(image courtesy of AMSAT)Īfter the first 100 grids are under your belt, the hunt will GridMaster Award is available for hams who confirm contact with all 488 Which is about 20% of the way to GridMaster it also earns you the VUCC Award That difficult with this strategy to get to your first 100 grids on satellite, After spending some time on the air, you will haveĪccumulated a number of unique grid squares out of the 488 needed. The air as much as possible will certainly build up your confirmed grid totals,Īnd you can do that with either FM satellites, linear satellites, or aĬombination of the two. Confirming all 488 will earn you the AMSAT GridMmaster Award (map courtesyĪs with any award, you simply need to get started. As of this writing, 32 hams have achieved the GridMaster Award since 2014.Ī map of the 488 grids in the 48 contiguous United It is similar to the ARRL Fred Fish Memorial Award, which is awarded to any ham who confirms contact with the same 488 grids on 6 meters. Originally created by the Star Comm group in 2014, the GridMaster Award is awarded to any radio amateur who provides proof of communication with all 488 grid squares in the 48 contiguous United States. The AMSAT GridMaster Award fills this need perfectly. A similar award, one with a finish line, was needed-an award sufficiently challenging but still obtainable with effort. While incredibly fun, this is a lifetime award a ham will never reach the end of the hunt. The base award requires 100 confirmed grids, with endorsements for additional milestones achieved. The ARRL VHF/UHF Century Club Award is for any ham who confirms contact with a certain number of grid squares. With nearly 75% of the Earth covered in water, this leaves roughly 8,100 grid squares worldwide that have land. There are 32,400 grid squares across the globe.
See this map or the websitefor a better understanding. As an example, ARRL headquarters is located in grid square FN31.
Squares are identified by two letters indicating the field, then two numbers indicating a more precise location in that field.
They are clumped together in groups of 100 called Grid Fields. Each square is 2 degrees of longitude by 1 degree of latitude, or roughly 120 x 60 miles the actual physical size changes as you get closer to the North or South Poles. Maidenhead Grid Squares are the standard piece of geography used by VHF+ ham radio operators. Inevitably, grid squares come into a satellite operator’s consciousness. As the number of contacts starts to grow, many begin to wonder just how many contacts they can make and how far they can communicate. Those new to satellite operating are generally thrilled when they finally talk to another person through an object orbiting in space.
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