ddickey,
All donation levels have been changed to one-time/non-recurring, and although the five levels don't all say it exactly the same way, all now say it some way. Instead of clicking on the Donations tab in the main tool bar, click on your UserID to the right of that and slide down and click on Account Upgrades. This should bring up a different screen with the five current donation levels from$10 to $200. Assuming that you intend to use PayPal, pick one and click on Purchase. This will take you to a PayPal login screen with your email address filled in. Note that this is the email address that you use for Hobby-Machinist. If you use the same one for PayPal, click in the Password box and enter your PayPal password. If your PayPal email address is something different, click in the email address box and enter the correct address (this does not change it on H-M). Then enter your password. The next screen should show the amount that you selected back on H-M. Confirm that and when finished, click the button to take you back to H-M.
As soon as the PayPal server notifies the H-M server that the transaction has gone through, the amount that you chose will drop to the bottom of the screen and Purchase changes to Extend. And the expiration date will be displayed. A few days before the displayed expiration date, you should receive an email saying that your one year donation is about to expire. And on the anniversary date, you will receive another email saying that it has expired. Supposedly, you can go to Account Upgrades from your Profile screen when you get the first email and click Extend, which should take you to PayPal as before. And when the payment is confirmed by PayPal, the expiration date should change to one a year later than it was. I don't think that has been tested yet.
People who made a donation last year or earlier this year before the recent changes to the donation system software don't have the Extend option. I forget what the box said but you will need to wait until you receive the actual Expired notification email (not the soon to expire one) and then go to Account Upgrades and go through the procedure. After that, you will have the Extend box. That has been checked.
For anyone who either doesn't have a PayPal account or for any reason does not want to use it, you may mail a Check or Money Order in one of the five amounts shown on the Account Upgrades page. The address to mail it to is:
The Hobby Machinist
PO Box 40599
256-29 Union Turnpike #40599
Glen Oaks, NY 11004
How long it will take between mailing and having it show up on H-M will depend upon several variables. I will say for now, give it at least three weeks before posting an inquiry here.
