Sunday June 25, 2017

Click this photo to open a new window to the editorial office, 24 different 'computing' photos...

www.signalpenpals.net

Are you curious to know the history of World's Penpal Papers, Collectors Publications, Mail Order Magazines of the last century, 1960-2015 ?

I am now 74 years old and have been in this fascinating 'publishing business' since 1960, for over 57 years. During that period I've received almost 200.000 letters from over 100 different countries, have exchanged advertising space and subscriptions and sample copies with 1.000 different publications and their publishers.

Do you want to see what these fine magazines were like and who were publishing them ?
Just take a look at these publications for penfriends and swappers. Most of them have faded away and died, gone out of 'business', stopped their existence, and unfortunately the same concerns also many of their publishers.

You have now the unique possibility of looking at the past ! I scanned the front pages and wrote this database about ten years ago.
Surely many of these papers have died also thereafter...

Saturday May 6, 2017

I found Signal's front page from year 1976 on this Australian website MANY CHA-CHA.
It is published by Michelle in Victoria Australia. She had scanned the front page of 41 years old Signal in 2013.
The motto of her site:
"About Me - A journey of a thousand miles begins at home". Many Cha-Cha is about lots of little things: postcards from far away journeys, souvenirs of imaginary safaris, colours and flavours from my home… inspired by the marvellous wide world. My name is Michelle, and here you’ll find my collection of writings and images showing how we “Travel At Home”. Visit the site, it IS interesting.

Wednesday April 12, 2017

Above some of the computers used in getting the Signal ready for you to read... The 'youngest' of them is over 10 years old and I'm thinking of buying a newer and faster computer soon in the future, even though I already have over 50 different in my collections as you see below.

A few days passed without any new penpal ads, that's strange. About ten years ago I had to start a new webpage every day, there were 20-30 new listings waiting for me every morning when I woke up. Anyhow many readers are also loyal and reliable advertisers, they keep sending repeat ads every month. Some are so anxious that they send their ads up to ten times a day (Algeria), or at least weekly. Unfortunately I can accept only ONE AD MONTHLY. The next ad next month only.

Some odd 'facts' are often found in the ad texts, too. A person in CANADA sent his listing twice today, in the second ad he was 'living' in USA - is it so difficult to decide where you live? I deleted the later ad, it was not really a personal ad, it was quite clearly a commercial ad even though no money was asked for his services at the first contact. All commercial ads must be paid for.

Hello Raimo
If I´m not wrong, it´s your birthday today! Not so fun anymore birthday, more problems healthwise, at least for me! Hope you are getting along well enough anyhow? Still keeping up the Signal a bit? Not much mail these ´days for me anyhow which is normal.
Happy birthday Raimo
Rolf, the Swede in France

THANK YOU FOR THE GREETINGS, ROLF... YES, I AM 74 YEARS OLD NOW, AND THE SIGNAL IS 57. WE BOTH TRY TO KEEP ALIVE FOR YEARS TO COME !!!!! RAIMO

www.signalpenpals.net

Fresh new SIGNAL finally printed!

LEARN FINNISH - suomitaskussa.eu

Thursday December 29, 2016

Do you speak FRENCH ?

Translate the texts using translate.google.com

Thursday December 1, 2016

Santa Claus and his brother ?
What ever, Christmas is coming...

This old postcard is changed hourly.
All the cards are from 1900's, 1910's and 1920's and originally mailed to the grand aunties of Signal's publisher, Raimo Kaarna.

Wednesday November 16, 2016
Listen to Pakistani music
- a bit different experience for you???

Sunday 6 November 2016

VOY AUSTRALIA, your fine envelope and the contents safely received... Thanks !
ELIZA FRANCE, thanks for your cd, cards, stamps
SHIKEAGI JAPAN, your payment received
JOSEPH MALTA, fine postage stamps!
Signals will be sent soon to all of you... Printed next week?
TADEUSZ POLAND, IRCs (International Reply Coupons) are rare nowadays, thanks for them. Info next week.
LANANI ALGERIA, your listing received at least ten times via email, almost ten times in postal mail. It has been issued several times already here !
TOMOKO JAPAN, Signal info via surface mail...

Tuesday November 1, 2016

If you don't like waiting for the front page to open click here

FASTER OPENING SIGNAL

Thursday 29 September 2016

I scanned today four pages of the
World Hobbies Bulletin from Korea
and also a few samle pages from the
Czech Pen Friends. They were added to the front page of www.penpalmagazine.net. Collectors around the world want to exchange with you !

Click below to read the ads now !
WORLD HOBBIES BULLETIN,
BRAZILIAN COLLECTION CLUB,
FILACAP MAGAZINE
AND PEN FRIENDS

Wednesday 28 September, 2016

Received today this letter from Brazil...
It was sent on September 14 2016 by
Uillian Frignani Cardozo, the publisher of
BRAZILIAN COLLECTION CLUB.

It is a fact that internet HAS KILLED 99 % of the printed penpal and collectors papers around the world. Those few publications still issued are fading away, day by day.
Some 30 years ago there were about
one thousand bigger and smaller 'magazines' containing the postal addresses and personal info about the advertiser and his or her hobbies and exchange wants and offers, now the amount has fallen to some 50-100 papers.

I'm going to introduce some fellow hobby publishers by printing a few pages of their magazines under their own name or logo on my website www.penpalmagazine.net. I hope you find this kind of co-operation useful, it will bring more readers and more contacts to the advertisers.

Also a few pages from another Brazilian philatelic magazine, FILACAP June 2016 issue, can be read on penpalmagazine.net. Click the two pages to make them readable, the texts BIGGER !!! More swapping contacts for you.

Raimo Kaarna, the publisher

Wednesday 21 September, 2016

Received this letter from an advertiser in NY USA:
To Mr Raimo Kaarna,
Last year I gave my name and address to your pen pal club and now I am receiving letters from male prisoners in the U.S.A.!
I feel very unsafe. If you are giving my name and address to prisoners you are putting my life at risk and are acting very irresponsibly.
Please remove my name and address from your mailing lists and databases immediately.
Thank you, M. S., NY, USA.

RAIMO KAARNA, THE PUBLISHER

Monday September 5, 2016

Some "investors" and "loan sharks" keep sending their fraud ads for publication. I simply do NOT publish their ads at all and that is made to protect you from financial losses. NEVER send a red cent in any currency to any of these "businessmen".

Google Chrome web browser does NOT SHOW Signal's penpal listings of the latest full month at all - SOME 50 LATEST LISTINGS ARE MISSING !!! It simply starts Signal's front page without the most recent ads, even the date of the first ad is missing... The ads from today to one month backwards are seen quite normally in Microsoft's Edge and other web browsers. Possibly some hackers are causing this strange behaviour of the Chrome browser?

Anyhow this causes some misunderstanding among the Signal readers, they may think that I have not added any new penpal listings to signalpenpals.net even though A FEW NEW ADS ARE LISTED EVERY DAY !!!! Check yourself !

THE PUBLISHER

THIS WEBSITE OPENS TO SLOWLY ! SHIT... TEST THIS FAST SIGNAL NOW !
www.signalpenpals.net/ 2017fastsignal.htm

Even though most western readers have really fast portable computers and tablets it takes to long to open Signal's main website, www.signalpenpals.net. The third world readers in the developing countries have slower net connections and operators, older computers and they must have even more patience in waiting for the front page to open...

SOMETHING MUST BE DONE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. Therefore I'm now testing a few different new lay-outs and front pages. Some seem to be fast when I leave off 90 % of the links to outside websites, make the photos smaller, forget voices or videos or scrolling or changing photos. Or what should be done ? Tell YOUR OPINION...

- Would you prefer opening just FRESH NEW ADS in about 20-30 seconds ? Nothing else, just the penpal listings of this month plus previous month. Or have you got the patience to wait for one to two minutes to see the 'entire' Signal to open, including live map of todays readers pointed in the world map, and hundreds of links to newspapers, translations in 90 languages, world itvs, world newspapers etc.

- I'll add a SIMPLIFIED FAST NEW 'FRONT PAGE' of the signalpenpals.net here later today. TEST IT and tell your opinion.

Raimo Kaarna, the publisher
raimo.kaarna@signalpenpals.net
signal@sci.fi

THE SLOWER FRONT PAGES ARE:
www.signalpenpals.net/index.htm
www.signalpenpals.net/index.html

Tuesday July 5, 2016

VISIT RUSSIA NOW !!!!!

Thursday June 9, 2016 Unreplied snailmail... Sorry for the delay. I'm starting to reply them little by little. Packed some fifty envelopes yesterday, more today and tomorrow. Propably they'll get ready to be taken to the local post office on Monday or Tuesday. We'll see.

Last year I received in all some 500 snailmail letters, i.e. envelopes carried to my mailbox by the postman. Some 30 years ago the amount was 4000-5000 letters a year. Most messages from the Signal readers are received via email at present, also the penpal listings.

Some Cuban penpal advertisers seem to be joking with me and the readers of the Signal. There is just one way for me to take care of this 'problem', I'll take the photos off from the pages of this website. Satisfied now Rodney and Dionel ???

Do you like bird watching ?
Visit ESTONIA - take a look at
THE EAGLE NEST !!!!

I just saw a Norwegian tv program 'The Dangers of Net Dating' and how the scammers steal money from innocent people seeking for love... We were also warned about the money transfers to new 'friends' for any reason, especially to Nigeria and Ukraine, not to mention dozens of other dangerous countries.

Lately almost dozen of my letters sent to US prisoners were returned back to me to Finland. The addresses were 'unknown' and no new ones were available. As a pensioner I'm not rich enough to waste money for vain postages.
Free penpal ads are no longer accepted from prisoners in the future. All the old prisoners' ads from previous years will be deleted as time allows.

My aim is to protect the Signal readers and advertisers from financial loss.
WARNING: NEVER SEND ANY LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY TO ANY OF YOUR 'NEW FRIENDS' FOR ANY REASON.

SIGNAL HISTORY 1960-2016

SIGNAL issue 1, 1960
- b&w mimeographed ad sheet
- 1.000 circulation
- 1 page, 210x355 mm
- 30 penpals, collectors
texts: manual typewriter

Seven pages in 1960, and I received some 500 letters from the readers... The greatest amount of letters received yearly was back in the 80's, almost 5.000 snailmail letters.
At present the amount has fallen back to some 500. And the Signal is still issued from the same address as in January 1960, 56 years ago!

READ 2015 EDITORIAL
READ 2014 EDITORIAL