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   PR # 21507
    We propose to observe a sample of cataclysmic variables with weak    
    magnetic fields in order to determine their detailed X-ray spectra   
    and thus to test the validity of standard models, developed on the   
    basis of low spectral resolution observations of a very few bright   
    CVs. Recent observations of other weak-field CVs demonstrate the     
    weakness of present models and make it unclear whether the properties
    of the brightest systems are typical of the whole class. Our under-  
    standing of weak-field CVs can only be placed on a firm footing by   
    obtaining high quality hard X-ray spectra from a wide sample of      
    objects, a programme to which ASCA is ideally suited.                
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