Working DX...

I wrote a nice paragraph explaining why I like ham radio, about how it doesn't need any infrastructure, isn't subject to terrorism, overloading, disasters, power failure, obsolescence, monthly charges, etc. etc. and about how today's kids don't appreciate the complexity of today's technology that's needed for them to communicate all over the globe. My little ham radio and batteries in my garage and a wire in the air are all I need to talk all over the world. But since no one reads my blog anymore, what the heck, I decided to erase it. So I'll just write this as a personal journal entry. I've been working too hard lately, putting in 18-hour days, and so I decided to take this weekend off and see how many countries I could talk to on the ham radio this weekend. I talked to 200 different stations in the following countries. (Yes, this is boring, but no one reads my blog anymore anyway, and I'm curious about how many countries I talked to, so I'm gonna use this space to count them. 1. Anguilla 2. Antigua and Barbuda 3. Argentina 4. Aruba 5. Austria 6. Azores 7. Bahamas 8. Barbados 9. Belgium 10. Bermuda 11. Bosnia-Herzegovina 12. Brazil 13. Canary Islands 14. Cayman Islands 15. Chile 16. Columbia 17. Costa Rica 18. Croatia 19. Cuba 20. Denmark 21. Dominca 22. Dominan Republic 23. Ecuador 24. England 25. Ethiopia 26. Falkland Islands 27. Fernando de Noronha (who the heck has ever heard of this island? It's in the Atlantic and belongs to Brazil) 28. France 29. Germany 30. Greece 31. Guadeloupe 32. Guatamala 33. Hungary 34. Ireland 35. Italy 36. Jamaica 37. Madieras Islands (A famous group of islands off the French Riviera, but they belong to Spain) 38. Martinique 39. Mexico 40. Netherlands 41. Netherlands Antilles 42. New Zealand 43. Nicaragua 44. Northern Ireland (yes, it's a separate country from Ireland) 45. Norway 46. Panama 47. Paraguay 48. Poland 49. Portugal 50. Puerto Rico 51. Romania 52. Senegal 53. St. Kitts and Nevis 54. St. Martin 55. St. Vincent (anyone who studied European history knows why there are so many Caribbean islands named after Saints: It has to do with the papal bull preceding the Treaty of Tordesillas which effectively established the "Spanish Main", and made Spain (later Charles V, born in the Gravensteen Castle of the Counts of Flanders in Ghent) believe that the entire new world belonged to them, and it was their religious duty to drive out the French, English, and Dutch colonists.). 56. Slovakia 57. Slovenia (few Americans know the difference between Slovakia and Slovenia ... or even where they are... or care for that matter) 58. South Africa 59. Spain 60. Switzerland 61. Turks and Ciacos 62. Ukraine 63. Uruguay 64. Venezuela 65. Virgin Islands (U.S.) 66. Virgin Islands (British, yes, they're a separate country!) 67. Wales I actually talked to someone in every one of these countries, and exchanged callsigns, locations, power levels, etc. over the air. And of course, Canada is 68, and I guess you could call the U.S. number 69. I talked to 49 of the 50 states... including Hawaii, but not Alaska. Lots of islands above. Lots. Of course, having a ham radio can be very, very important when you live on an island, especially one that's subject to hurricanes and other disasters that often take out the communications systems. Islands are well-known for having lots of ham radio operators. Sixty-nine countries in two days. Wow.

Sorry, but I didn't work any stations in Kenya, Sudan, or Djibouti.

And for some reason, the list doesn't include some major countries like Sweden, Finland, Russia, Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Indonesia, India, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, or the Philippines. Why not? Because the sunspots are at their minimum... the sun has been almost perfectly spotless for almost two full years now (the longest time for several centuries!) and shortwave radio propagation is heavily dependent upon sunspots. In fact, to talk to 69 countries in two days during a sunspot minimum is something to brag about. Ergo... this post. Even though it is only to myself...