With a retiree's limited amount to spend I'm very meticulous about credit card transactions AND monitoring outstanding accounts. Everything was in order here.
My beef is with PayPal for failure to recognize my unblemished credit record over quite a few years of doing business with them. That's how credit  bureaus rate you: by performance over time. My beef with Buy.Com is refusing the alternative payment I
offered--via a personal credit card--even though that was an option in the original transaction. In publicizing the situation I'm just trying to strike a blow against the way commercial bureaucracies dismiss us little customers as nothing more than numbers in a database.  Who speaks up for us any more?

     After years of using PayPal without a hitch—and never a payment problem with ANY credit card-- I was astounded to receive the following notification last night (11/16/2011) from Buy.Com: “Dear Buy.com Customer, We apologize for the inconvenience, but at this time we are not able to fulfill your order. Order #63208550 has been cancelled because you have a PayPal UnVerified Account or you are shipping to a PayPal Unconfirmed Address.”   
       This after PayPal had already emailed that my payment had been forwarded to Buy.Com. What had I done wrong? 
     Responding to my urgent inquiry, PayPal emailed that the quickest way to achieve “Verified” status would be signing up for their new credit card! But in the meantime, I’d lost a good bargain from Buy.com (now sold out) and also probably picked up a hit on my otherwise pristine record with the credit bureaus. And I don’t need another credit card.
       The remarkable thing about suddenly becoming “Unverified “after years as a steady customer is that as recently as Nov. 11 PayPal had honored a previous transaction for me.  No questions asked by that vendor.
       This experience may be of interest to others unaware of the new sales campaign for the PayPal credit card and in potential danger of being declared “Unverified.”
    Adding insult to injury, Buy.Com declined to honor my re-order using a longstanding personal MasterCard, although the vendor’s acknowledgment of the initial order proclaimed: “We pride ourselves on delivering the best possible shopping experience to you and all of our customers. That means that from the moment you enter Buy.com to the moment your order is delivered to your door - we are dedicated to your satisfaction.”
     Here’s the official guidance for anyone interested in checking their own status with PayPal:
“For more information on how to get a PayPal Verified Account and how to get a PayPal Confirmed Address, please go to the following links:
http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/acc/seal-CA-unconfirmed-outside
http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/shipping-address-outside.
Bill Sexton
N1IN

Forgot to add . . . see www.mods.dk for details on modifying various xcvrs.

John,
  Most MARS nets operate well outside the amateur bands but modifying most Ham transceivers for this is a fairly simple task.
    Maybe a little more complicated is getting adapted to the increase focus on digital modes of transmission. But that's fun, too, if you like computers.
     Have a look at www.txarmymars.org for all sorts of information. And welcome aboard.

The Diconix 150 is as handy as a portable printer can get, both lightweight and operable on D-cells. Perfect for field emergencies. However, there's no Windows XP driver for this useful oldie. The Diconix manual says it will function ok with the Epson FX-80 driver which (says Epson) Win XP DOES support. I've made the required dip switch adjustments on the Diconix to emulate the FX-80 but get only garbage when I send a document from XP to the printer.  Has anyone successfully made the transition to XP?