Hiroshima. On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. The bomb was known as “Little Boy”, a uranium gun-type bomb that exploded with about thirteen kilotons of force. At the time of the bombing, Hiroshima was home to 280,000-290,000 civilians as well as 43,000 soldiers.

Hiroshima, August 12, 2019, Dave Higgs ZS2DH drops a radio message on the city of Hiroshima. The message was known as “FT8” a digital mode and hit with a reception signal strength of -14 – thats below the noise floor! At the time, Hiroshima was home to Mitsunobu Tojo, JE4EYM.

The QSL card I received along with the envelop from Hiroshima
A QSL card from Hiroshima

With much less force, way less noise, using a small radio with a piece of wire in my back yard, I managed to make a friend in Hiroshima. The US just made noise, death, and distruction.

Hiroshima is now completely safe and is once again a thriving manufacturing hub, a community with a population of over a million people and many radio hams!