ARRL International Grid Chase Kicks Off with the New Year!

Warm up the ham shack! The ARRL International Grid Chase 2018 is nearly here! The Grid Chase gets under way on January 1 UTC (New Year’s Eve in US time zones). The objective of the year-long event is to work stations on any band (except60 meters) in as many different Maidenhead grid squares as possible, and then upload your log data to ARRL’s Logbook of The World (LoTW).

Each new grid square contact confirmed through LoTW will count toward your monthly total.

Many hams are familiar with grid squares from the VHF/UHF and satellite realms, and everyone lives in one. An online calculator by David Levine, K2DSL, can determine your grid square. Enter a postal address, ZIP code, or a call sign, and the calculator will return the grid square for that location.

Any contact you make in 2018 can count for your Chase score; as long as the other operators participate in LoTW, you’ll get credit automatically when they upload their logs. This means that your contest contacts will count, as will contacts with special event stations, or other on-air activity that uses LoTW to confirm contacts. Except for 60 meters, there are no restrictions on modes or bands, as long as they are legal. Satellite contacts are valid for the Chase too. The event is open to all radio amateurs.

Complete details of the ARRL International Grid Chase 2018 appeared in the December 2017 issue of QST. For more information, contact the ARRL Contest Branch.