dm_johnson@xanadu.DEC (11/06/85)
>>By all means, if you work Tony -T77C, do include a greenstamp. I >>believe that his QSL's are the sole source of income for the >>entire island. >Since when has Amateur Radio become a "source of income"?! I can >understand helping a much desired DX station with postage by including an >IRC (International Reply Coupon), but sending US$ to subsidize somebody's >income is both against the principles of amateur radio and in violation of >the law. Amateur Radio is a hobby. Let's not turn it into a business! Come on, lighten up here. That is an overly harsh and needless reply. Nobody is talking about business or subsidies. I really doubt anyone dxer can make any amount of money, even in an undeveloped country, using such an approach. To carry things to a logical extreme I should not send a qsl card because a dxer may be receiving compensation for a speech in which my qsl card was displayed. The ARRL should not have sponsered the Giveaways of radio kits to undeveloped countries a few years ago because that also is subsidizing or competing against businesses trying to sell into that market. And worse, I may have helped train a radio operator for a country that is or may have turned communist. Let's use common sense and leave the knee jerk reactions by the side of the road. Denny ka1bqz