YL power!

AB4YL ham radio cartoon QSL by N2ESTAllison, AB4YL, has just about the coolest call ever for a YL. She’s also a friend; my wife Gail, N2ART, and I know her through our home club, the Alford Memorial Radio Club in Stone Mountain, Ga. That’s also where Allison serves as secretary. Being asked to create her QSL was an honor.

The QSL cartoon had to have three things in it: Allison (natch); her olive-green Jeep Wrangler; and her beloved dog, Matsi. I hope I did all three justice. The back of her card has two logos: Alford’s, and the logo of the Young Ladies Radio League. If you’re a YL and don’t yet belong, check it out.

Wearing of the green, amateur-radio style

W1LGU cartoon QSL by N2ESTCarol, W1LGU, already had a cartoon QSL that reflected her phonetics — “Little Green Umbrella” — but wanted something more polished. That’s when she contacted me.

I used Carol’s basic design, refining its composition and adding touches specific to her station, including cartoon versions of her Heil microphone and Kenwood TS-590 transceiver. I also ensured that her code key was front-and-center because she’s a hardcore CW operator. Finally, I put as much green into the card as humanly possible.

I finished it yesterday, to Carol’s delight: “It is definitely exactly what I had hoped for in a QSL card,” she told me via email. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to have found you!”

Coincidentally, this almost-all-green-card went to press today — on St. Patrick’s Day. Were leprechauns responsible? Probably.