How precise should the time be on a QSL card?

Question

I want to send some QSL cards for contacts I've made while portable/horseback mobile and thus could not have written the details down immediately. I remember the callsigns and reports, and everything was on 2m FM, so I've got most of the data, but one bit I don't have is the exact time. I could probably narrow it down to the hour, but not further. Is such a precision acceptable? Generally, how accurate should the time be on a card?

And while we're at it, if a QSO is prolonged (e.g. a ragchew), which moment should I log as the time of the QSO? Beginning, end, or otherwise?

Answer 1

"As accurate as feasible", I'd say. There are no hard and fast rules.

The nice thing about a paper QSL card is you can write anything you want in the box. Can't remember the time? Write "about 19:00". QSO went on for a while? How about "03:15 to 04:09"?

If you're recording contacts for a contest or award, the rules may have more stringent requirements. Otherwise, you're just sending a postcard to another ham for fun, and there's no need to be precise on the details.

Answer 2

As long as you receive the confirming card, you have what you need as a souvenir or to submit for an award. In my experience, online records need to agree withing 15 minutes to qualify for confirmation, but nothing stops you from correcting an existing record or submitting an additional record once you learn the time logged by the other station. I would also guess that many stations don't log the times of their 2m FM QSOs, so they are likely to respond to your card with the same logged time.

Answer 3

On HF, or for contest QSOs, most hams keep exact logs with times accurate to the minute, so if you were sending QSL cards for HF or contest contacts, then the polite thing to do would be to be accurate to the minute. Using one's memory for such a log doesn't usually suffice. Where immediate paper or electronic logging can't be used many hams use an audio recorder to keep a log, which is then later transcribed into a paper or electronic log.

For 2m FM contacts that were just for fun and won't be used for a contest, then as Phil says there is no need for precision in the QSL.

The time logged on a QSL is the time that the contact began.