From: ikluft@uts.amdahl.com (Ian Kluft)
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc
Subject: How to find the answers to frequently-asked questions about Ham Radio
Date: 22 Dec 92 18:37:56 GMT
Expires: 11 Jan 93 08:00:00 GMT
Reply-To: hamradio-faq@uts.amdahl.com (Ham Radio FAQ Coordinators)
Followup-To: rec.radio.amateur.misc
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, UTS Systems Software, Santa Clara, CA
X-Posting-Frequency: this is posted on the 22nd of each month
   The FAQ articles described here are posted on the 7th of each month

Posted-By: auto-faq 2.4

How to find the Rec.radio.amateur.misc Frequently Asked Questions list
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This article will tell you how to find the answers to frequently-asked
Questions (FAQ) from rec.radio.amateur.misc.  The FAQ articles are posted on
the 7th of each month.  This article is posted on the 22nd of every month as
a reminder for where to find the FAQ.

The FAQ articles are intended to summarize some common questions on the
rec.radio.amateur.misc newsgroup and Info-Hams mail list as well as to help
beginners get started.

Besides the monthly posting, the FAQ is always available via anonymous FTP
and from e-mail servers.  This article contains instructions for obtaining a
copy of the FAQ.  It also contains the table of contents from the FAQ so
that you know which questions are covered by it.

Please provide a copy of the FAQ to any new or soon-to-be Hams you know.

Regular FAQ postings can help save network bandwidth and maintain a good
signal-to-noise ratio in the newsgroup.  However, they can't do it alone - you,
the reader, have to use them.  If you are a new user, please print and review
the FAQ articles and look at the instructions in the news.newusers newsgroup
before posting any articles.  If you are an experienced user, please help by
refraining from answering frequently-asked questions on the newsgroup if they
are already answered by the FAQ articles.  Instead, send e-mail to the user who
asked the question.  (It will be helpful if you include the part of the FAQ
that answers their question, but not the whole thing.)

--How to obtain a current copy of the FAQ-------------------------------------

There are 3 ways to obtain a copy of the FAQ.
1) NetNews
2) Anonymous FTP
3) An Electronic Mail Server

Option #1: NetNews
------------------
If you are familiar enough with NetNews to look through previous articles on
your system, Option #1 above may be the easiest for you.  The FAQ is posted
so that it should not expire from your site's news spool until the next one is
posted.  Unfortunately, some news administrators do not honor the expiration
dates meant to preserve the FAQ.  If the FAQ has expired at your site, try
Option #2.

Option #2: Anonymous FTP
------------------------
Anonymous FTP uses the File Transfer Protocol.  It is only avail-
able to sites which are directly connected to the Internet.  If you don't know
how to use FTP and can't find a friend to help you, continue to Option #3.  If
your site is not connected to the Internet, you should also continue to Option
#3.

The following sites have copies of the FAQ:
site name & address                path to FAQ articles
-------------------                --------------------
ftp.amdahl.com (129.212.11.1)      pub/radio/amateur/faq.[1-3].Z
ftp.cs.buffalo.edu (128.205.32.9)  pub/ham-radio/faq_ham_[1-3]
pit-manager.mit.edu (18.172.1.27)  pub/usenet/news.answers/ham-radio-faq/part*

Remember, when connecting to the remote system, use the login name of
"anonymous" and, as a courtesy to the site administrators, your e-mail address
for the password.

Option #3: Electronic Mail Server
---------------------------------
If you can't use Options 1 or 2, your only remaining option is electronic mail.
You can retreive a copy of the FAQ by sending a message to
	mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu

The subject of your mail will contain a command for the mail server software.
To get all of the FAQ (consisting of 70K of e-mail in 3 parts), place the
following in the subject of your message:
	send usenet/news.answers/ham-radio-faq/*

To obtain just one part, substitute the part number for the "1" in the
following example:
	send usenet/news.answers/ham-radio-faq/part1

Leave the body of your message empty because the mail server will try to
interpret everything in it as additional commands.  Here is an example of
what the message might look like.

--- begin sample mail message ---
To: mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu
From: me@here.org
Subject: send usenet/news.answers/ham-radio-faq/*
Date: Mon Aug 14 22:27:33 PDT 1995

--- end sample mail message ---

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Table of Contents
-----------------
Dates indicate last modification.

Part 1 - Introduction to the FAQ and Amateur Radio
**  Table of Contents (11/92)
**  Introduction to the FAQ (11/92)
    * How to Contribute to the FAQ Articles (7/92)
    * Acknowledgements (7/92)
    * Notes on "Netiquette" (11/92)
**  What is Amateur Radio? (11/92)
**  Who can become a ham in the United States? (11/92)
**  Where can I locate information and books on Amateur Radio? (4/92)
**  How much does it cost? (4/92)
**  Where can I take the tests? (pre-4/92)
**  What are the tests like? (4/92)
**  What can I do with a ham radio license? (5/92)
**  What can't I do with an Amateur Radio license? (pre-4/92)
**  I'm interested, who will help me? (11/92)
**  Should I build my own equipment or antenna? (11/92)

Part 2 - Amateur Radio Organizations, Services, and Information Sources
**  Where can I find Ham Radio information with a computer? (11/92)
    * The ARRL e-mail server (new 11/92)
    * The Internet File Transfer Protocol (FTP) (11/92)
    * Access to FTP archives via electronic mail (11/92)
    * The Info-Hams mail list: rec.radio.amateur.misc by mail (11/92)
    * Telephone BBS's with Ham-related information (11/92)
    * Callsign servers and geographical name servers (11/92)
    * FTP access to FCC Part 97 and FCC Amateur Radio question pools (11/92)
    * Lists of radio modifications and extensions (11/92)
**  Can I send ARRL or W5YI electronic mail? (11/92)
**  "Why doesn't the ARRL do...?" (11/92)
**  What magazines are available for Ham Radio? (pre-4/92)
**  How do I use the incoming and outgoing QSL bureau? (11/92)
**  Are there any news groups for CAP? (11/92)
**  What's the name of the QRP club that issues QRP numbers? (pre-4/92)
**  How do I become a 10-10 member? (pre-4/92)
**  How do I join MARS? (10/92)
**  How do I join RACES? (pre-4/92)
**  What organizations are available to help handicapped hams? (pre-4/92)
**  I am looking for a specific ham, can anyone help me find him? (pre-4/92)
**  Can I post my neat new ham related program on rec.radio.amateur.misc?
    (pre-4/92)
**  Where can I get ham radio software for my computer? (4/92)
**  Are there Dialup News services or BBSs for Amateur Radio? (4/92)
**  Where can I find VE sessions in my local area? (6/92)
**  Why isn't XXX available electronically? (4/92)

Part 3 - Amateur Radio Advanced and Technical Questions
**  What are the different US amateur classes and what can each of them do?
    (pre-4/92)
**  What is the best way to learn Morse Code? (10/92)
**  What is the standard for measuring Morse code speed? (pre-4/92)
**  I'm confused. What do all those abbreviations mean??? (5/92)
**  What do all those "tones" mean? (pre-4/92)
**  Where can I learn more about Amateur Radio if I live outside the US?
    (4/92)
**  How can I get a "reciprocal license" if I am a licensed ham from another
    country or if I am a FCC licensed ham who wants to operate in another
    country (on vacation)? (11/92)
**  My apartment or housing complex does not allow outdoor antennas, now what
    do I do? (pre-4/92)
**  I got TVI...HELP!!! (pre-4/92)
**  Did you know that you can get college credit for being a ham? (pre-4/92)
**  On what frequencies do JPL and GSFC retransmit the shuttle audio?
    (10/92)
**  Can I take my HT on an airplane and operate it if I get the permission
    of the captain? (4/92)
**  How do I modify my current Amateur license? (4/92)
**  I'm confused about XXX, should I ask the FCC? (4/92)
**  Is there any information on antique radios? (pre-4/92)
**  Where can I buy vacuum tubes? (pre-4/92)
**  What do I need to get started in packet radio? (5/92)
**  What do I need to get started in satellite communications? (pre-4/92)
**  What is available to get started in ATV, SSTV and WEFAX? (5/92)
**  What are these contests I sometimes hear, and how do I participate? (7/92)

--Submitting changes for the FAQ----------------------------------------------

If you have comments or updates for the FAQ, send e-mail to
	hamradio-faq@uts.amdahl.com
This will send mail to all the people on the FAQ editorial review group.
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc