Here is a map showing my needed grids for FFMA.
http://www.qsl.net/k7cw/temp/FFMAneeded.pdf
Only one of them, DL88, is generally considered to be very rare because of the
harsh, remote conditions there. Depending on where you live, some of them may
not be considered rare, at all.
You can see a clear trend. All grids that I need are beyond 2300 kilometers,
the distance generally accepted as the maximum single hop or meteor scatter
distance. With the exception of maybe DM94 and EM05, I am going to have to be
blessed by either serendipity or a concerted effort (expedition) in order to
work most remaining grids that I need before I croak.
Look, I even worked a guy in DL99 in an unexpected two-minute opening last
summer, only to ultimately realize that the guy I worked is (to put it in the
best light) likely not going to send a QSL back my way. All of the hard-to-get
grids that I still need have already been "activated" by guys, some of them
many times. One of them is FM13. I think for us out here, 1400 miles north of
Never-Never-Land, we are going to need someone to visit that grid with the
primary purpose of working us. For us, having someone grab his IC-706 and Moxon
and visit FM13 next Saturday afternoon is going to be futile. This is
particularly true if he goes in early May or, worse, in October. Some guys
actually do that and seem to think they are providing a huge service. We just
shrug our shoulders out here when we read about these activations. Well, we
still watch for some of them, but it's still been futile.
DL88 and surrounding grids are especially tough for us because, not only are
they out of reach for single-hop sporadic E, they are also out of reach for
double-hop sporadic E, also, unless it's intense double-hop (meaning high MUF)
for both hops! That, plus someone has to be there when that opening occurs.
The same could be said for the Upper Great Lakes. The climate isn't harsh, but
were we able to work KB5HMU during his visits to all those needed grids this
summer? No. We didn't get him in a single one of them. And, he was actually
making a decent effort with decent power and decent antennas. Lefty, K1TOL,
will be nodding his head if he's reading this. Lefty doesn't need any rare
grids, but the grids he needs might as well be rare.
So, from my perspective, the original survey done by W9GKA just as FFMA was
being created could still be used as a general indicator useful for the
majority of guys interested in activating needed grids. But, I think it can
also be used by those who strive to make the rarest grids available to those
who are working hard to finish FFMA. The rare grids at the outset are still
rare for most, including many who are trying for their last grids.
Having said that, there are guys like me who are outside the central core of
the country and need extra help. We are individuals in the sense of our
specific areas. I mean as an example, the other grid chasers in my area are in
the same boat as me. People who go out with the specific intention of helping
us are rare, indeed. People like Marshall, K5QE, and his crew, who most
recently worked us from EL84 via EME from a boat. It's a fact: We would not
have worked K4N if the crew had not made the effort to work us via EME. We were
not blessed with sporadic E propagation, at all. KB5HMU, NJ0W, K7BV and KB8U
also come to mind, and there are others who aren't occurring to me right at the
moment.
So, I guess I'm saying that it's important to help the leaders get the grids
they need. If emphasis isn't put on that aspect, ultimately the award will be
harder and take longer for everyone to get.
73, Paul K7CW
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