Grid Hunters who Use Satellites Risk Losing an Important Resource

AMSAT's Gridmaster Heat Map has served as an invaluable guide to grid-chasers using satellites, for those activating hams who need to be aware of which grids are in greatest need. AMSAT says in a recent weekly service bulletin that the map may be going away unless a replacement manager can be found.

Paul Overn, KEØPBR, will be stepping down after three years at the helm of the project in which he tracked grid rarity based on crowdsourced data from hams who updated him. Paul's Twitter feed, atgridmasterheat (@GridMasterHeat) displays a color-coded map of grid rarities ranging from green - the most common - to red, for rare.

The map plays an especially important role in the pursuit of AMSAT's prestigious GridMaster Award. This honor is conferred on any amateur around the world who works all 488 Maidenhead grid squares in the 48 contiguous United States via satellite and has those contacts confirmed in writing.

AMSAT is looking for a volunteer to assume Paul's post. The candidate should be capable of collecting crowdsourced data and transferring it to a spreadsheet or some other format and providing updates every week to satellite users.