Records and wisdom swept away.

Just a few years ago, I seem to remember that a CW QSO between the UK and EA8 was some sort of record, and featured on the front cover of RadCom.

Yesterday, the record distance on 2m was broken twice in the same day!  This is one area where FT8 is very welcome, and very effective.

Even with my 3-ele Yagi, I was able to clearly copy Cape Verde yesterday, although I couldn't reach him with such a small antenna and ~50W output.

But today, even my pathetic 2m station, which has yet to achieve full development, managed to reach EA8!  Sadly, nobody seems to have been at home there to send an answer (this is far too common at 2m).

Reaching with a 3-ele and 40W where only the 'big guns' could once hope for.

Despite the small antenna, HFTA terrain modelling shows a very healthy gain at very low angles, assisted by sloping ground to the sea, so the result is perhaps not so surprising:

All the textbooks are now out of date.  Frankly, this was clear a very long time ago.  But this week's 2m achievements have blown received wisdom clean out of the water.

Long live the new generation of amateur operators!