Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 09:16:27 -0500 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Richard Moseson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Cq-l] CQ News: Announcing the CQ DX Field Award
CQ Communications, Inc. / 25 Newbridge Rd. / Hicksville, NY 11801 / Phone: (516) 681-2922 / Fax: (516-681-2926) / e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
NEWS RELEASE
For more information, contact: Richard Moseson (W2VU) Editor, CQ Amateur Radio (516) 681-2922 / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
FOR RELEASE: Monday, March 14, 2005
CQ Introduces the "CQ DX Field Award"
(Hicksville, NY - March 14, 2005) -- CQ Amateur Radio magazine today announced the introduction of a new operating award, the "CQ DX Field Award," recognizing achievements in contacting at least 50 of the world's 324 10x20-degree "grid fields." This is the first of three new programs to be announced by CQ over the next three months with the goal of revitalizing ham radio's core activity of DXing, or contacting stations in faraway places.
The CQ DX Field Award is based on the Maidenhead Grid Locator system, already popular among VHF DXers and contesters, in which the world is divided, based on latitude and longitude, into 324 10x20 degree "fields" and each field is broken up into 100 1x2 degree "grid squares" or "locators." CQ DX Awards Manager Billy Williams, N4UF, has calculated that there are 177 fields with which the active ham stands a pretty good chance of making a contact, noting that many fields are in Antarctica, the Arctic or wholly within oceans.
Williams estimates that a ham who has achieved the basic levels of the traditional CQ DX Award program and/or the ARRL's DXCC program - both of which require confirmed contact with at least 100 DX "entities" - will probably also qualify for the basic CQ DX Field Award level of 50 confirmed fields. Endorsements will be issued for each additional 50 fields up to 150, then in increments of 25 fields to a final level of all 324 fields.
Contacts made on or after January 1, 1980 (the year in which the grid system was adopted for amateur radio use) will count toward the new award. Complete details and rules will be published in the April 2005 issue of CQ magazine and posted on the magazine's website at <http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com>. In addition, Williams has developed an online cross-reference guide for converting countries to fields. It will be accessible at <http://home.earthlink.net/~bfwillia/gridfieldsx.html>.
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CQ Amateur Radio magazine is published by CQ Communications, Inc. of Hicksville, New York. CQ Communications also publishes CQ Radio Amateur (Spanish), CQ VHF, and Popular Communications magazines. CQ sponsors the CQ DX Awards, the CQ Worked All Zones Awards, the CQ WPX Awards, the USA-CA (Counties) Award, and a variety of contests including the world-renowned CQ World Wide DX Contests.
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