L. M. Rappaport wrote:
It's not so long ago that the USA had a list of "banned countries"
that USA radio amateurs were forbidded to communicate with.

That's news to me. We had a list of countries with whom we were not
allowed to pass third party traffic, but those came about because the
banned countries prohibited third party traffic. I've been licensed
continuously since 1954, I may have missed this so-called ban, but I
don't think so. No flame,

The list was -- and is -- for real.
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_20...7cfr97.111.htm

FCC regulation 97.111(a)(1) which states in part:
"(a) An amateur station may transmit the following types of two-way
communications:
(1) Transmissions necessary to exchange messages with other stations
in the amateur service, except those in any country whose administration
has given notice that it objects to such communications. The FCC will
issue public notices of current arrangements for international
communications;"

So the banned list actually still exists, just that it's empty as no
administration has currently notified the FCC that it objects to amateur
communications with the USA.

ISTR when I got my first license in 1973 there were three countries on
the banned list. North Korea and China were two, I forget who the third
was. In any case there were no ham stations in any of the listed
countries so the FCC regulation really had no effect...
--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

Ham stuff for sale:
http://www.w9wi.com/articles/4sale.htm