[Milsurplus] Urgent

David Stinson [email protected]
Fri, 01 Mar 2002 08:22:24 -0600


My $10 is on the way.  PayPal makes it easy.
73 Dave S. AB5S


Ralph Hogan wrote:
> 
> Hello fellow military radio collectors:
> 
> The server that host this MILSURPLUS remailer, hundreds of other ham related
> list and ham websites is in urgent need of donations to keep us going. Al
> Waller K3TKJ the ham that runs the servers sent out the below attached
> message recently.
> 
> I urge all of you to make a small $1-$10 donation to keep us afloat.
> 
> "If every user gave us a dime we could operate for 18 months or so, If every
> user sent us $1.00 we could
> operate for the next 20 years."
> 
> If you are like me, I am on a number of Al's remailers and also have a
> website hosted there. I greatly appreciate his tireless efforts and the
> services he offers to the ham community. I normally send in a yearly
> contribution, however this year, I will dig deeper.
> 
> ---------------------
> To help out, please use one of the following methods:
> 
> http://www.qsl.net/donations.html
> 
> Donations accepted by Credit Card  https://proxy.qsl.net/donation
> PayPal          http://www.paypal.com   (account [email protected])
> BidPay          http://www.bidpay.com   (account [email protected])
> 
> Cash/Check Donations by mail:
> 
> QSL.NET, Inc
> 34087 Old Hickory Road
> Laurel, Delaware 19956
> 
> Can I reach QSL.NET by phone?   302-875-7979 voice   302-875-1358 fax
> 
> --------------------
> 
> I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read this email and act upon it.
> 
> Best 73's
> Ralph Hogan  W4XE / AAT4UU
> Milsurplus Administrator
> 
> ============================================================================
> ===
> "Today has not been a good day for me. I am totally bummed out.
> 
> Other than the technical things with the servers, much of my time is spent
> trying to find creative ways to finance what we do and not make it
> commercial. I usually remind our users in the late Fall of donations and
> during this time of the year I have 2 "Platinum" sponsors that I contact.
> These 2 account for about a third of our yearly expenses. Today I made the
> calls and both are not able to help us any longer, I can understand this.
> the economy is flat and who knows when it will get rolling again.
> 
> We are in trouble....
> 
> This means we are $10K short for the year at the start, but it gets worse.
> I can't put any more money into this than I already do, to do so would not
> be fair to my family. The only place I see this being made up is from the
> users with a great deal of effort on our part. If every user gave us a dime
> we could operate for 18 months or so, If every user sent us $1.00 we could
> operate for the next 20 years. What actually happens is about 600
> users/clubs donate an average of $10 each and we never hear from the rest.
> I'm not ungrateful for the donations don't get me wrong but it is the same
> users year after year and that will cease too, I'm afraid. With no help we
> will be in deep dodo by Fall.
> 
> I don't want to sound like a TV evangelist always begging but I guess maybe
> that's what it takes.
> 
> I need you to be aware of the financial needs of the system and to remind
> your users as frequent as you see fit that we depend on them to do their
> part so that you and I can do our part. Please don't go off yelling the sky
> is falling and/or posting this mail to your lists, but sometime in the near
> future state our case and ask for user help.
> 
> The majority of the expenses monthly are for Internet access, this access
> is only affordable in 2-3 year contracts. We have one now that is $12K a
> year for 3 years. That T1 is at about 105% and is getting so slow it is
> unusable at times. We have another broadband circuit due to be installed
> Friday morning, this one will be $6K a year for 3 years. This will solve
> the bandwidth congestion but adding the $600 a month to the $833 a month we
> won't be getting from above and suddenly we are $18K in the red this year.
> 
> To give you an idea of how much bandwidth it takes to run all this, imagine
> the next time you download a program or something from the net and the
> little box says your speed was 194KB (a 56K modem would be about 5K) Our
> output is 194KB 24/7 it drops off the peg for just a few hours after the US
> goes to bed...Our incoming is a paltry 50KB 24/7....
> 
> If you have any other ideas how to support us I am listening.
> 
> As always thanks for your help,
> Al  "
> 
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