KC1FYF — Joseph in New Hampshire, 40m SSB. A voice contact to open the log. No digital modes yet, just mic in hand and 100 watts of hope.

Within 24 hours of your first contact, you were already working Venezuela (YV5DRN) and Ecuador (HC5EG) on 20m FT8. You found your mode fast.

Solar Cycle 25 starts delivering. First 10m contacts appear — W0CJV in Colorado on SSB. The DX runs that would define 2023–2026 are just beginning.

A concentrated burst of activity. Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Belize, Panama, Canary Islands, Colombia, Ecuador — all within weeks. 10m and 20m wide open.

Almost 11 months. Two QSOs in January, then nothing until December. Life intervened. The bands didn't wait — but neither did the ionosphere, and it was still there when you came back.

Back with a vengeance. December 3–22 alone accounts for over 150 QSOs. South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, Angola, Saudi Arabia, St. Helena, Guadeloupe — a world tour compressed into three weeks.

ZS6AF (South Africa) and 5Z4VJ (Kenya) worked back-to-back on 20m. Two continents in under 10 minutes. That's what solar maximum looks like.

A run of European contacts on 10m: Lithuania, Germany ×3, France ×2, Denmark, Portugal, England. Cycle 25 delivering its full promise with 100W and a wire.

A 30m DXpedition pile-up run: Costa Rica, Morocco, Bermuda, Guinea-Bissau, Anguilla, Aruba — six DXCC entities in one session. Then a clean sweep of 40m contacts into Europe and South America.

VK3FRB, Bruce in QF21 Victoria. 40m FT8. ~15,000 miles the long way — signal rode the greyline eastward through Europe and across the Atlantic. PSKReporter confirmed the beam: Europe lit up, west coast dark. The day after Fiji.

3D2USU — Dominik in Fiji. 10m FT8. 7,527 miles. 100 watts. Your signal crossed the entire Pacific Ocean and came back confirmed. RR73 received. 73 sent. Last entry in the log.