Okay, I beat my last distance record (to Rio) running QRP. Though this time it was actually at five watts: 6058 miles to Tandil City in Argentina on the 10m band. Very nice.

Technically speaking, the 2.5 watt contact to Rio was better efficiency for watts per mile. But for the raw distance factor, I’m pleased with this contact to Argentina and on 10m no less. That’s a relatively rarely-used band in my part of the world.

In the style of Colossal Cave Adventure and Zork, comes Beltway Adventure. Okay, it’s not really an interactive game, just the results of somebody else’s adventure. Really, you need to read the whole thing.

Aside from my two year old daughter wrapping a bedsheet around her and calling it a dress… adorable… and aside from my littlest one crawling in bed and snuggling with me before we got up this morning, this is the most awesome thing I’ve seen today:

So, what is it?

It’s nine entire amateur radio bands visible at once in what has to be the coolest SDR (Software Defined Radio) setup I’ve ever seen. WebSDR. Awesome. Just point, click, and listen.

Now don’t you want an amateur radio license?

Warning: Ham Radio content ahead:

I’ve had my ham ticket for about a year now. Started as a Tech then received my general shortly after, and then a vanity call sign.

I run all QRP (low power), all the time.

A few weeks ago, I made a contact from Denver, CO to Rio de Janiero, Brazil.  To his location outside of Rio, it came out to 5,650 miles. I was impressed with myself at the time. A new personal distance record at five watts.

Then yesterday afternoon, I was making some adjustments to my FT817 and realized that it had been sitting at the 2.5w level for a few months now. So, that shout out to Rio was actually at half the power I thought I was running.

Well, I’m impressed.

73

The article starts off:

The big question from the mortgage meltdown isn’t why so many distressed homeowners are defaulting on their loans. It’s why any of them are still making payments.

A good question, indeed. Why are we still making payments on mortgages that are worth more than the homes they’re written on? The cheats and the crooks already made their fortunes off of us — now we get to stick around and pay for it.