The World's Shortest ReceptionReport

(via wikipedia.com)

SQOTW24 Special QSL of the Week

It is rather obvious that a good reception report should contain detailed information that is heard from a radio broadcasting station, and it is preferable that this information should extend over a period of at least 20 minutes or more.  However, there are occasions when a shorter reception report may be acceptable.

            Back on July 17, 1986, I was traveling by car for an appointment in a country area in Indiana in the United States.  In a lonely isolated location where electrical interference would not be expected, I stopped the car and turned on the radio receiver.  The desired station was WQTC on 1520 kHz in the town of Bryan, in the neighboring state Ohio.

            Four years earlier, I had visited this mediumwave radio station in Bryan when it was on the air under an earlier callsign, WBNO.  At that time, this station was on the air with the usage of solar energy electricity, the first and only station in the United Sates that was using solar panels for this purpose.  I already had received a QSL from WBNO with ½ kW on 1520kHz.

            However, the station had been sold and under the new management, the callsign was changed to WQTC, still with solar power and still with ½ kW on the same channel 1520 kHz.  However, I did desire a QSL card acknowledging the new callsign WQTC.

            Unfortunately, even though mediumwave station WQTC was on the air in the adjoining state, yet reception on the radio was terrible, with lots of QRN and QRM; local electrical noise and interference from other stations.  However, at the bottom of the hour, I did hear just two identifiable words, “Bryan Radio”. 

            And so, I did send a reception report and a prepared QSL card to the station in Bryan Ohio.  In the reception report, I apologized for such a brief report, but I stated that I had heard just two identifiable words, and that these two words indicated an advertisement for a radio shop in Bryan, or it was part of the station identification announcement.

            In due course, the prepared QSL card, rubber stamped onto a Post Office Postal Card, came back to my home address, duly signed and rubber stamped with the old callsign WBNO, though the new callsign WQTC was also shown on the card.

            A verified reception report containing just two words?  You had better do better than that!