Bert Hyman  wrote:   
   > What's the current preferred way to include payment for return postage   
   > to the US?   
   > Is $2 enough, usually?   
   > How well are IRCs accepted?   
   > Are two-dollar bills to weird to use?   
      
   Bert, it's been a couple of years since I've been active, but until the   
   smart guys get here I'll put my own opinions out FWIW:   
      
   If you want a direct reply, $2 US is the minimum for a lot of foreign   
   hams--airmail rates have gone up in recent years in a lot of the world.   
   You can find specifics for various countries--airmail costs, etc., on the   
   web, and you can also find information from hams in other countries about   
   how well IRCs work--some people have a lot of trouble with them, others   
   don't.  THis newsgroup used to be a good source of information but usenet   
   seems to be dying off--I'm sure there are websites with this sort of   
   information.  THere may be some countries left where $1US will pay an   
   airmail reply, but probably not many and I'd hate to count on it if the   
   QSL is important to you.   
      
   I would be hesitant about using a $2 bill to help with postage--too many   
   people in the US are dubious about them, but even in Indonesia and   
   Svalbard, the standard $1 bill is familiar.   
      
   I love paper QSLs--I was just looking at some of mine earlier today,   
   enjoying remembering the QSOs, the exotic locations .. but you'll probably   
   want to sign up for "Logbook of the World" in addition.  It looks darned   
   useful on the face of it, even if you (like me) still want those paper   
   QSLs when possible.   
      
   I used to send QSL requests in old envelopes from work--ones that were to   
   be discarded for being out of date.  Laser-print the address on one of   
   those with no callsign visible and it looks like a regular business   
   letter, less attractive to pilferers, I think.   
      
   Hope this helps a bit.  Who are you working these days?  I've been   
   inactive for a while but I'm toying with the idea of setting up a little   
   PSK31 operation, and seeing if 15meters is any good these days ...   
      
   73 de AC4RD   
      
      _______________________________________________   
      Ken Kuzenski AC4RD atsign mindspring dotsign com   
      _______________________________________________   
     All disclaimers apply, see?  www.duke.edu/~kuzen001   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)