What grid square is the JB59 operating area?

JB59 is the live DXRadar reference square for the JB59 operating area. The exact portable or home QTH may vary within the square, but this page tracks the center of JB59 for planning propagation.

How do I find my grid square?

Use a Maidenhead grid lookup from your GPS coordinates or street address, then compare that grid with the nearby squares linked on this page. A 4-character grid is enough for most HF planning.

What bands are open in JB59 right now?

JB59 is currently rated FAIR. The best bands right now are 10m, 20m, 30m, 40m, 60m, with 10m as the main band to watch first.

Grid JB59 Band Conditions

Localized HF conditions for Maidenhead locator JB59. Coordinating at -70.50°, 11.00°. Updated with real-time telemetry from NOAA and DX cluster reports.

JB59 conditions are FAIR. Best bands: 10m, 20m, 30m, 40m, 60m. SFI: 118.

Regional Radar

SFI

118

K-Index

0.33 Kp

Center Coords

-70.5, 11.0

Local Phase

Daylight

Grayline window

Sunrise 04:59 UTC

Sunset 17:19 UTC from JB59

From the JB59 operating area, work the 04:59 UTC and 17:19 UTC grayline windows: probe 20m, 30m, and 40m in the 15 minutes either side while the terminator crosses JB59.

Best band now

10m

10m is the headline band right now, with 20m as the dependable fallback if conditions soften.

Closest operating hub

the JB59 operating area

This square sits in a mixed-region footprint and is best used as a planning center for portable, field-day, and home-station band decisions.

Latitude zone: high-latitude
Local phase: Daylight
Aurora exposure: watch during geomagnetic storms
Grayline: 04:59 UTC / 17:19 UTC
Best high band: 10m
Nearest city: the JB59 operating area

● Local Band Quality Scorings

Use this local score for JB59, then compare the global live ranking oncurrent ham band conditionsbefore changing bands.

10m

EXCELLENT

15m

EXCELLENT

20m

GOOD

40m

POOR

80m

POOR

● Best DX Windows from JB59 — the JB59 operating area

Great-circle distance, short-path beam heading, the bands most likely open right now from JB59 to each DX region at SFI 118 / Kp 0.33, and a current verdict. "Open now" means a suitable band is scoring well on that path; "Try ~HH:MM" points at the next far-end grayline. Band picks and status are a planning heuristic, not a measurement.

Target	Distance	Beam	Bands to try	Status
Southern Africa	3,132 mi	19°	10m, 15m, 20m	Open now
South America	4,763 mi	285°	10m, 15m, 20m	Open now
Oceania	5,205 mi	144°	10m, 15m, 20m	Open now
South Asia	7,146 mi	61°	10m, 15m, 20m	Open now
Europe	8,326 mi	359°	10m, 15m, 20m	Open now
North America	9,166 mi	268°	10m, 15m, 20m	Open now
East Asia / Japan	9,381 mi	112°	10m, 15m, 20m	Open now

● Band-by-Time Plan for JB59

A planning heuristic for the local day at JB59, built from sunrise 04:59 UTC, sunset 17:19 UTC, SFI 118, and Kp 0.33. Not a measurement — a starting point for where to listen as the day turns.

Dawn grayline

around 04:59 UTC

40m · 30m · 20m

Grayline enhancement — low bands reach long distances as the terminator passes.

Morning

after 04:59 UTC

20m · 15m · 10m

High bands rising with the sun; check 10m for DX.

Midday

local noon

10m · 15m · 20m

Peak high-band window — 10m and 15m open widest.

Dusk grayline

around 17:19 UTC

20m · 40m

Second grayline peak — 20m holds, then hands off to 40m.

Night

after 17:19 UTC

40m · 80m

Low bands own the darkness — 40m for DX, 80m regional.

Recent local activity

Spots touching JB59 and the adjacent squares

These are the newest 10m, 15m, and 20m reports where one side of the path sits in JB59, JC50, JB58, JB69, JB49. This gives the page unique, local context instead of a generic solar snapshot.

No fresh PSKReporter paths are cached for the immediate JB59 footprint right now. That usually means you should widen the search to the nearest regional hubs below or fall back to 20m/40m for the next operating window.

Top DX targets

Where this grid is reaching right now

No outbound targets were strong enough to rank from the current cache. Check back after the next PSKReporter refresh or switch to the regional grids below.

Contest preview

Next major contest outlook

CQ World Wide DX Contest - SSB starts Sat, 24 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT. Current forecast from JB59: 10m EXCELLENT, 15m EXCELLENT, 20m GOOD. Current solar conditions (SFI 118, K 0.33) favor 10m, 15m, 20m for this contest weekend.

Open contest calendar

Nearby grids