UPDATE 0924z: Already 3 spots by EA8BFK (2880km) and someone in KO40 square.
UPDATE 1155z: 4 stations have spotted me. No stations "across the pond" yet.UPDATE 1225z: Now spotted by 7 stations. It looks like the first USA spots were at 1218z.
UPDATE 1424z: 36 stations in 4 continents have spotted me. See map by VK7JJ.
UPDATE 1847z: 51 stations have spotted me. Now QRT.
My beacon was turned on after breakfast.
UPDATE 0955z: Spotted by 2 stations with the best a station in Saudi Arabia - HZ1SF (4939km).
John's blog is always worth a look. He seems to find out lots of news! In my view, it is one of the best.
The world is changing.
In many ways, despite the constant threat of nuclear war, mine was a lucky generation. We seem to be returning to a world of empires and spheres of influence.
What is happening in Minnesota is typical of the new world order. Different accounts differ wildly and it is hard to tell what is the truth.
Why can't we live peacefully together?
This photo has been on before.
It shows the Yaesu FT7 which was the first commercial transceiver I owned in the 1980s.
During that time DXCC was worked on 10W 10W SSB (QRP).
It had no memories, no synthesiser and a very quiet analogue RX.
Of all the commercial transceivers I have owned, it was probably the very best. It proved that QRP SSB and low simple antennas were all you needed to work the world. I think the antennas at the time were just wire dipoles and a CB vertical.
Back in the 1960s in the UK, Morse (CW) at 12 words a minute was essential to get a licence to transmit on HF.
In most countries this is no longer the case. I think you can get on HF now without Morse. Mostly I use FT8 and WSPR in preference, mainly as my fine motor skills are poor. I have used CW since my 2013 stroke, but rarely.
Back in the late 1960s I used to be taught CW by Bill Honeywill G4PJ (SK) on 160m. He would regularly send me slow Morse over the air. Somewhere (goodness know where!) I had a tape recording of some of these.
I passed my Morse test in the Liver Building in Liverpool whilst at university in 1967 when I first got my G3 call allowing HF operation.
Just a few years ago most had never heard of AI (artificial intelligence). Now it is everywhere: you look, for example, on YouTube as you see a well known person. The chances are this is created using AI. These days many, if not most, of the things you see on YouTube are AI creations created so the creator gets money from adverts when the video is viewed.
Sadly, you have to assume it is AI unless you can be absolutely sure it is not. There are very few sites I now trust.
