"Steve B" wrote:

We went with a different ISP after our previous (current, but
not yet disconnected) one had problems with rain, snow, bird
crapping on the antenna, etc.

We get this new modem FedEx, and I hook it up. I try to get
Usenet. No go.

Getting to the point... Subscribe to AstraWeb (news.astraweb.com) or
some other premium news server.

FWIW, about UseNet in general.
What was there before UseNet but of course on a lesser scale?
Conference calling? Seems to me that UseNet is the only
unmoderated global alternative to the one-way media. I have a
feeling that ISPs dropping UseNet is more than just a financial
concern. I fear that someday The Powers That Be will take it away
from us. Maybe that is paranoid, but some fascist leaders have
chastised UseNet, and Google is destroying access to the UseNet
archive.

Good luck and have fun.