Grid Square DM86

This page - DM85-86 Line

Potential VHF rover sites in Texas's grid DM86. Be careful.
DM86 dimensions are 111.2 by 69.2 miles.
Hover mouse over a map marker for more about the grid and site.

DM85-86 Line, DM86ra10

Near city of Dalhart, Hartley County, TX, Altitude 3984
See Google map, Bing map, OpenStreetMap, Beam heading
Last update: 2021-02-08
Comments by: John NA6L

John writes: The DM85-86 grid line includes a broad farmland area in the Rita Blanca National Grasslands around the local airport in Dalhart, TX.

We parked by this pasture/agricultural field, flat for many miles around, offering the delicious prospect of activating two grids at once.

It was so oppressively hot and humid that we rented a giant air conditioner for the night (it came with a free hotel room), allowing us to pre-assemble our antenna and get the other gear ready. The day before our activation, we scouted potential grid-line sites until well after dark to allow a predawn activation.

The easy part is to find a road that runs roughly north south, and then drive it until the GPS shows you are on the center of the gridline, then find a suitable safe location to operate while still staying on the exact gridline.

The difficult part is finding a great location on that exact grid line without nearby electric cattle fences, overhead power lines, huge diesel powered water pumps, active farming/ranching and fields that look like miles of mud but are actually something from the backside of a cow! A long stay at the quarter carwash was our friend.

Although this spot was on flat ground it was one of our most successful operations. There was nothing blocking our signal to the horizon in all directions. I would also guess that being on damp rich soil helps.

Regards, John NA6L