What grid square is the MQ18 operating area?

MQ18 is the live DXRadar reference square for the MQ18 operating area. The exact portable or home QTH may vary within the square, but this page tracks the center of MQ18 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 MQ18 right now?

MQ18 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 MQ18 Band Conditions

Localized HF conditions for Maidenhead locator MQ18. Coordinating at 78.50°, 63.00°. Updated with real-time telemetry from NOAA and DX cluster reports.

MQ18 conditions are FAIR. Best bands: 10m, 20m, 30m, 40m, 60m. SFI: 115.

Regional Radar

SFI

115

K-Index

0.67 Kp

Center Coords

78.5, 63.0

Local Phase

Night

Grayline window

Sunrise 01:16 UTC

Sunset 14:07 UTC from MQ18

From the MQ18 operating area, work the 01:16 UTC and 14:07 UTC grayline windows: probe 20m, 30m, and 40m in the 15 minutes either side while the terminator crosses MQ18.

Best band now

10m

Night operation should keep 20m on watch and move to 40m as the path darkens.

Closest operating hub

the MQ18 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: Darkness
Aurora exposure: watch during geomagnetic storms
Grayline: 01:16 UTC / 14:07 UTC
Best high band: 10m
Nearest city: the MQ18 operating area

● Local Band Quality Scorings

Use this local score for MQ18, then compare the global live ranking oncurrent ham band conditionsbefore changing bands.

10m

POOR

15m

POOR

20m

FAIR

40m

EXCELLENT

80m

EXCELLENT

● Best DX Windows from MQ18 — the MQ18 operating area

Great-circle distance, short-path beam heading, the bands most likely open right now from MQ18 to each DX region at SFI 115 / Kp 0.67, 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
Europe	2,358 mi	246°	40m, 80m, 20m	Open now
East Asia / Japan	3,582 mi	96°	40m, 20m, 80m	Open now
South Asia	3,934 mi	163°	40m, 20m, 80m	Open now
North America	4,281 mi	343°	10m, 15m, 20m	Open now
Southern Africa	7,369 mi	214°	40m, 20m, 80m	Open now
South America	7,646 mi	298°	40m, 20m, 80m	Open now
Oceania	8,205 mi	99°	40m, 20m, 80m	Open now

● Band-by-Time Plan for MQ18

A planning heuristic for the local day at MQ18, built from sunrise 01:16 UTC, sunset 14:07 UTC, SFI 115, and Kp 0.67. Not a measurement — a starting point for where to listen as the day turns.

Dawn grayline

around 01:16 UTC

40m · 30m · 20m

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

Morning

after 01:16 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 14:07 UTC

20m · 40m

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

Night

after 14:07 UTC

40m · 80m

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

Recent local activity

Spots touching MQ18 and the adjacent squares

These are the newest 10m, 15m, and 20m reports where one side of the path sits in MQ18, MQ19, MQ17, MQ28, MQ08. This gives the page unique, local context instead of a generic solar snapshot.

No fresh PSKReporter paths are cached for the immediate MQ18 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 MQ18: 10m POOR, 15m POOR, 20m FAIR. Current solar conditions (SFI 115, K 0.67) favor 10m, 15m, 20m for this contest weekend.

Open contest calendar

Nearby grids