CENTRAL NY HILLTOPPERS NET
hosted by the Chenango Valley Amateur Radio Association




An informal FM simplex net open to everyone
We are located in Chenango County, NY in the WNY section and meet on 146.450 FM simplex every Saturday from 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM local time. This net is active from the first Saturday in May until mid-September. Check-ins are made with your callsign and grid square. If you don't know your grid square, check in with the name of your town and state. Stations will have an opportunity to work new grid squares by contacting other stations who checked into the net. This is a good opportunity to collect new grids toward the ARRL's VUCC award (the VHF equivalent of DXCC). Or you can use the net to become familiar with your equipment's full potential without the assistance of repeaters.

Help with grid squares
One of the easiest ways to determine your grid square is by visiting QRZ.com and entering your callsign. After the usual information comes up, click on "details." The grid square listed here is for your station license address, so if you are operating from a different location, you will need to determine the grid square of the new location. Here are some ways to do that for free:

Maps
map of grid square FN22
grid square map of the northeastern US
grid square map of North America
pinpoint your grid square: enter your address and move map pointer
Google maps by gridsquare | alternate site

City, ST
determine your grid square by entering City, ST

Latitude / Longitude
find lat/lon coordinates by entering City, ST then convert lat/lon coordinates to gridsquare
download a small standalone application called WinGrid (which also calculates bearing and distance)

Other useful links
latest tropo map
topographical maps
online distance calculator
US callsign district map

for more info, contact Tom at
c s u y h o c m
k 2 f @ a o . o