A Lame Duck is nothing more than a Left-Over Turkey!

That is not a question but a statement and sometimes it was awful. All of us crave that 15 minutes of the bright lights with some actively pursuing it while others (like me) simply fall into the hole. In 1963 I was a newly minted Ensign in the US Navy and my very first duty station was Midway Island, a rare DX entity, with the call sign pre-fix of KM6.  Sand Island part of the Midway Islands My stateside call K3IXU (a General) was earned the hard way and had 4 years' experience to match before operating from KM6. Needless to say, a chance to operate from a DX location was somewhat offset by the fact that there were 3000 sailors on Midway and only 6 single women. I logged lots of QSO hours. The common saying: There is a Right Way, a Wrong Way, the Navy Way and then there is Midway as I found out rang so true. In 1906 Midway Islands (there are two but often called Midway Island) was inhabited by a crew of 6 who maintained and operated the Midway station of the Transpacific Cable Netw...

Imagine a genuine Ham Radio Expedition to an exotic DX Location where no passport is required for US Citizens. We are talking about the Island of Saipan. Saipan Saipan Island was a major battle site during World War II and today there are historical locations on the island that chronicle that time. Residents of Saipan are US Citizens as of about 1986 and the total resident population is around 50,000. The total number of ham licenses associated with Saipan is around 500 or about 1%. Saipan is located in the Northern Mariana Island chain. Perhaps our Ham Radio Rock Star of yesterday's post and newly minted Extra, could run an IOTA (Island on the Air) DX expedition to this location. It would certainly create a major pile up on 20M. She could even live stream the DX Expedition on You Tube... how cool is that. What a great story line for the ARRL... newly minted Extra runs IOTA DX Expedition to kh0/nh0. Being a YL undoubtedly, she could get sponsorships from the radio manufacturers. I...

A friend of mine sent me this link and I looked at it with mixed emotions. This YL in the span of 8 days acquired three ham licenses: Tech, General and Extra. She already has snagged a vanity call sign and can't await to have her 1st POTA experience. She has been loaned some top end radios to do the POTA event, and she is off and running. Also amazing is the 4K followers and 23K views in just one day. There is no question she is a Ham Radio Rock Star! First, I should say kudos for pursuing a ham ticket, lord knows we need to fill the well. But in some ways, I feel that she is missing out on the basic fundamentals of the hobby.  Ham Radio is extremely technology based and its current status with some pretty sophisticated toys came from hams who pushed the envelope. Her route seems to have skipped completely over the technical side and in short order simply thrust her into being a user/appliance operator running POTA strings. Now I may be completely off base, but I would ask her can ...

Agrivoltaics is a word I spotted on an internet article which randomly showed up on my smart phone. So, you had to look it up but in case you didn't you can find a definition here . Basically, the term involves dual use of land for agriculture and solar panel power generation. Picture a large solar field inhabited by both cattle (or sheep) and solar panels.  Picture this in your backyard! Sheep With Solar Panels. Now what does this have to do with ham radio? A lot as this is one heck of an idea if you have at least an acre of land. Imagine a ground mounted solar array and a small herd of sheep. It is a win-on-win situation. The sheep eat the grass and are fed while the sheep droppings feed a new grass supply, and the bonus is you are off the grid and enjoying power to run that KW station for free. Sheep can be stinky, but you can install some fans to blow the smell toward the neighbor you dislike, a double bonus win. Power for the fans comes from the solar field. It doesn't get...

Provided for your dining and dancing pleasure is the long awaited and much anticipated N6QW Boat Anchor Sale. Today we are presenting LOT #1.  To recap the terms and conditions of the sale, the following information is repeated. The equipment condition is for  parts ,  repair  and/or  restoration . There is no implication that the equipment is in working condition nor meets original factory specifications. There is a small probability that the rigs could be made operational but that is not guaranteed. There is no warranty with all items sold " as is ", and all sales are final . Most of the equipment is complete with all internal hardware (filters, tubes and transistors) and where it is not it will be so specified.  Radios are sold less any power supplies, power and/or connecting cables, speakers, microphones, mobile mounts or brackets, accessories and/or antennas. A few of the radios have manuals and the majority do not but most manuals are available on th...

Happy 2026! I asked Copilot a question that simply had as its premise what the signs are that signals Democracy is in decline.  What are the  signs and signals that democracy is in decline? From Copilot here is an answer. Here’s a clear, evidence‑based breakdown of the signs and signals that democracy is in decline , grounded in the sources we retrieved and organized so you can see the patterns emerging across countries. 🌍 What the research shows Multiple global analyses indicate that democracy has been weakening in recent years . Scholars describe this as a “reverse wave,” where more countries are moving toward autocracy than toward democracy cpsblog.isr.umich.edu . Below are the most commonly observed warning signs. ⚠️ Key Signs of Democratic Decline Each item is highlighted so you can dig deeper if you want. Erosion of democratic rights — measurable reductions in civil liberties, free expression, and political participation have been documented globally. Manipulation of e...