As an aside, did you know that more military activity took place in New Jersey than any other colony? Yes, there were more battles, skirmishes and fights in what we now call the Garden State, than any other colony. In fact, not more than a couple of miles from my house, in Edison, is the State of New Jersey recognized "Oak Tree Pond" park. It was here that local farmers and New Jersey militia fought back British troops who were trying to engage in a flanking maneuver during the Battle of Short Hills.
A little farther away to the north, in Scotch Plains, is the Frazee House. The occupants of this house also played a role during the Battle of Short hills when General Lord Cornwallis attempted to commandeer provisions from the Frazee's for his British Regulars.
In the end, I decided to stick with a simple and clean Amateur Radio theme. Above you will see a rough idea of what the finished card will look like. If your a frequent visitor to this blog and/or my Website, the image will be familiar. It is the photograph of the Federal Telegraph key that I prominently display on both sites. I figured, that why shouldn't my QSL card have it as well?
A good friend, Brian KB9BVN had his QSL cards printed by Gennady UX5UO. They came out beautifully, so I have decided to give Gennady a shot. I checked him out on e-Ham, also and he received a 5.0 rating with over 350 reviews. I figure that if he can make that many Hams happy, then he must be doing something right! So I went to the UX5UO Website and submitted my design this afternoon. I think the price for the "Economy" (non-glossy finish) cards is $69.00 for 1,000 cards, postage included. I'll keep you all informed as to how this all comes about.
73 de Larry W2LJ
I don't know the history of the actual key you have pictured, but if you still wanted to stick with the telegraph key theme even if it is not that same exact key, you could easily (and cheaply) purchase an image from iStockPhoto:
ReplyDeletehttp://istockphoto.com
Search for "telegraph" and "morse code"
Second thought is the price of the QSL cards, I don't know anything about his size, paper stock, etc, you might want to check some other sources...
http://sharpdots.com offers 1000 4x6 cards with 4-color fronts (gloss) and 1-color backs for $35. 4-color on both sides is $41 per 1000. 5x7 cards are $61 and $76. I've done a lot of printing with them and they are amazing. You'd have to do your own layout, but they print fast and cheap.
I had my first QSL cards done by someone in the US and though they came out fine, the cost was up there and the cards were on thinner stock then I would have liked. The original company though did a real nice job working me with me to create the card.
ReplyDeleteAfter I went through the first batch of 500, I started looking around and also found UX5UO and his local rep here in the US. They were very responsive and did a great job in handling the order. They arrived a week or two before they originally indicated in a box with about 100 stamps on it. The cards look great and the card stock is very thick. I think you'll be pleased when they arive.