Grid Chasing on 6-M - It's an Addiction!

[Clark L. Stewart]

The "Magic Band" has been VERY good to me with 49 New Grids over the last 3 weeks, including SIX New Grids for the FFMA Award.  That is the "Fred Fish Memorial Award" that you can get for working all 488 Grids in the Continental USA.  I have essentially been working Grids toward that goal since January 1, 1983 (43 years!)

Here are the Grids that Logger32 says I have Worked and Confirmed overall (including the whole world):



As of this morning, I have worked 468 of the 488 Grids needed.  Only 20 left to go!  I keep track of what I have worked and confirmed by a spreadsheet on my computer.  Below is what the map from that program shows. White Grids have NOT been worked, Blue are confirmed by paper QSL's, Green are confirmed on LoTW, and Gold are worked but not confirmed yet.  NOTE:  those 3 are all from K8JH.  More on him later.



For awhile there has been an online spreadsheet for tracking your progress toward the FFMA.  Of course I have been using that. 

That online spreadsheet shows my standing as No. 99 but it has not been updated yet to include my 4 most recent Grids worked (plus 1 confirmed.)  Some of you might recognize Steven Rutledge, N4JQQ.  He used to live in Charleston.  As you can see, this spreadsheet shows I still need to work 25 so it is not current.



But just this week I set up on another online website to do this.  It is called "Gridzilla."  Here is the URL:  https://gridzilla.us/

One of the very coolest things about this site is that it will push a Direct Message to your cell phone when one of the Grids you need has been spotted!  AMAZING!  Incoming notifications from Gridzilla (via Slack) look like this on my phone:



This (in my opinion) is a HUGE benefit for chasing Grids.  Previously I was depending on Telnet Spots and JTAlert to notify me when MY station "heard" a Grid or Country I need.  With these "Push Notifications" for ONLY Grids that I need, I know to be on the radio and watching for an opening.  Last night I tried working K8JH in DN64 with no luck.  I had one decode on FT8 and tried for 45 minutes to hear him on Q65 but no luck.  I thought he was heading home after that.  He had posted "this is my last grid of this year's expedition. 30 days, 3300 miles, 8 grids."  WOOF!  All that effort to pass out Grids to the Needing!

At 11:34 p.m. last night he posted on the Slack VHF-Chat "3-rover-raregrid" channel: "im calling it a night, be back tomorrow all."  So when I read that this morning, I knew I had to be alert for another chance to work him in DN64.  About the same time I got push notifications from Gridzilla telling me K8JH in DN64 was being worked.

I heard him 2 separate times at -24dB "142530 -24  0.1  601 ~  CQ K8JH DN64", then 20 minutes later at -17dB "144530 -17  0.1  572 ~  CQ K8JH DN64", then heard him work KB9DAK at 1447 GMT. 

Then I sat at the radio for 40 MINUTES and did not decode him at all.  Finally, the 6-M Propagation Gods smiled on me and I was able to manage a QSO with him for my 468th FFMA Grid. When you get down to just a few Grids and they are ALL Very Rare, you do what you can to work the New Ones.




The new online Gridzilla site also has maps, including a User Map like below, that show your FFMA standing and the Grids you need, have worked, and have confirmed.  Green is confirmed, Yellow is worked, and Orange are Grids you need.  Of those FFMA "Chasers" who are active on Gridzilla, I rank 94th in the pursuit of that Award.




I was beginning to doubt a month ago that I would ever get any of the 25 Grids I needed, let alone all of them.  But, I am STOKED now and doing all I can to chase these elusive puppies!


73, Clark, W8TN

[Larry Fravel]

Clark -

I have to admire your stick to it ness and all you are doing to track and work the grids. Hang  in there.  With all the tools you will hopefully get the award.  I'm pulling for you.

Larry K8YYY

 Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away. 
–Elvis Presley

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[W8LMG - Mac]

Clark, congrats on your FFMA progress. I have been "addicted" now for a little over 4 years and can confirm your passion as one I share with 370 grids confirmed. I doubt I live long enough to complete however; it is the challenge that is most enjoyable to me. 

I would also extend my appreciation for reminding me of Gridzilla. It is now setup and working, a great tool. 

Mac W8LMG

EM98vd

[Clark L. Stewart]

Mac,

When I wrote that Post I was hoping you would see the "Gridzilla" portion of it.  Glad you have it set up and working.  What a nice tool!

As an aside, I've worked 8 New FFMA Grids in the last 3-1/2 WEEKS!  Amazing!  I now have 470 Worked and 467 Confirmed.  Only 18 to go - but most of them are TOUGH! 

GL in the chase Mac!


73, Clark, W8TN

[ddh...@verizon.net]

Clark,

            Your email piqued my interest and so I had a nice chat with my AI of choice. My question was, “How many HAM's from West Virginia have been awarded the Fred Fish Memorial Award?”

I’m pulling for you to be the first. The AI response is below.

 

As of mid-2026, no operator has officially achieved the Fred Fish Memorial Award (FFMA) from a home station located within West Virginia. [1]

While Ralph "Smitty" Smith (W4UDH)—who earned FFMA #9—has deep roots and early operating history tied to the West Virginia DX Association, his official qualifying award was submitted and registered out of Brandon, Mississippi. [1]

Operating from West Virginia is widely considered one of the hardest places to chase the award. Heavy mountainous terrain heavily blocks local VHF signals, and the state sits in a difficult geographic pocket where catching shorter "Sporadic E" skip propagation to parts of the Midwest and Northeast requires rare, perfect atmospheric conditions.

 

73, Dennis, WV8DX

[Clark L. Stewart]

Dennis,

NOTE:  Read to the End!

Yep, your AI pal is correct.  Smitty, W4UDH, grew up in Dunbar.  He and I have been friends for decades.  I've been to his last QTH in Mississippi (he is now in TN) and we have done the Hamvention dozens of times together. 

Some 26 years ago when he was in MS, we ran across each other on 6-M SSB (long before WSJT was invented) and we tried to see how low a power level he could run before I could no longer copy him.  He dropped the power IN HIS SHACK to 50mW - that is a mere 0.05 Watts!!!  At that point, I had about 60% copy on his SSB transmissions.  WOWZER!  He would have had to increase his power 20 TIMES (or by 13 dB) to get it up to just 1-watt!  6-M is truly the "Magic Band."

Here is my log entry for that QSO:



Thanks for your good wishes but these last 18 Grids are TOUGH!  I have been chasing 2 of those 18 over the past few days:

WO7I     DN10

AG6EE  DM19

I have decoded WO7I multiple times.  Sometimes just a "One and Done" and sometimes 3 periods or more in a row.  He seems to have a habit of calling someone over and over with no response and does not reply to me even though PSK Maps shows that he has decoded me at -2 dB.  I don't think he likes me.

AG6EE is shooting right over me:




So, working all 488 Grids in the Continental USA is indeed difficult.  The Orange ones are the 18 I still need.  The Yellow ones are worked (all K8JH) and are waiting for him to upload those contact to LoTW.



The closest Grid to me that I need is DN93 in South Dakota:




Some of those Grids are in VERY difficult locations.  Many "Rovers" have put into the following website specific info about how to activate many of the rarest Grids:

https://coilgun.info/rover-us/home.htm

Here is a link to the two Grids I need in Texas, DL89 and DL79. 

https://coilgun.info/rover-us/DL-field.htm

I did manage to work DL88 which is in the Big Bend National Park.  There are SEVERE restrictions for those who may want to activate this Grid:

Expect in-park travel time to be 2.5 to 4.5 hours depending on conditions and your driving speed.

Restrictions: Big Bend has different rules for different types of camping:

1. Primitive Roadside Camping – no reservations, in-person check-in at Ranger Desk. There are sixty-four sites: 23 of the most popular can be booked in advance, 41 are booked only "day of" and includes River Road. (This is Talley-2)
2. Wilderness Camps – can book up to 180 days in advance (get a backup reservation)
3. Back Country Camps – this is for backpackers, not for Talley-2.

Talley-2 is "primitive roadside camping". You must register in person. Read the National Park Service Requirements which include:

• No campfires
• No generators
• You can run your engine to recharge batteries. Limited to 15 minutes at a time.
• Pack out all toilet paper
• Maximum 2 vehicles, 8 people, no trailers
• After rainfall, River Road and Talley Road are muddy and may be impassable to all vehicles.
• A "high clearance 4WD vehicle" which is an SUV or truck type vehicle, with at least 15 inch tire rims or more, with a low gear transfer case, designed for heavier type use than a standard passenger vehicle, with at least 8 inches of clearance or more from the lowest point of the frame, suspension, or differential, to the ground, and including a means to power both front and rear wheels at the same time.

There are other Grids with similar restrictions which makes the FFMA an extremely difficult award to achieve.  Not only does some brave soul need to go there with radios, power, antennas, food, water, etc. and endure the environment, but the 6-M band needs to provide the propagation!

WHEEEEEEE!  Just at this point while typing this email, my JTAlert said "Wanted Call" and "New Grid" - amazingly, there was AG6EE calling CQ.  And, in just seconds I managed to complete the QSO for FFMA Grid #471.  His signal dropped from -7 to -24 and then disappeared.  But, he texted me on Slack to say, "Clark W8TN EM98al WV we are good."  WOWZER!  The way I managed this QSO was by BIC - "Butt In Chair."



Now just 17 Grids to go!


73, Clark, W8TN

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[Clark L. Stewart]

Uh-Oh!  Big OOPS here.  AG6EE was in DM19 YESTERDAY, but today he is in DM18 which I already have confirmed.  Dang it!  My brain cells are not fully functional.


73, Clark, W8TN

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