> A QSL card is a written confirmation of either a two-way radiocommunication between two amateur radio or citizens band stations; a one-way reception of a signal from an AM radio, FM radio, television or shortwave broadcasting station; or the reception of a two-way radiocommunication by a third party listener. A typical QSL card is the same size and made from the same material as a typical postcard, and most are sent through the mail as such.
The author of the post has a QSL card site; it appears to be offline at the moment:
I’m not sure about modern usage, but I’m pretty sure that the popularity of “good buddy” in a specifically trucker CB radio usage was boosted by the release of the 1975 novelty song Convoy by C. W. McCall. It describes a group of truckers attempting to counter interdiction by law enforcement. Curiously, the lead driver referred to as Rubber Duck relates to the other drivers what is coming down the track, and coordinates with them to ensure the convoy continues unimpeded. In the sequel(!) to this joke song, Rubber Duck goes around the world, which in the context of QSL cards and (CB) radio, I find especially interesting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QSL_card
> A QSL card is a written confirmation of either a two-way radiocommunication between two amateur radio or citizens band stations; a one-way reception of a signal from an AM radio, FM radio, television or shortwave broadcasting station; or the reception of a two-way radiocommunication by a third party listener. A typical QSL card is the same size and made from the same material as a typical postcard, and most are sent through the mail as such.
The author of the post has a QSL card site; it appears to be offline at the moment:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210121154228/https://73sand88s...
They also have another site about postcards, which also seems to be offline:
https://web.archive.org/web/20221113020707/https://cardboard...
https://x.com/73sand88s/status/1844558964433764387
https://xcancel.com/73sand88s/status/1844558964433764387
> Going through QSL cards I never scanned.
> Someday I will tell the story of the raunchy and X-rated artwork of Portland, Oregon QSL artist Dick Pleasant aka The Viking.
(The above link is SFW, but some of the cards linked may be somewhat inappropriate for work for various reasons.)
This post inspired by this thread:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43785515
I originally found this post by the same author, Jordan Smith, which has more pictures of the cards, via the Wikipedia page for QSL cards:
CB Radio QSL Cards: A 1970s Social Media Craze
https://flashbak.com/cb-radio-qsl-cards-a-1970s-social-media...
https://web.archive.org/web/20250426134433/https://flashbak....
https://archive.is/BX1RV
I found their substack link which I posted in OP via an archived version of their postcard site.
That's society in a nutshell: archives all the way down.
Archives of OP just in case:
https://web.archive.org/web/20250426151914/https://thepiesho...
https://archive.is/IPtOC
apparently a "good buddy" has changed meaning.
nowadays, its slang for a male homosexual trucker/ridealong
https://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/thre...
I’m not sure about modern usage, but I’m pretty sure that the popularity of “good buddy” in a specifically trucker CB radio usage was boosted by the release of the 1975 novelty song Convoy by C. W. McCall. It describes a group of truckers attempting to counter interdiction by law enforcement. Curiously, the lead driver referred to as Rubber Duck relates to the other drivers what is coming down the track, and coordinates with them to ensure the convoy continues unimpeded. In the sequel(!) to this joke song, Rubber Duck goes around the world, which in the context of QSL cards and (CB) radio, I find especially interesting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convoy_(song)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqYTX7parRw
This probably didn’t hurt, either (from Wikipedia, above):
> The song was the inspiration for the 1978 Sam Peckinpah film Convoy, for which McCall rerecorded the song to fit the film's storyline.