Predictions for 2026, and the coming years, in ham radio

Some of the things we might see in the ham radio hobby as 2026 looms: 

• A KX4 will be released, finally! - by Kenwood. They want to get back into the "QRP game" and don't mind capitalizing on another manufacturer's sequential naming scheme.

• A tinyOscilloscope will be produced, complementing the other tinyXXX pieces of test equipment. It'll have a 300 MHz bandwidth and a 2GHz sampling rate. Every ham will want one, every ham will have one.

• James Cameron will produce a hit movie with a ham radio operator as the hero who saves the world from nuclear annihilation by sending an encoded FT8 message to an orbiting 400 jiggga-ton (not a typo) bomb named Colossus. The message directs the bomb to self-destruct. This increases ionization of the Earth's atmosphere by a factor of 8. Intercontinental DX will be the norm up to 450 MHz. 10 meters will be considered a "low band".

• Ashhar Farhan will release the "CWbitx" and will promise that this time, it really will be a "dream machine" - as a doorstop. You know, just like the zBitx.  

• Countries (and DX entities) will begin to be defined, not by geographical boundaries, but by ideological boundaries. If you identify as having a certain sociological opinion, you're in Country A. Another type of opinion - you're in Country B, and so on. As few as 50 people with similar beliefs will constitute a country/entity. DXCC will be workable with a 1-watt HT on 2m FM. No satellites or repeaters necessary. 

• Non-hams will be allowed to vote in ARRL elections. To refuse them this right would be discriminatory. 

• Aging wives of aging hams become depressed as they realize that their husbands will never again look at them with the same degree of longing and lust that they now exude when looking at a 190-foot Rohn 45 tower with multiple Yagis. "Dios mio, I'd love to spend a weekend with that!"  

• Jeep® will offer a vehicle with a trim level described as POTA! All of its metal panels and chassis components will be electrically bonded together, key locations will be pre-punched to accept a variety of antenna mounts, there will be two heavy-duty batteries and a 250-amp alternator.

• Referring to connectors by such terms as "male BNC" or "female N-connector" will become a criminal offense in California. 

• An automated FT8 station (bot) will make DXCC Honor Roll.  

• Two old hams will become caught in an endless "QSL loop". Neither will remember having sent his QSL to the other. The loop will continue for 7 years until one of the hams QSY's to that Big DXCC Entity in the Sky. 

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