Professor Burke makes radio contact around the world: “Antipode”

Professor Burke established two-way communication with the remote island of Reunion, off the coast of Madagascar, using FT8 digital communications and bouncing the radio waves (of 20 m wavelength) off the ionosphere. Reunion island is the closest land mass to the antipode of southern California. The antipode is the point on the exact opposite side of the earth.

“With a modest amount of effort, students can participate in these long distance communications, help establish emergency backup systems, and learn to put into practice the theory they learn in the classroom”, said Burke.