Well for you old salts no biggy, but for us newbies - I used my new doublet tuned perfectly tonight thru my 7300 and using FT8 made 7 contacts to Japan! Quite pleased with my antenna,. it tuned just right on 17M. Made some contacts in Seattle too, the airways to the west were open.
No Mars contacts yet - working on it
MARS: Military Auxiliary Radio System
The Military Auxiliary Radio System is a United States Department of Defense sponsored program, established as a separately managed and operated program by the United States Army, and the United States Air Force. The United States Navy-Marine Corps program closed in 2015. The program is a civilian auxiliary consisting primarily of licensed amateur radio operators who are interested in assisting the military with communications on a regional and national level when access to traditional forms of communication may no longer be available. The MARS programs also include active duty, reserve, and National Guard units; and Navy, Marine Corps units. MARS has a long history of providing worldwide auxiliary emergency communications during times of need. The combined two-service MARS programs, volunteer force of over 3,000 dedicated and skilled amateur radio operators provide the backbone of the MARS program.Wikipedia
I was thinking a little further afield ? we should start a new comm mode - EMaE. Mars bounce.
Hey Doug, why not eh? NASA's Deep Space Network can still communicate with the two Voyager spacecraft which are now in interstellar space. Can FT8 reach that far?