Address Changes: Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail kcapodicasa@arrl.org.

Editorial: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, e-mail elindquist@arrl.org.

• Ham radio icon Doug DeMaw, W1FB, SK
• FCC announces electronic license renewal
• ARRL seeks changes in CW waiver rules
• KC5VPF upbeat about
• Sputnik 1 model launch set
• Scanner case against ham dismissed
• Missing space lands vanity ap in WIPs
• ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference just ahead!
• WSJ article features Morse code
• Solar flux continues upward
• In Brief: This weekend on the radio; Corrections; Vanity update; Update--special event to mark Sputnik launch anniversary; JOTA to mark 40 years; QST Cover Plaque winner; AMSAT board election results

Acclaimed ham radio icon Milton F. "Doug" DeMaw, W1FB, died September 28. He was 71. One of the most widely published technical writers in Amateur Radio, DeMaw was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this year and had been in failing health in recent weeks.

DeMaw was first licensed in 1950 as W8HHS. An electrical engineer, he was a member of the ARRL Headquarters staff for 18 years -- from 1965 to 1983 -- and served as Technical Department Manager and Senior Technical Editor from 1970 to 1983. During his tenure at HQ, DeMaw served as editor of The ARRL Handbook. In 1970, he engineered the shift in emphasis toward solid-state design in QST and the Handbook. He has hundreds of articles in QST and other publications to his credit. DeMaw also was founder and publisher of VHFer Magazine. (His wife, Jean, W1CKK, also worked on the Headquarters staff.) DeMaw was a life member of the ARRL and a senior member of the IEEE.

After retiring to the family farm in Luther, Michigan, he was elected chairman of the Lake County Board of Commissioners and continued to write books and articles. He also tried his hand in the Amateur Radio business as proprietor of Oak Hills Research. Among his other books, DeMaw wrote W1FB's Design Notebook, W1FB's QRP Notebook, W1FB's Antenna Notebook, and The ARRL Electronics Data Book, which remain popular. In recent years, DeMaw also penned regular columns for CQ magazine and Monitoring Times.

A former ARRL colleague, Membership Services Manager Chuck Hutchinson, K8CH, counted DeMaw among his friends. "Doug loved to experiment with circuits and antennas. He also loved to encourage others to try their hand at building," he recalled. Hutchinson said DeMaw not only wrote prolifically about ham radio but also about gardening, another of his avocations. "He was an avid gardener and cook," he said. DeMaw also was an outdoorsman and hunter. "He loved to hunt with bow and rifle--both modern and muzzle loader. He was very good at throwing a knife or hatchet," Hutchinson said.

HQ staff member Paul Pagel, N1FB, also was one DeMaw's colleagues during his days at ARRL HQ. "Amateur Radio benefited greatly from his work," Pagel said. "He was a multifaceted man. I doubt there was anything he couldn't do if he set his mind to it." Retired HQ staffer Jerry Hall, K1TD, who also worked with DeMaw during his years at the League, called DeMaw a writer of "uncanny" ability. "Doug could write it once, and it was done," he recalled.

Another former HQ staffer, Gerry Hull, W1VE/VE1RM, called DeMaw an important career influence. "He was always there when I was stuck with a tough technical challenge," he said.

Jim Jones, K5GSH, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, called DeMaw's death "a personal loss." Jones recalled how, as a young ham, he had problems getting one of his first transmitters to work. He called the ARRL and DeMaw talked him through the circuit and helped him to uncover the problem. "I remember thanking Mr. DeMaw. He plainly told me that hams are friendly folk and always share what they know."

Forrest Plumstead, WB5HQO, of Ft Richardson, Arkansas, expressed similar sentiments. "He, more than anyone else I can think of, encouraged me to build my own equipment," he said. "The world of ham radio has lost one of its giants."

Survivors include DeMaw's wife, Jean, and a son, David, N8HLE, a technical writer who lives in Connecticut. Memorial contributions may be made to Luther Historical Museum, c/o Luther State Bank, Box 39, Luther, MI 49656.

The FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) has consolidated eight renewal forms into one form. Form 900, Application for Electronic Renewal of Wireless Radio Services Authorizations, is an interim measure to permit all WTB licensees, including hams, to renew their licenses electronically.

This form is only for renewals, not for license modifications. You can only enter changes (eg, name, address) using Form 900 as a part of the process of renewing your license. You can only use Form 900 if the expiration date on your license falls within the renewal window (within 120 days of expiration). You cannot use Form 900 to renew an expired license. Form 900 may only be submitted electronically. No Form 900 paper applications will be accepted. When filing Form 900, you will be required to enter a Social Security Number for a taxpayer ID number.

Access Form 900 on the WTB Electronic Commerce page, http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/electcom.html (click on Production Page for Electronic Commerce Applications to access the Form 900). Click on any item number for filing instructions. Once you have filed the form, clicking on Electronic Renewal Query lets you view or print the information submitted.

Once you have successfully submitted Form 900, it is important to click on the Continue button to obtain the fee information pertaining to your filing. The screen will prompt you with a Fee Remittance Advice, Form 159. The form will indicate that there is no charge to renew an Amateur Radio license (except for vanity call sign holders, who won't have to renew for several more years yet).

Form 900 updates will be batch processed at night. They are not instantaneous.

Send comments about the FCC Form 900 to sreed@fcc.gov. For technical assistance, call the FCC Technical Support Group at 202-414-1250. Other general information may be obtained from the FCC's National Call Center at 888-225-5322 (CALL-FCC). --FCC

The ARRL has asked the FCC to change the way Morse code exam exemptions for severely handicapped applicants are handled. The League wants to change the procedural requirements in Part 97 that must be met, prior to granting examination credit.

Under the League's proposed changes, a candidate at least would have to attempt the CW test -- with any and all necessary accommodations -- before being granted an exam waiver based on a physician's certification. Also, Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (VECs) would be entitled to request medical information pertinent to an applicant's handicap from the certifying physician. VECs also would be required to have this information on file before the application is forwarded to the FCC for processing.

In its petition filed September 23, the League said the two "rather minor changes" are needed to restrict the waiver process to use by severely handicapped individuals "for whom the process was intended in the first place and who deserve the substantive accommodation." The League also said the changes would "stem abuses" of the waiver system without putting unreasonable burdens on examinees.

The CW waiver system has been in effect for seven years. The League says that experience has shown that many applicants without severe handicaps "have abused the process" by obtaining physicians' certifications of inability to pass the telegraphy examination. At present, 8% of those applying through the ARRL-VEC have requested a medical exemption from the higher-speed code requirement. Another large VEC reports similar experience. The League cited "a growing suspicion" in the ham community of anyone who has upgraded by using the waiver route. But the League said this is "completely unfair to those who require and deserve the exemption because they cannot be accommodated by procedural means."

FCC rules requires volunteer examiners to exercise broad latitude in administering CW exams to accommodate handicapped applicants. Measures include using a flashing light or vibrating surface for hearing-impaired applicants, pausing in sending after sentences, phrases, words or even characters to allow an examinee time to interpret, or even substituting a sending test for a receiving test. Instead, the League observed in its filing, there is "a tendency for applicants to seek exemptions instead" of accommodations.

The League said it believes the procedural changes alone will help to deter those who might abuse the process while still allowing exemptions to deserving applicants.

(For some additional thoughts on this subject, see the editorial "It Seems to Us" by David Sumner, K1ZZ, QST, Oct 1997, page 9.--Ed.)

US astronaut Dave Wolf, KC5VPF, is looking forward to an enjoyable stay aboard the Russian Mir space station, especially with all the "computers and ham radio gear." The shuttle Atlantis, which delivered Wolf to Mir and took US astronaut Mike Foale, KB5UAC, back to Earth, also delivered a new computer to Mir. Computer failures have plagued the space outpost for months.

Foale, meanwhile, said in a packet message that he's looking forward to seeing his family again, after spending the past four months aboard Mir. "I will be sad to leave my good Russian friends Anatoli and Pavel here on Mir, but it is now time for me to say good-bye to them, and to all the hams in the world who have spent the time to talk to us."

While both men were together in space, Foale said he planned to spend some time showing Wolf how to operate the Mir personal message system (PMS) and ham gear. "I hope you will enjoy many contacts with him," he said. "Best wishes." Like many other astronauts, Wolf got his ham ticket in the event that he might be able to operate from space. He has no experience on the air, however.

A medical doctor and engineer, Wolf, 41, is scheduled to remain aboard Mir until January, when he'll be replaced by US astronaut Andy Thomas, KD5CHF.

Vladimir Titov, KD5AOS, a veteran Russian cosmonaut flying on the shuttle, and Atlantis flight engineer Scott Parazynski, KC5RSY, made a space walk October 1 to look for the puncture in the hull of the Spektr module from the June 25 collision with a cargo rocket. Titov goes down on record as the first Russian to walk in space from a US shuttle.

Meanwhile, the Mir International Amateur Radio Experiment -- MIREX -- is calling a success the just-ended experiment to use 70 cm for voice and packet communication with Mir. Ham radio activity has returned to 2-meters (145.985 MHz simplex or 145.800/200 MHz split).

MIREX says that 2 meters will continue to be the primary means of contacting the hams aboard the Russian space station, because it's more widely available around the world. But, the experimental 437.650 MHz frequency might still be used as an occasional backup, especially when the 2-meter radio aboard Mir suffers interference from the commercial radio on 143 MHz.

The three-week long 70-cm experiment ran from September 8 until September 28. Preliminary results show that the Mir crew did not experience any interference to the 70-cm station from other equipment on Mir. Likewise, the 70-cm transmissions from Mir did not appear to interfere with any equipment on Mir. More than 110 stations around the world successfully contacted the Mir PMS while it was active on 70 cm, and simple ground stations were able to contact Mir on voice provided that they compensated for Doppler shift.

MIREX continues to gather information on the 70-cm experiment from amateurs who used the 437.650 MHz frequency. Contact Dave Larsen, N6CO, doc@volcano.net, for more information. --SpaceNews/Miles Mann, WF1F; AMSAT News Service

Plans remain in place to launch a functioning mini-Sputnik from Mir October 4--the 40th anniversary of the launching of Sputik 1 by the USSR. Sputnik 1 was the first manmade satellite put into orbit around Earth.

Earlier this year, an agreement was signed between Russia and France to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1, and two groups of high school students cooperated in building the one-third scale model of the original Sputnik 1. Students in Russia built the satellite itself, while students in France built the 2-meter transmitter that will "beep" from space following its launch from Mir. The mini-satellite flew as cargo to Mir last month aboard a Progress rocket. According to Miles Mann, WF1F, of MIREX, the Mir crew will place the satellite in an airlock on Mir and push it out the door on October 4.

Following launch, the scale model of Sputnik will remain close to the Russian space station. It's estimated that its batteries will hold up for up to two months.

The transmitter will put between 100 and 200 mW into a circularly polarized antenna. The transmitter frequency is expected to be between 145.81 and 145.85 MHz (FM). The audio tone will be at 1.3 kHz but vary with temperature. For more information, see http://www.oceanes.fr/~fr5fc/angspoutnik.html. --thanks to AMSAT/This Week in Amateur Radio

A County Court judge in Florida has dismissed a case against Joseph Osborn, KF4HXE, of Plantation, Florida, whose radio gear was confiscated by police under Florida's "scanner" law earlier this year. Osborn was involved in a minor accident on May 8, 1997, and subsequently cited by police in Davie, Florida, allegedly for breaking state law by having radios in his car capable of receiving police frequencies. Although the law specifically exempts hams, Davie Police impounded Osborn's equipment anyway because he could not produce his ham ticket -- lost during a recent move. Even after Osborn showed Davie Police a copy of his license, authorities refused to drop the charges or to return his radios. Osborn later learned that police might have tampered with his equipment, possibly damaging it and voiding warranties.

Alexander L. Kaplan, KF4QBU, of Boca Raton -- an ARRL Volunteer Counsel -- represented Osborn. John Hennessee, N1KB, of the ARRL Regulatory Information Branch, supplied information on federal pre-emption.

Broward County Court Judge J. Steven Shutter ordered the case dismissed late last month. Shutter said the state law does not require hams to have their licenses in their possession, as local police had asserted. The judge also cited federal pre-emption of prosecution of hams under state and local laws that make it illegal to possess scanning radios capable of receiving public safety or emergency frequencies. Florida's law bans such scanners in vehicles and in retail stores, but not in homes.

Shutter ordered Davie police to return Osborn's radio equipment within ten days of his ruling and to provide an affidavit specifying "who, what, when, where and how the radios were examined and what was done to them." Osborn has since recovered his radios from the Davie Police but not the required affidavit. Kaplan said this week that he's considering filing a contempt order. He also says he's begun civil proceedings against the Town of Davie. Meanwhile, an independent repair shop is evaluating Osborn's equipment to see if it was damaged.

Rick McMillion, K6SIX (ex-WB7UGZ), of Winton, California, found out the hard way that the FCC takes its spaces seriously. Back on August 6, McMillion was among the hundreds of hams who filed under vanity Gate 3 for a new call sign. Six weeks later, when the FCC finally issued a big chunk of new call signs to Gate 3 first-day applicants, McMillion was dismayed that his was not among them. But none of the call signs he'd requested had been issued to anyone else, either. Obviously, his application had arrived in that twilight zone Gettysburg calls WIPs, for "work in process."

After waiting another week, McMillion says he just couldn't stand the suspense. "I had already received my canceled check back from the FCC, so I knew they had received it," he said. It wasn't until he called the FCC's toll-free number (888-225-5322 or 888-CALL-FCC) that he found out that in the world of the FCC, sometimes nothing is something. "The person told me that the FCC database and my license had my name listed as "Mc Million" [with a space], and my vanity application had "McMillion" [without a space]. Because of this, the FCC did not process his application because the computer showed that his last name on the application and his last name in the FCC database did not agree. "I could not believe what I was hearing," said McMillion, who's never spelled his last name with a space between the "Mc" and the "Million" [although this is how the FCC database handles such names --Ed]. The FCC told him there was nothing he could do about the "misspelling," but McMillion had other plans. He fired off e-mail messages to FCC Commissioner Rachelle Chong and to John Johnston in the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.

McMillion wasn't expecting much, but within a day, he got a reply from Johnston saying he'd check with Gettysburg. An hour later, he heard from Larry Weikert at Gettysburg stating that there were "some editing problems with Gate 3," and that McMillion's new call sign would be among the first issued when the problems were resolved. True to his word, Weikert messaged McMillion the next day to alert him that he'd just been granted K6SIX.

McMillion says he's impressed. "It's refreshing to know that one person can get a problem resolved with the FCC in a very fast efficient manner." He says he hopes his experience helped out a few others who might have run afoul of the "space" problem.

Just in case you haven't yet gotten the word, the joint ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference is a week away -- October 10-12 -- just outside Baltimore, Maryland, at the BWI Holiday Inn.

Some interesting seminars, symposiums, and special events are on tap, in addition to the main paper session all day Saturday. Papers scheduled cover APRS, DSP, HF, Linux, Spread Spectrum, and more. Yutaka Sakurai, JF1LZQ, vice president of Japan's Packet Radio User's Group (PRUG), will be this year's banquet speaker. He'll talk about PRUG and some of its projects.

The DCC is not just for digital experts. This year's conference presents beginning, intermediate, and advanced presentations, including APRS, satellite communications, TCP/IP, digital radio, spread spectrum and other introductory topics.

A full day symposium on Friday covering APRS will be conducted by Bob Bruninga, WB4APR (the father of APRS), Keith Sproul, WU2Z, and Mark Sproul, KB2ICI (developers of Mac and Windows APRS), Steve Dimse, K4HG (developer of javAPRS), and other nationally known APRS leaders.

Other seminars are set for later Friday and on Sunday. Those wishing to attend just a symposium or seminar don't have to register for the entire conference.

For more information on the conference and hotel accommodations, contact Tucson Amateur Packet Radio, 8987-309 E. Tanque Verde Rd, Tucson, AZ 85749-9399; tel 940-383-0000; fax 940-566-2544; e-mail tapr@tapr.org; http://www.tapr.org.

Without looking at the "translations," most hams would have a hard time deciphering the Morse code represented in an article that appeared in the October 1 edition of prestigious Wall Street Journal. That's because most of the code shown is American Morse, not the International code hams use. The report, "The Internet Generation Taps into Morse Code," by Anna Wilde Mathews, focuses on a resurgence of interest in American Morse Code--the version Samuel F. B. Morse invented in the 19th century and used for many years by railroad and Western Union telegraphers.

The ARRL and ham radio also are mentioned, but Mathews' otherwise interesting article fails to distinguish between American Morse, the telegrapher's code, and International Morse, the radioman's code.

Solar guru Tad Cook, K7VVV Seattle, Washington, reports: Again this week the average solar flux for the previous 90 days rose two points, and again the daily flux values were above 83, which was the high average value on Wednesday, the last day of the reporting week. Wednesday was the fifty-eighty consecutive day that the solar flux was above the average for the preceding 90 days, and this is a very positive sign indicating a general upward trend in the new solar cycle.

This increased activity can have a downside though, and on October 1 the geomagnetic field was very unstable, which generally means higher absorption, especially on high-latitude and polar signal paths. The planetary A index was 41, and planetary K index went as high as 6. The A index measured at College, Alaska, was 67, and the highest K index was 8, which means miserable HF conditions. These stormy conditions were caused by a flare and a coronal mass ejection a few days earlier. (For a good explanation of K and A indices, see the Propagation chapter in any recent edition of the The ARRL Handbook.)

Conditions stabilized October 2, and geomagnetic conditions were very stable, with the Alaska K indices at zero over most of the day, and worldwide it was mostly one and zero.

Over the next few days look for higher solar activity, with the solar flux up over 100 around October 7-11. It may dip below 90 after mid-month, then rise again to around 90 until November. Based on the previous solar rotation, October 25 and 26 may be unstable. Look for a smaller possibility of geomagnetic instability on October 12 and again on October 15.

Sunspot numbers for September 25 through October 1 were 50, 40, 33, 23, 27, 25 and 38 with a mean of 33.7. The 10.7-cm flux was 88.5, 89.1, 88.4, 87.2, 89.7, 87.7 and 87.1, with a mean of 88.2, and estimated planetary A indices were 3, 4, 13, 14, 9, 7, and 41, with a mean of 13.

For the VK/ZL/Oceania contest this weekend, here are a few projections for conditions to that part of the world:

From the center of the continental United States check 80 meters 0630-1230 UTC, 40 meters 0600-1300 UTC, 20 meters 0300-1530 UTC, 15 meters 1930-0130 UTC, and 10 meters 2130-2330 UTC.

From Southern California, check 80 meters 0630-1400 UTC, 40 meters 0600-1430 UTC, 20 meters 0300-1030 UTC, 15 meters 1900-0330 UTC, and 10 meters 2300-0130 UTC.

From Texas check 80 meters 0630-1230 UTC, 40 meters 0600-1300 UTC, 20 meters 0230-1100 UTC, 15 meters 1830-0200 UTC and 10 meters 2130-0030 UTC.

From the Southeast states check 80 meters 0700-1200 UTC, 40 meters 0600-1230 UTC, 20 meters around 0300 UTC and 1300-1500 UTC, 15 meters with weaker signals around 1900-2300 UTC, and possible 10 meter openings around 2130-2300 UTC.

From the New York area check 80 meters 0700-1130 UTC, 40 meters 0630-1200 UTC, 20 meters possibly around 0400-0530 UTC and 1300-1530 UTC, although conditions do not look promising, and 15 meters with only fair signals from 1930-2330 UTC, and a possible opening on 10 meters from 2000-2130 UTC.

• This weekend on the radio: The California QSO Party, the VK/ZL/Oceania Contest, and the RSGB 21/28 MHz Contest are featured.

• Corrections: Re The ARRL Letter, Vol 16, No 38 -- the story on Form 159 should have said "Form 610V." The correct title of the song that Patty Loveless, KD4WUJ, sang with George Jones during the recent CMA Awards telecast was "You Don't Seem to Miss Me."

• Vanity update: FCC has processed August 7 vanity call sign application receipts and granted 112 new call signs. The FCC reports that of the 759 "work in process" or WIPs applications from August 6, almost all were duplicates. Following the approximately 600 grants from August 6 receipts, the FCC issued another 50 new call signs from the WIPs stack.

• Update -- special event to mark Sputnik launch anniversary: Special event stations MX1ASE (Amateur Satellite Experimenters) and GX0AUK will mark the 40th anniversary of the launching of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, by the Soviet Union. The 184-pound, basketball-sized sphere was the first artificial Earth satellite. MX1ASE and GX0AUK will be on air for 24 hours on October 4, 1997. Then, activity will continue into November, ending at 2359 UTC on November 3, the date of the 40th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 2. MX1ASE and GX0AUK will be active in voice mode on all available analog satellites, concentrating on RS-10, RS-12, RS-15, RS-16. Joining the event will be Leo Labutin, UA3CR, and Andy Miranov, RK3KPK, of the Russian Satellite Ground Station near Moscow. RK3KPK will be on CW on the RS birds and UA3CR on voice and CW on FO-20 and FO-29, which will be switched to mode JA for this occasion. An SWL award, special QSL cards and an award certificate are available for those working any of the participating special event stations on more than one satellite. The limited-edition Anniversary Award Certificate is $10. Apply to John Heath, G7HIA, Chestnuts, Desford Ln, Kirkby Mallory, Leicestershire LE9 7QF, England. --AMSAT News Service/John Heath, G7HIA; NASA

• JOTA to mark 40 years: JOTA 1997 will mark the 40th Jamboree On The Air. This year, JOTA will take place on the weekend of October 17, 18 and 19. The ARRL Scout Handbook has lots of details on JOTA, and on the Radio merit badge. It's available at http://www.arrl.org/ead/#scout. Some DX stations already have indicated they'll be active in this year's JOTA event. Look for HB9JAM, the official call sign of the Swiss Scout Federation, Bern, Switzerland on HF, as well as HB4FF and HL9BSA (dependent children of US military and civilian personnel stationed in Korea). --thanks to Glenn Swanson, KB1GW; Ulrich Fierz, HB9AIK; and Vernon Eubanks, HL9VE/K0LVS

• QST Cover Plaque winner: Robert W. Schmieder, KK6EK, won the September 1997 QST Cover Plaque for his article, "The 1997 VK0IR Heard Island Expedition." Congratulations, Bob!

• AMSAT board election results: The results are in for the annual AMSAT Board of Directors balloting. A total of 1386 members voted in this year's election. Elected to two-year terms were Bill Tynan, W3XO (1234 votes); Stan Wood, WA4NFY (1161 votes); Dick Daniels, W4PUJ (1114 votes); and Joe Holman, AD7D (933 votes). Barry Baines, WD4ASW (842 votes), will serve as the alternate until the next AMSAT Board election. The newly elected board will gather during the AMSAT-NA annual meeting later this month to elect officers.--AMSAT News Service

The ARRL Letter is published by the American Radio Relay League, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259. Rodney J. Stafford, KB6ZV, President; David Sumner, K1ZZ, Executive Vice President.

Circulation, Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail kcapodicasa@arrl.org.

Editorial, Rick Lindquist, N1RL, e-mail elindquist@arrl.org.

Visit the ARRLWeb page at http://www.arrl.org.

The purpose of The ARRL Letter is to provide the essential news of interest to active, organizationally minded radio amateurs faster than it can be disseminated by our official journal, QST. We strive to be fast, accurate and readable in our reporting.

Material from The ARRL Letter may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form, including photoreproduction and electronic databanks, provided that credit is given to The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.

The ARRL Letter is distributed directly from ARRL HQ only to elected League officials and certain ARRL appointees and to paid subscribers of the now-defunct hard-copy edition of The ARRL Letter . For members and nonmembers alike, The ARRL Letter is available free of charge from these sources:

• The ARRLWeb page (http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/). This version of The ARRL Letter includes any photographs.

• The HIRAM BBS: 860-594-0306.

• The ARRL Technical Information Server (Info Server): Send an e-mail message to info@arrl.org. The subject line should be blank. In the message body, type send ltrmmdd.txt, where mm represents two digits for the month and dd represents two digits for the day (The ARRL Letter is published every Friday). For example, to request The ARRL Letter file for Friday, January 3, 1997, you'd type send ltr0103.txt. Then, on a separate line, type quit.

• CompuServe and America Online subscribers, as a downloadable text file in the services' ham radio libraries

• The Netcom server, run by the Boston Amateur Radio Club and Mike Ardai, N1IST: Send e-mail to listserv@netcom.com (no subject needed). The body of the message should say subscribe letter-list.