Here is a selection of recently issued FT8 award certificates for VI9POL.

Thank you to all of the FT8 operators and the various award managers.

Between 12th September and 29th September 2026, I operated with the special event callsign of VI9POL for 2026 National Police Week in Australia.

I made a total of 5,510 QSOs on 6, 10, 15, 20, 40, & 80m.

Contacts were on SSB, FT4, & FT8

I worked 133 different DXCC entities.

Below is a map showing my contacts around the globe.

Below are my QSOs around Europe.

And here are my contacts into North America.

QSL information can be found on the VI9POL QRZ.com page.

Thank you to everyone that called.

A reminder that I have 2 award certificates on offer for working VK5COP and/or VK5IPA.

The certificates are issued online at the following levels:

• Bronze – 5 QSOS
• Silver – 10 QSOs
• Gold – 15 QSOs
• Platinum – 25 QSOs
• Diamond – 50 QSOs
• Sapphire – 75 QSOs

The awards can be downloaded at hamlong.online. Click on the links below to go to the relevant landing pages.

VK5COP

VK5IPA

So far the following people have been issued with the certificates:

VK5COP

• VK3ZSC

VK5IPA

• VK3CLD
• VK3SQ
• VK3ZSC
• VK4NH

Hopefully, soon I will have a VK5COP certificate implemented in hamlog.online.

It will be issued online at the following levels:

• Bronze – 5 QSOS
• Silver – 10 QSOs
• Gold – 15 QSOs
• Platinum – 25 QSOs
• Diamond – 50 QSOs
• Sapphire – 75 QSOs

You will be able to enter your callsign and download the certificate for free.

I am also working on a certificate for VK5IPA.

Over the past week I have completed the Top VKFF Activator, Top VKFF Hunter, Top VKFF Foundation Activator, and Top VKFF Foundation Hunter certificates for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program.

Last year I was very quiet as a Hunter, with other priorities in life. But I did manage to come in at position 6 in the top 10 for the Top VKFF Activator award.

I activated 84 VKFF references in 2025. I don’t tend to head out much nowadays, as my noise floor at home is zero. I am very lucky. Most of my activating now is either for the Activation Weekend, special event days, or when Marija VK5MAZ and I are travelling.

When I do activate, I still thoroughly enjoy the experience. Thank you to all of the WWFF participants. Every call I log is greatly appreciated.

The certificate features a photograph I took of Alum Cliffs State Reserve, VKFF-1790 in Tasmania.

A few days ago I received my latest VKFF Hunter Honour Roll certificate, issued for having hunted 2,525 different VKFF references.

Thank you to all of the VKFF activators and to Adam VK2YK, the VK5 VKFF Awards Manager.

At about 1111 UTC on the 4th day of July 2026, I tuned in to Bay Islands Radio, Queensland, broadcasting on 5045 kHz.

The signal was coming from the transmitter on Russell Island, about 35 km southeast of Brisbane, Queensland. (Home 2026)

The overall reception of Bay Island Radio was fair.

The broadcast consisted of music.

My equipment:-

• Yaesu FTdx101MP
• dipole antenna

Below is a short video showing my reception of Bay Islands Radio.

References.

1. Home. (2026). Bayislandsradio.Com.Au. https://www.bayislandsradio.com.au/ [Accessed 21 Jul. 2026].‌

At about 0849 kHz on the 4th day of July 2026, I tuned in to Radio 4DX, Queensland, AUSTRALIA, broadcasting on 5055 kHz.

The signal was coming from the transmitter site in Johnstone, near Innisfail, Queensland. (Facebook 2026)

Above:- Map showing the location of Johnstone. Image c/o Google Maps.

The overall reception of Radio 4DX was fair.

The broadcast consisted of music.

My equipment:-

• Yaesu FTdx101MP
• dipole antenna

Below is a short video showing my reception of Radio 4DX.

References.

1. Escuchando La Radio. (2026). Facebookapp. https://www.facebook.com/escuchandolaradio/posts/-new-station-radio-4dx-testsal-kirton-is-conducting-technical-tests-on-5055-khz-/1663242955803298/ [Accessed 22nd July 2026]

At about 0835 UTC on the 4th day of July 2026, I tuned in to Alcaravan, COLMBIA, broadcasting on 6910 kHz in the Spanish language.

The signal was coming from the 5kW transmitter in Puerto Lieras. (Short Wave Info 2024) (Short Wave Sched 2024)

Above:- World globe showing the location of Colombia. Image c/o Wikipedia.

The overall reception of Alcaravan was poor.

The broadcast consisted of music.

My equipment:-

• Yaesu FTdx101MP
• dipole antenna

Below is a short video showing my reception of Alcaravan.

References.

1. Short-wave.info. (2023). Short-Wave Radio Frequency Schedule. [online] Available at: http://www.short-wave.info/index.php [Accessed 21 Jul. 2026].‌
2. Shortwaveschedule.com. (2024). ShortwaveSchedule.com. [online] Available at: https://shortwaveschedule.com/‌ [Accessed 21 Jul. 2026].‌

At about 0800 UTC on Saturday, the 4th day of July 2026, I tuned in to Radio Inconfidencia, BRAZIL, broadcasting on 6010 kHz in the Portuguese language.

The station serves Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais and the central portion of the state in Brazil.

This was the first time that I had tuned into Radio Inconfidencia.

The signal was coming from the 5kW transmitter in Belo Horizonte. (Short Wave Info 2024) (Short Wave Sched 2024)

Above:- World globe showing the location of Brazil. Image c/o Wikipedia.

The overall reception of the Radio Inconfidencia was poor. It was very difficult to understand and I could only basically tell when the announcer was speaking and if music was playing.

The broadcast consisted of music and commentary.

My equipment:-

• Yaesu FTdx101MP
• dipole antenna

Below is a short video showing my reception of Radio Inconfidencia.

References.

1. Short-wave.info. (2023). Short-Wave Radio Frequency Schedule. [online] Available at: http://www.short-wave.info/index.php [Accessed 21 Jul. 2026].‌
2. Shortwaveschedule.com. (2024). ShortwaveSchedule.com. [online] Available at: https://shortwaveschedule.com/‌ [Accessed 21 Jul. 2026].‌
3. Wikipedia Contributors. (2019). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki [Accessed 21 Jul. 2026]