Jeff, but you are Regular Member and, as far as i know, awards it's not for you. For this reason probably, you don't know, that SWLs pay the same money as the HAMs (in Bronze and "higher" Member), and have one award only.
Is it fair?

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SP7240SWL Sebastian Zareba

Hi, Sebastian.

I have donated in the past but have since let the donation expire. I currently use eQSL more or less as a courtesy to other hams that use it and chase the awards offered here. My rate of return is much lower here for the exact same contacts than on another service so I tend to concentrate on earning their awards.

You bring up an interesting point about paying the same amount as everyone else. I haven't looked, but is it clear that SWL members have access to limited award prior to donation?

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73 de Jeff VE6EFR

"What are the other amateur radio electronic conformation systems that allow shortwave listener participation?"

"I haven't looked, but is it clear that SWL members have access to limited award prior to donation?"

It's the same as if SWLs are invited in a restaurant with HAMs: SWLs pay the bill as other Hams but can only watch the lunch without eating

Jeff both these things you wrote are for me a strange upsidedown approach to the issue, and none of them gives us (SWLs) the answer to our question: "why for us there's nothing else than the eDX?"
I would not make a question of money out of this, but a question of passion.

Anyway, I already had friendly exchanges with other eQSL members. The "official" explanation is that the award program is checked by award managers on a voluntary basis and nobody could manage an increase of working load if also SWL could acces even to few awards more than the only 1 available.
In the theoric idea that few hundreds SWLs applying for some more eAwards are able to increase the working load more than hundredthousads HAMs potentially applying for tens of awards and that nobody would take over the task of eAward manager for SWLs awards.

Look:on one side I respect this decision of the board, on the other I apply for EPC awards, QRZCQ awards, DMC awards.

73

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IT2024SWL oscar marazzini

I am "Bronze Member", Jeff. Where in the "Bronze Member" regulations it says that the membership of SWLs is on a different basis than HAMs?

Oscar, you say:

"It's the same as if SWLs are invited in a restaurant with HAMs: SWLs pay the bill as other Hams but can only watch the lunch without eating"

Let me give you another analogy, but first let me try and explain why the other awards are only for HAMs.

All of the other awards, and it states this clearly in the rules page for each award which is available for anyone to look at before becoming a Bronze member, require "Proof of two-way communication".

There is a big difference in hearing a station and actually working a station. For example, China is very hard from my QTH, I have heard China many times but have never managed a QSO despite years of trying. Many other countries the same deal, I have heard them but never managed a QSO.

So, to modify your analogy, assuming the other awards were opened up:

"It's the same as if SWLs were invited to a restaurant with HAMs, they both had the same lunch, but the SWLs only paid half the amount the HAMs.

So, opening up the other awards for SWLs is not going to happen.

What we may do at some point is to create a totally separate set of awards just for SWLs. But, the other thing you need to know is that everyone that works here, including the webmaster, does so on a part time volunteer basis.

When it comes to adding new awards we need to evaluate what makes the most sense for the majority of the users in the system. As of this morning, when I check the database I see that less than 2% of the registered users (1.97% to be exact) are SWL accounts.

So, you may choose to think it is discrimination against SWLs, but that is not the case. It is simply trying to please the majority of users with the limited amount of resources available.

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73, Dave - VA3KAB

Dave we had already this discussion as I mentioned and I accept and respect the decision to have only eDX available for us SWLs though I hope it will change.

If I agree or disagree with this it's not important since it doesn't change the fact.

I was bronze member when I decided to work hardly to get the ePFX300...you remember...(I believe we had a short email exchange) and only after I discovered that all other awards were not available for SWL. Later I decided anyway to become Silver and today I would renew my silver membership immediately, I like eQSL and I promote its use with other SWLs.

But it's not our fault if SWL is only receiving, thus "for the same lunch we can pay the half"....as you mention.
Please consider that the efforts we do to receive far away stations are as hard as yours, we spend as well bunch of money for receivers, aerials, filters, computers, antenna tuners, softwares, books and yes at the end you are right: we feel a little discriminated.

Thanks again for your answers.
73, Oscar

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IT2024SWL oscar marazzini

It's not out of the question, Oscar, but like I said it if it happened it would be a totally separate award program just for SWLs. That is the only way to make it fair for both HAMs (that need to both receive and be received by the other station) and SWLs (that just need to receive the station).

I have no problem with eQSL doing that at some point, but, lots of work from the webmaster to make that happen and his time is limited.

The "Proof of two-way communication" requirement for the existing awards, other than eDX, needs to stay.

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73, Dave - VA3KAB