-- o ICOM

I
Ox
ChOd Harris VP2ML
PO Box 4881
Santa Rosa, CA 95402
Antoine Baldeck F6FNU
Controversial aSL Manager
The February, 1989. issue of
Radio , the oHicial publication of
the Aeseau des Emetteurs Francais
(REF, the French equivalent
of the AAAl). contains a notice
that aSL cards coming from a SL
manager F6FNU will not be accepted
for any REF award after
March " 1989. The International
OX Assoc iation has severed all
l ies with F6FNU and asked him 10
slop putting the INDEXA logo on
his QSl cards. And the AARL has
sent a letter to F6FNU concerni ng
his controversial OSl practices.
These steps are particularly significant
because Antoine Baldeck
FSFNU handles a SLs lor about
150 stations, including some very
active OX stations and some stations
in otherwise rare countries.
Among the stations for wh ich
F6FNU handles ca rds are: FRIGI
FH4EC, FTIWA, TR8SA, SW6JX,
5RSJo, 5T5NU , FR4FA, 3B9FR,
and many more, mostly French
overseas operators. Antoine is a
56-year-old grandfather, of Eastern
European descent. He is a retired
engineer from the French
power compa ny and enjoys an
85% pension .
Investigation Beg ins
What has led to the above unprecedented
actions? To find out,
I launched a comprehensive, sixmonth
investigation into Antoine
Baldeck F6FN U and his OSL
management. I re ceived hundreds
01 pages of material on
F6FNU. from hundreds of Dxers
around the world, much of it from
Pierre Essinger F6HIZ (director of
INDEXA), and from F6FNU himself.
The con troversy surrounding
F6FNU's OSL management began
early in 1986, when Antoine
sent a tetter to the French OX
newsletter Les Nouvelles DX
(LNDX) stating that French hams
who wanted a direct OSL card
from Antoine are requested to add
one International Reply Coupon
(IRC) or an additional stamp to
their self-addressed, stamped envelope
(SASE). or FSFNU would
answer via the bureau. (This
88 73Ama /eurRadio . June, 1989
Number32 on your Feedback c.rd
Hams Around the World
would be equivalent to a stateside
manager such as W3HNK refusing
to answer directly a aSL request
with a self-addressed envelope
with a $0.25 stamp!) In other
words, F6FNU asked for money
over and above the cost of return
postage for a direct OSL.
French amateurs were incensed
by this requirement for a
" tip" in addition to postage , an
unprecedented practice. F6AJA,
editor of LNDX, published an editorial
against the demand for
funds in addition to adequate return
postage . F6EYS, president of
the Clipperton OX Club, wrote Antoine:
" I believe that a manager who
c annot break even (including
mailing, printing, etc.j is badly organized.
II one wants to make a
prolit, the explanation is different.
He believes he is engaged in a
trade, he becomes a commercial
manager."
Antoine was quick to delend his
practice of requiring addit ional
funds trom French pxers. He cited
th e expense of printing the
cards, forwarding cards to distant
stations, and helping with customs
duties, spare parts, etc.. all
legitimate expenses for a OSL
manager.
However, three separate leiters
from F6FNU cite another reason
for the demand for additional
funds. In a letter to F6AJA, one of
the reasons given is " the hours
spent " In a letter included with
some aSLs, he says, " The extensive
mail, the time I am spending
t o help them . .. i s not l or
free .. . OSLing takes 5 hours per
day:' And in a letter to me, Antoine
says, " I spent a lot of time
and money on various stations."
These statements from F6FNU
could lead the nxer to think that
Antoine expects payment for the
time spent on OSL chores.
Beyond France
For some time, F6FNU's insis-
renee on funds in addition
to postage affected only French
nxers. But the problem soon
began to impact nxere around
the WOr1d. For example, one US
Dxer sent two IRCs with each of
two OSL requests to FSFNU. AIthough
two IRCs are sumctent for
airmail return to the US, Antoine
returned the cards via "Imprime
Air Mail," at a cost of 3.2 French
francs (about $0.50), a tidy profit .
Another stateside oXer sent three
separate self-ad dre s sed en ­
vel opes with adequate French
postage for airmail return . A card
came back via the bureau . Antoine
apparently kept the postage .
Another US nxer sent four USS1
and two IRCs for five OSLs. He
received one back via the bureau,
another via Imprime mail, for a
postage cost to F6FNU of $0.50. A
very prominent nxer sent F6FNU
three SAEs with three IRCs each
and received his card back without
postage via a package sent
bulk to me! A local oXer has spent
$20 trying unsuccessfully to get a
card from Antoine. The cards arrived
only alter FSFNU was chastised
lor his aSL practices.
An SWL sent Antoine 10 cards
with 6.3 FFrs and an IRC. Antoine
cut the stamps off the envelope
and returned the cards printed
matter rare for only 3 FFrs, a profit
of more than 6 FFrs. Even French
stations who provide as much as
20 FFrs in addition to postage
have had their ca rds ret urned
unanswered, sometimes covered
with insults.
Lately, Antoine stopped sending
cards even when the US arnateur
included a " greenstamp"
(US $1 bill). Antoine says this is
because USS1 is not enough to
pay tonne airmail postage back to
the US, but a single card in an
airmail envelope can be sent trom
France to the US for 4.8 FFrs, and
USS1 equals 6.2 FFrs. Even with a
10% conversion l ax, Ihe US$l
more than covers the postage.
Antoine refuses 10 answer OSL
requests from foreign nxere who
do not include funds in addition to
airmail return postage . He says.
" Peop l e who send French
stamps, Hi Hi. Never I send to
W3HNK, or W4FRU, WA3HUP an
SAE with $0.45. Th is process
don't agree me. It's good only for
very poor. poor peoples."
a SL via the Bureau?
Many Dxars prefer to OSL via
the worldwide bureau system. Antoine
stales in letters to F6AJA,
"Those who have the real ham
spirit should send all their OSLs
only through the bureau, as it is
my wish," and, " I prefer to receive
the French OSLs via the bureau
as I can take all the time to control
them and to answer them twice a
year via the REF." But later Antoine
writes. "I have resigned
from the REF. Consequently, no
more a SL via the bureau ." Antoine
says Ihat 98% of his French
friends are not members of the
REF and thus cannot receive
cards via the REF bureau. (About
50 % of French amateurs are
members of the REF.)
Many nxers outside 01 France
have received cards from F6FNU
via their own bureau. Antoine
sends cards that he receives without
SAEs (or without adequate
payment in addition to postage) to
various bureaus worl dwide, including
the W2 bureau. These
cards are eventually distributed
via the in-coming bureau system.
How to Get a Card from F6FNU
Despite all the prcerems.
F6FNU does OSL, if you follow his
rules 10 the letter. Thousands 01
nxers around the world have
learned to live with Antoine's rigid
rules and receive their OSLs on a
timely basis.
In fact , more than a dozen OXers
wrote letters to me specifically
defending F6FNU, saying he is a
good OSL manager.
Many stated that by sending
US$2 and an SAE, or sufficient
funds in addition to retu rn
postage, they never had any problem
getting cards from Antoine.
Antoine even sent copies 01 more
than 100 thank you notes he has
received over the years. Obviously,
the majority of amateurs are
willing to accept his rules, in exchange
for their OSL.
To get a card from F6FNU, first
select a good-quality, unaltered
aSL card , with your callsign on
the same side as the report. Then
carefully fill out the card, paying
particular attention not to smudge
or correct any of the information
on the card. regardless of importance.
Any errors will probably
mean you will not get a return
OSL, so if you make a mistake,
don't correct it; start over with a
new card.
Then send the card to Antoi ne
Baldeck F6FNU, B.P. 14, 91291
Arpajon Cedex, France, with a
self-addressed. airmail envelope,
with your country clearly indicated
on the return envelope. Don't try
to use return address stickers to
reduce return postage costs; Antoine
doesn't like them . Don't
send cards lor more than one callsign
in a single envelope. Include
one IRC per request for Europeans,
two IRCs for anyone
else. Don't send French stamps or
foreign currency. (Antoine says
not to send USS1, but he does
OSL if you send US $2, or US $1
with an SASE.)
If you follow these rules, you
have a 90% chance of receiving
your return OSL. Good luck!III