Keep
your interest in HF DXing alive even if you are a Top Honor Roll, have
5BDXCC, 5BWAZ and 5BWAS!
Enjoy the
"ultimate DX art" of Grid Hunting!
Grid Hunting
Frequently Asked Questions:
What are Grid Squares? - Grid Squares are the intermediate level of definition in the geographic coordinate-based system known as WW QTH (or QRA) Locator. They identify squares 2 degrees longitude wide and 1 degree latitude high. They are defined by two letters (FIELD) and two numbers (SQUARE). Ex.: JN36.
What is the World Wide QTH Locator? - Also called "QRA Locator system", it is a coordinate-based system originally introduced by the UHF-VHF enthusiasts to quickly exchange information about location, so to be able to calculate distances. The locator has the format of two letters, two numbers and two letters. Ex.: JN36BG.
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The system is
set up as follows. The globe is divided in 18 * 18 = 324 fields, each 20 degrees longitude wide and 10 degrees latitude high. Each of these fields is divided in 10 * 10 = 100 squares, each 2 degrees longitude wide and 1 degree latitude high. Finally, each of the
squares is divided in 24 * 24 = 576 sub-squares, each 5 minutes longitude wide and 2.5 minutes latitude wide. The coding/numbering
is always from west to east and from south to north, and the origin of the system is at 180 degrees west, 90 degrees south. Click here for a visual description. |
How do you
identify your correspondent's Grid Square? - There are various
methods:
1) Ask your correspondent (during the QSO) or look on the QSL card. This
is by far the best and most certain system of identifying the Grid Square.
2) If he/she doesn't know or the QSL card doesn't show, then look at the
QTH. Flipping the pages of a good world atlas looking up towns and
villages in a distant country is actually fascinating! Try it once, and
you will discover that often we know little or nothing of the place where
our "QSO mate" lives. Once you've found the place you can use
one of the many resources
available in order to work out the Grid Square. Remeber that the Grid
Challenge requires you to work out the Grid Square "to the best of
your knowledge", so - don't settle for first guesses!
3) Look up your correspondent's call on the QRZ.COM database. This is a somewhat "cheap" but often effective way of doing things. A lot of hams around the world are listed with their full QRA Locator, so getting the Grid Square is a matter of seconds. Remeber that many DX Packet Clusters offer this function through the "SHOW/QSL" command.