More astonishing than knowing what HF radio can do, is to notice how empty the HF bands are compared to past decades. During my around-the-world solo sail (198

More astonishing than knowing what HF radio can do, is to notice how empty the HF bands are compared to past decades. During my around-the-world solo sail (1988-1991) (https://arachnoid.com/sailbook/ https://arachnoid.com/sailbook/), I relied on two-way HF radio for many things no longer present, including open-water phone calls. But that absence represents a choice, not a necessity. Here's an easy receiver project: "Create Your Own Open-Source Software-Defined Radio" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXNgPYVpTng https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXNgPYVpTng). Receiving is cheap and easy. To transmit on these bands, you must get a Ham license. But that's easier than it was -- Morse code is no longer required. I can remember what I thought when I first heard about the Internet -- that it would make Ham radio look slow and stupid by comparison. I was never so wrong about anything in my life (not for a lack of eager candidates).