In many ways, VHF operators in the EU lead the United States in their activity on the VHF band. If you've ever read a copy of the German/English publication, DUBUS magazine, you quickly get a sense of just how much is being done across the pond. Recent advances that I can think of include the low-noise LFA antenna, and the MSRX software decoder for WSJT modes.
Here's another development that I think holds promise for US operators too. It allows much more active monitoring of E-Skip DX when you're away from the rig. Download it, and start using it today. E-Skip season is coming soon. Hope to see you on 2 Meters!
The Android app "EsSense", which was launched in December, has been received well by the VHF community. Several hundreds of European operators have meanwhile downloaded the app; they are using it to literally "stay tuned" at all times and greatly enhance their DX power. Many thanks to all users for their useful feedback - this was a great help to fix bugs and further improve the app.
Now that EsSense has reached a mature level it's time to expand the functionality to other regions: The latest version (0.10) now also supports North and South America, Middle East and Africa! (East-Asia, Oceania, Australia coming soon).
EsSense can be downloaded for free from the Google Play store at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.gooddx.essense
Good DX!
73, Allard PE1NWL