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Posted: 7/17/2014 5:54:34 PM EDT

Remember that DXpedition from May of last year. The one nobody has gotten a card from and they don't do LoTW? Guess what showed up in the mail today. The card.

Here's the pisser. It was postmarked 12 July 2014 from St. Petersburg, FL. Complete with one each forever US stamp. Really? Check out the QRZ pages for both the DXpedition and the manager. Both whine about high postage costs so $3 went with my QSL card. Then taking 14 months to get the card to me.

Feeling like I'm funding someone else's vacation. Hell they didn't even bring their own gear. Just borrowed stations from other HD8 residents.

Posted: 7/17/2014 6:34:14 PM EDT

[#1]

Well, at least you got the card. This gives me a little bit of hope. Hell, I had totally given up. Hopefully mine will show up soon.

Crazy that we send our card to Ecuador, and get one in return from Florida. I guess the $3.00 went towards air fare instead of postage.

Posted: 7/18/2014 2:21:27 AM EDT

[#2]

Still waiting......

Posted: 7/18/2014 2:51:03 AM EDT

[#3]

Granted getting cards from some SA countries is hit or miss at best.

Sent an application for the IARU Region 2 award. $10 fee going to Venezuela. Application got there. The $10 got pilfered along the way. Got to start from scratch with that application. It will be the last of the awards offered so I'm willing to give it another shot. Oh, in the application it states that it will take 4 months for the certificate to arrive. Yes it does. Both of my previous IARU-R2 awards took 4 months to arrive.

Myself I have a thing of resending a card, especially if it goes to areas with questionable postal systems, if I don't get anything back in 6 months. According to my notes I sent a card just after the QSO in 05-2013. Resent another card in 04-2014. Maybe the first one did get pilfered. Maybe not. Just seems fishy to me.

I'll stop whining.

Posted: 7/18/2014 5:47:56 AM EDT

[#4]

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Resent another card in 04-2014. Maybe the first one did get pilfered. Maybe not. Just seems fishy to me.

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I just lost hope again, because I would guess they were responding to the second card you sent. It wouldn't surprise me if some damn thief stole a whole mail sack full of cards (and money) right after the DXpedition ended.

If I don't get a card soon, I might send another. Might not.

We'll see...

Posted: 7/18/2014 11:23:54 AM EDT

[#5]

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It wouldn't surprise me if some damn thief stole a whole mail sack full of cards (and money) right after the DXpedition ended.

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Mail thieves know that if there is a amateur radio call on the envelope there is a high probability of US greenback dollars just there for the taking. Wouldn't surprise me at all if entire stacks were stolen.

After 14 months and the card hasn't arrived, it isn't going to arrive. My turnaround time for the bureau is faster than that. Resend and hope.

Learned of another trick to send the mail thieves off looking somewhere else. Instead of your name in the return address block, come up with some BS company name. EME Consulting. DXCC Engineering. WAS Electronics. Whatever. One guy I ran into on another forum started doing this and his pilferage rate dropped dramatically.

Posted: 7/18/2014 2:26:08 PM EDT

[#6]

Went ahead an sent off another card, today. We'll see what happens.

Posted: 7/19/2014 2:33:22 AM EDT

[#7]

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Learned of another trick to send the mail thieves off looking somewhere else. Instead of your name in the return address block, come up with some BS company name. EME Consulting. DXCC Engineering. WAS Electronics. Whatever. One guy I ran into on another forum started doing this and his pilferage rate dropped dramatically.

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I was thinking of getting envelopes printed up just for this purpose a while back

Posted: 7/19/2014 3:31:02 AM EDT

[#8]

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I was thinking of getting envelopes printed up just for this purpose a while back

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Quoted:

Learned of another trick to send the mail thieves off looking somewhere else. Instead of your name in the return address block, come up with some BS company name. EME Consulting. DXCC Engineering. WAS Electronics. Whatever. One guy I ran into on another forum started doing this and his pilferage rate dropped dramatically.

I was thinking of getting envelopes printed up just for this purpose a while back

Septic tank repair service, FREE SAMPLE INSIDE!

Posted: 7/19/2014 3:56:09 AM EDT

[#9]

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Septic tank repair service, FREE SAMPLE INSIDE!

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Fidelity Sperm Bank.
Thanks for your deposit.

Posted: 8/11/2014 2:15:40 PM EDT

[#10]

Got the card today.

And it came all the way from Harrisburg, PA.

Posted: 8/11/2014 2:38:59 PM EDT

[#11]

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Got the card today.

And it came all the way from Harrisburg, PA.

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I got my card last year

Seems weird. My card came from SA

Posted: 8/11/2014 2:49:16 PM EDT

[#12]

I suspect the one I sent last year, at the end of the Dxpedition, was stolen. I sent another last month.

Posted: 8/11/2014 5:30:11 PM EDT

[#13]

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Got the card today.

And it came all the way from Harrisburg, PA.

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The more I think about it the more I think that entire bags of mail was stolen. Surf 'da Net' with the DXpedition call and you'll find a bunch who haven't gotten a card. Oh well, it's part of DXing, figuring out how to outwit the mail thieves while figuring out HF propagation at the same time.

Congrats and finally getting the card.

Posted: 8/12/2014 12:49:10 AM EDT

[#14]

Sometimes getting a card is more difficult than working the DX. For instance I have worked Moldova 10m-80m but only have been able to confirm it on three bands.

Posted: 8/12/2014 5:25:38 AM EDT

[#15]

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Sometimes getting a card is more difficult than working the DX. For instance I have worked Moldova 10m-80m but only have been able to confirm it on three bands.

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Yup. Worked Sardinia three times before I could get a card from there.

Posted: 8/12/2014 5:59:07 AM EDT

[#16]

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Yup. Worked Sardinia three times before I could get a card from there.

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Sometimes getting a card is more difficult than working the DX. For instance I have worked Moldova 10m-80m but only have been able to confirm it on three bands.

Yup. Worked Sardinia three times before I could get a card from there.

Azores was that way for me.

I gave up and waited for a vacation DXpedition and it came to me from Germany.