TopBand: Distance Calculations

[Earl W Cunningham]

John, K4IQ wrote:
>What about Worked All Grids, or a WAG award?  This would be a
significant
>challenge, but, I believe, do-able.  
>
>During the discussion a few years ago on how the Stew Perry Top Band
>challenge was to be configured, I offered that the Grid concept, with
two
>numbers and two letters, as a multiplier during an annual contest, would
>foster Top Band participation from many areas which, presently, have few
>serious operators.  Being a somewhat 'rare' grid would be fun. The Stew
>Perry (unfortunately, I believe) ended up being a complex "distance
>challenge", requiring a rather complicated set of software to score grid
>distances, and which, in my opinion, has not fostered the participation
>simply using grids as multipliers would have brought. 
>
>The grid system offers many more multipliers than states, yet,
manageably
>less than the number of counties.  I wonder if there is any support for
a
>WAG-US award?  There could also be WAG-EU awards, etc... ;-}
==========
Well, the next Stew Perry is less than two months away.  Regardless of
its format, it's a fun contest.
>
I took issue with Tree last year that because the scoring is based solely
on the distance of each QSO that the computation of distances should be
as accurate as possible.  "Official" distances in the contest were
calculated using an inaccurate algorithm based on the supposition that
the Earth is a perfect spheroid.  Tree agreed to use an algorithm based
on the fact that the Earth is ellipsoidal in shape if I would supply it.
>
Calculating the distances of long-haul QSOs on 160m has been one of my
interests since the late '60s and early '70s when I used to do this for
W1BB.
>
Just a few days ago I completed a program which uses an algorithm
provided to me by the US government.  It is based on an ellipsoidal Earth
and agrees exactly in distance and bearing calculations with a similar
program used by them.  The only other ham program which is accurate,
"BD",  is used by the ARRL in their official distance calculations for
VHF/UHF and microwave awards.  However, BD is slightly in error, possibly
because it uses old data for the Earth's size.

My program, "DBGRID", does the most accurate distance, bearing and grid
square calculations of any program available for use by hams.  I have
sent Tree a copy of this program along with its source code to use as he
pleases.  With the Stew Perry Distance Challenge close at hand, you might
want a copy of this free software.  If so, email your request to me
direct.

73, de Earl, K6SE


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