After hearing an activation today the station concerned was giving out the wrong WAB square. He was taking the first two numbers from the NGR on the database. In fact for those that are not aware it is the first and fourth number number that is used to determine the WAB sqaure ie. SP 890 089 would be SP80.
Apologies if I offend anyone with this post
73 Graham G4JZF
Thanks for this Graham. I am often asked for the WAB reference by overseas stations on HF CW. It has been so much easier since you don’t need the three letter county code on the end!
Sometimes I am caught out and have not made a note of the NGR / WAB square, but it usually works if I tell the other station that he can find it on SOTAwatch by looking up the SOTA reference.
Tom M1EYP
In reply to G4JZF:
I can’t see how this could possibly offend anyone Graham. It is useful information for those who don’t know how the WAB square is derived.
Back in 1969, when I first tripped over the 80m WAB net with my new SSB rig, I too was confused, and gave the old QRA locator ZL79 instead of the correct TQ13. Looking back, I was honoured to be politely corrected by none other than John G3ABG, the founder of WAB.
I participated actively for many years, even serving on the committee at one point, and kept track of worked WAB areas for many years afterwards. I finally lost interest when the “county element” was dropped. Finding, working and activating all those tiny patches was the bit I found most exciting.
Anyway, back to the possible offence. I’m sure that nobody will be upset, especially as it seems a lot quieter around the toy-pram interface today.
73 de Les, G3VQO