How Do I . . .

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§   U.S.A. and Canada

Membership is open to all people interested in Morse code, irrespective of their speed and ability. An application form is not necessary to join, but it gives us a more complete picture of our membership. You can download a North American membership application here Membership Application (PDF file). This application should be mailed to Nancy, WZ8C at P.O.Box 47, Hadley, MI 48440-0047.

An application can be mailed to you. Send a message Jim Ranieri, AA9LS, aa9ls@turbotoads.com and he will email it to you, or mail an SASE to him at 33778 Rebecca Rd, Kingston IL 60145 and Jim will send you an application via return postal mail.

To join without an application, send your name, call, and mailing address with your membership fee to Nancy WZ8C, PO Box 47, Hadley, MI 48440 (checks payable to FISTS CW Club).

WE NOW ACCEPT PAYPAL for membership dues and supply orders!!!
Address your PAYPAL payment to FISTS@TIR.COM and make sure you reference what the payment is for, including sizes and colors if ordering merchandise

§   North, South, and Central America

If you live in North, South or Central America, you may join the North American Chapter of FISTS. To join by mail, please download a Membership Application (PDF file).

§   Australia and New Zealand

"FISTS Down Under" applications are to be mailed to Ralph Sutton, ZL2AOH at 12C Herbert Gardens, 186 The Terrace, Wellington 6001, New Zealand. Membership information is on the web at http://www.fistsdownunder.org/joinus.htm

§   Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Uzbekistan

People in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Uzbekistan wishing to join FISTS should join the East Asian Chapter. Information about this Chapter is available on the web page http://www.feacw.net

§   All Other DX

All other DX may join the DX Chapter of FISTS. For DX membership information, please see the web site at http://www.fists.co.uk/

HOW DO I RENEW?

To renew, send $15 to Nancy WZ8C (checks payable to "FISTS CW Club") at FISTS, PO Box 47, Hadley, MI 48440.

FISTS numbers are not reassigned. so if you had a number in the past, please let Nancy know at the time of your renewal so she can "reactivate" it

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN TO RENEW?

Your renewal date is on your mailing label - please look at it! ONE renewal postcard is mailed out. If you've sent in your renewal but get a reminder postcard within a few weeks, please don't be concerned, the card probably crossed with your renewal A FISTS volunteer sends out renewal postcards, but if you renew prior to your renewal month it will save postage and printing costs as well as volunteer time. Your renewal date is on your Keynote mailing label in the form of year, month, date. For example 2005/4/4 would be a renewal date April 2005. The day of the month is meaningless, but the computer program requires a day, so generally the day of the month number is the same as the month number. 2005/12/12 2006/5/5 etc. RENEWALS ARE FREE FOR AGES 80 AND UP or YOUNGER than 18.

MAY I RENEW FOR MORE THAN ONE YEAR AT A TIME?

Yes! You may renew for as many years at a time as you like, but there is not a "quantity" discount.

Send $15/year or $10/year for college students to FISTS, P. O. Box 47, Hadley, MI 48440 or via Paypal to fists@tir.com with "RENEWAL" in the Paypal Comments Box. You may renew for more than one year at a time.

If you are age 80 and up or under age 18, or have a family membership your renewal is free. If you qualify for a free renewal, please drop Nancy WZ8C a note around the time of your "renewal" each year. Let us know you are still interested in CW and FISTS so we can update your membership and keep you on the Active Members List.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

      Subscriptions are $15.00/year; If you are 80 or over, or Under 18 your subscription is FREE; College students are $10. Family members may join FISTS at no extra charge-only one newsletter is mailed per household.

      Please make checks payable to FISTS CW Club and send to FISTS, P O Box 47, Hadley, MI 48440. DO NOT send FISTS correspondence to Nancy WZ8C's call book address. Checks can take 6-8 weeks to clear from the day received.  It does NOT take 8 weeks to get your number, it just may take that long for your check to clear.

HOW DO I JOIN or RENEW WITH PAYPAL?

If you have a Paypal account, send the funds to fists@tir.com; put "RENEWAL" in the Comment Box, along with your call sign.

North American FISTS accepts PAYPAL (http://www.paypal.com). Address your PAYPAL payment to FISTS@TIR.COM To join via Paypal, type "New Membership" in the Paypal Comments Box, your name (if different from the name on your Paypal account), call sign, and mailing address.

To join the North American Chapter using Paypal, send the $15 yearly membership subscription to "fists@tir.com" and put "New Membership" in the Paypal comments box, along with your call sign and name and mailing information if different from that used to make the Paypal payment. If you have a question about membership please contact Nancy WZ8C (nancy@tir.com)

If you can't download the North American application, information and an application can be mailed to you. Send a message to Jim Ranieri, AA9LS with your name, call sign, and postal address, or mail the request to Jim at 33778 Rebecca Road, Kingston, IL 60145

WHERE DO I MAIL A DX APPLICATION OR RENEWAL?

ZL,VK applications go to Ralph Sutton, ZL2AOH at 12C Herbert Gardens, 186 The Terrace, Wellington 6001, New Zealand.

East Asia applications and inquiries go to Jean at join@fists-ea.org

All other applications and requests for info sent to:

Graham Smith G3ZOD
FISTS
P.O. Box 6743
Tipton
DY4 4AU
England, UK

http://fists.co.uk/joinrenew.html

HOW TO SEARCH FOR A FISTS CALL OR NUMBER

Go to the following web site and type in the FISTS member's Call Sign and it will give you the FISTS Number for this call. It will also do it in reverse, Number to Call Sign.

North American FISTS Search

(Special thanks to Mark Downing WM7D, for maintaining this service.)

Please send your Fists information updates to Nancy WZ8C , not to WM7D.

HOW DO I GET A NUMBER FOR MY LOCAL CLUB?

Clubs with FCC call signs may be assigned a FISTS number at no charge providing there is at least one FISTS member in good standing in the local club. These clubs are not legally affiliated with FISTS, nor does FISTS have anything to do with how the club is run, etc. It just means the club has a FISTS number and is worth three points toward awards. If the club wants a newsletter, there is a $15 a year charge. To defray costs, please enclose $4 when a club applies for an award and wants a certificate. There is no charge for a Century Certificate number, just for the certificate if one is desired. Membership certificates are $2 for clubs.

HOW DO I UPDATE MY ADDRESS or CALL SIGN ON THE FISTS DATABASE?

Send corrections or changes to Nancy Kott, WZ8C, at FISTS, P. O. Box 47, Hadley, MI 48440 or email to nancy@tir.com. Please send labels with your corrections to the FISTS QSL Bureau so the bureau workers don't have to change all your SASEs by hand.

HOW DO I GET AN UP-TO-DATE MEMBER LIST?

You can download a copy of the latest member list for FISTS maintained by the NA-FISTS membership people. The pages are as current as the information is provided and are now updated quarterly, the beginning of January, April, July, and October.

The .PDF and .txt files below is a listing of groups as follows: The Americas, FISTS Down Under, United Kingdom and Europe, East Asia, Misc, and FISTS clubs.

List in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format - 1Mb file

List  in a "TAB" delimited text format - 94k file

List  in a "COMMA" delimited text format - 94k file

If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader, it is FREE

NOTE: * * * The search engine feature on the main web page is updated more frequently than the text and .pdf lists on this web page, but only includes North American members.

HOW DO I GET SPECIAL CLUB UPDATES via the FISTS EMAIL LIST?

To receive periodic official Email updates, send your Email address, call sign and FISTS number to Nancy WZ8C nancy@tir.com. If you put your email address on your application, it is automatically added to the list. Due to potential spam problems, the list is NOT given out to the membership and is NOT published on the web page. It is ONLY used to notify you of FISTS items of interest. If you want people to know your Email address, we recommend you include it in your listing on QRZ.com or Buckmaster lookup service.

HOW DO I ORDER CLUB SUPPLIES?

Go to the FISTS Club Store for photos of all club supplies!

Irene W08E 44609 N. Bunker Hill Dr., Clinton Twp, MI 48038 is our Supply Manager. Our supplies are sold as close to cost as possible

We offer:

Metallic gold logo stickers, 200 for $3.50.
I "red heart graphic" CW 3/4 inch round stickers $3.50 for 200.
Blue enamel cloisonne/gold metal "FISTS CW CLUB" octagon logo pin, with tie-tack type pin back $1.50.
White enamel cloisonne pin "I (red heart graphic) CW - FISTS CW CLUB" along edge 3/4 inch diameter circle tie-tack type pin on back $1.50.
Embroidered rectangle cloth patch of our key logo $1.00. The patches can be ironed or sewn on.
You may use Paypal to order supplies. Send the total amount to fists@tir.com and put the items you would like in the comments box. Be sure your name & address are included. ALL PRICES INCLUDE POSTAGE. DO NOT ADD POSTAGE TO YOUR TOTAL

HOW DO I GET FISTS SHIRTS?

Go to the FISTS Club Store for photos of all club supplies!

Show the world that you are proud to be a FISTS member. We have t-shirts, sweatshirts, and polo shirts. The front of the t-shirts and sweatshirts are printed in silver: I'm PROUD to be a KNOW CODE Ham and the backs of the shirts are printed in light blue with the FISTS key logo graphic and Join the Code Crusade http://www.fists.org

T-Shirt Front	T-Shirt Back	Polo Shirt

The T-shirts are available in two solid colors: black or royal blue (a medium blue, not navy) Sweatshirts are gray with royal blue printing on the front and back. The polo/golf shirts are sky blue with the FISTS key tastefully EMBROIDERED on the top left side. They are short sleeved and have a knit collar and a couple buttons at the neck. Sizes are small, medium, large, XL, 2XL, and 3XL. All shirts are 50/50 blend. The T's are "Best" Fruit of the Loom. Sweats are 5.8 oz Jerzee and Polos are Fruit of the Loom. The total prices including postage are: T-shirts = $6.00 Sweats = $11.00 Polos = $15.00 NOTE: Contact Nancy WZ8C (nancy@tir.com) for non-USA or bulk order postage. You may order using Paypal. The email address to use for Paypal is fists@tir.com. Do NOT use nancy@tir.com. In the "comments" box of the Paypal form, please be specific about what you are ordering, since this info will be used to fill your order. To order by mail, send your order (don't forget to include what color tshirt you want, and the size!) to Nancy Kott WZ8C, PO Box 47, Hadley MI 48440 Checks payable to FISTS, Paypal to fists@tir.com. This is a limited time opportunity. When the shirts are gone - they're GONE, so get yours now!

HOW DO I GET/SEND FISTS QSL CARDS Via BUREAU?

Keep SASEs in stock with the FISTS QSL Bureau. Stan Reas K4UK runs the Bureau. Send envelopes to 1020 Long Island Drive Moneta, VA 24121. Select the "QSL BUREAU" menu item at the top of this page to go to the FISTS QSL Bureau web page.

HOW DO I SEND APPLICATION OR SAMPLE NEWSLETTER TO A FRIEND?

For a brochure, email Jim AA9LS at aa9ls@turbotoads.com with their name, call sign, and postal address. SASEs are appreciated. Jim's postal address is 33778 Rebecca Rd, Kingston IL 60145 An application is available for downloading on our web page http://www.fists.org.

APPLY FOR AN OPERATING AWARD?

Dennis Franklin K6DF is the Awards Manager. We have many different operating awards. Details are on our web page or in the Keynotes. Dennis's contact information is or 4658 Capitan Drive Fremont,CA 94536-5448. Please put the word "FISTS" in the title of your email. Awards are free for members in good standing.

Non-dues paying Clubs with FISTS numbers, non-members and lapsed members who dues are not current must pay $4 for award certificates to help defray the cost.

WHAT IS KNØWCW AND HOW DO I OPERATE KNØWCW?

KNØWCW is the USA FISTS Callsign. Members in good standing (meaning, paid up dues) can operate KNØWCW from their home station after getting PERMISSION. To get permission, contact Karl Zuege, KB1DSB . A schedule of operators can be found on the FISTS Web page. Remember, when you're using KNØWCW, you're flying the flag for FISTS, so please operate responsibly.

HOW DO I VOLUNTEER FOR or GET A CODE BUDDY?

K3NEM, The Amateur Radio Club of the National Electronics Museum members are the volunteers handling the Code Buddy Program. Contact them at Box 1693 MS 4015, Baltimore, MD 21203, or Email Nick at K3NY@arrl.net. We need ELMERS and Buddies, please volunteer to be a Code Buddy!! You don't have to be a speed demon to be a Code Buddy, lots of people just want someone to practice with, just like YOU! To volunteer or to get a Code Buddy, include what you need (teacher, student, practice buddy), what bands you can work, and what areas of the country you can reliably work.

HOW DO I GET MY PHOTO ON THE PHOTO PAGES?

Send a snapshot of yourself with your face about the size of a quarter to Ken W8ROG 44609 N. Bunker Hill Dr., Clinton Twp, MI 48038.

HOW DO I RECEIVE THE KEYNOTE ON TAPE?

The Keynote is not currently available on tape. Keynotes on tape may be available at a later date.

HOW DO I DOWNLOAD A SAMPLE COPY OF THE KEYNOTE?

Download a sample of our USA newsletter in pdf format. A typical Keynote runs from 24-84 pages, depending on how much news and how many stories we receive to print. We will also include a newsletter from one of our foreign FISTS Chapters if one is available, since many US members find the DX contributions to be interesting. Reading the DX news also helps foster friendships across the globe.

It is published approximately 6 to 10 issues per year, including a Reference Issue and a Photo-Pages issue, which is similar to a yearbook. There may occasionally be a "combo" issue if time is crunched, like around the holidays or Dayton Hamvention time.

The newsletter is printed on paper (with color photographs) and mailed via the postal system and is not available via email at this point in time. If you haven't sent your photo to Ken W8ROG for inclusion in the Photo-Pages issue, please do so. it's fun to put a face with a call sign. The Keynote depends on your writing contributions, so if you have a helpful ham hint, operating suggestion, code learning tip, story about your first times on the air, tribute to an Elmer, product review, antenna project, just about anything, please send it in to Nancy WZ8C, PO Box 47 Hadley MI 48440.

This file is 5.1 Mb

Click on the image to the right to download a sample copy of the Keynote and it will open with Adobe Acrobat. "This file is 5.1 Mb in size." Or you can right mouse click the image and select "save as."

HOW DO I GET A COPY OF FISTS PRESENTATION to give at my local club meeting?

It's easy and fun! We send you everything you need for a snazzy 15-20 minute presentation. Contact Joe Spencer, KK5NA, 3618 Montridge Ct, Arlington TX 76016 or email him at kk5na@kk5na.com.

HOW DO I SUGGEST IDEAS FOR THE WEB PAGE?

Contact Dennis K6DF at

HOW DO I ORDER FISTS CLUB QSL CARDS?

You may use the FISTS logos and get cards from any printer you wish. Cheapqsls.com has made a special FISTS card with special pricing for FISTS members. For ordering information and to see the cards visit http://www.cheapqsls.com/clubs/fists.htm

HOW DO I ORDER A FISTS CLUB ID BADGE?

Our club badge is dark blue with the FISTS logo in gold and your call sign, first name, FISTS number and "Int'l Morse Preservation Society" in white. More information may be found at www.thesignman.com/clubs/fists.html where easy secure online ordering is available. You may also write: The SignMan of Baton Rouge, P.O. Box 84107, Baton Rouge, LA 70884-4107 or call 225.757.1545 / 888.426.8241.

HOW DO I IMPROVE MY CODE SPEED and MEET LOTS OF NEW FRIENDS?

Join FISTS! Get involved in the nets and activities! Volunteer to be a Code Buddy! Write an article for the Keynote about your interests!

HOW DO I GET A COPY OF THE K7QO CODE COURSE?

Thanks to K7QO's generosity, FISTS has the distribution rights to the famous K7QO Code Course (Farnsworth method) on CD in mp3 format. When you complete the program by practicing two or three times a day for 10 minutes each session, you will soon be on the air at a comfortable conversational speed.

Because of license restructuring, tens of thousands of Novice, Tech+, and Techs now have privileges in the CW bands. FISTS CW Club encourages these hams to use their privileges and upgrade from the 5 wpm they learned to obtain these licenses. Chuck Adams, K7QO, recorded a General class exam written question pool on CD in Morse code, starting out slowly and working up to about 30 wpm.

Since is starts at a speed of about 10 wpm and is plain text, it is not for beginners. However, it is excellent practice for those who know the code and want to upgrade their skills. It is also a good refresher course in electronics for those who have been licensed a while. You may be surprised at how much of the General class information you have forgotten!

Both disks are mp3 files, and will not play in a regular CD player. You need a CD-sized mp3 player (available in stores for under $20) or a computer. They will play in most newer car CD players.

To obtain your copy of the Upgrade Project disk or the Code Course disk, send $1 per disk to cover the postage and envelope. Please include a label with your address, if possible, to FISTS PO Box 47, Hadley MI 48440. Please specify which disk you would like.

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Updated 3/27/13