What grid square is the QK42 operating area?

QK42 is the live DXRadar reference square for the QK42 operating area. The exact portable or home QTH may vary within the square, but this page tracks the center of QK42 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 QK42 right now?

QK42 is currently rated FAIR. The best bands right now are 10m, 12m, 15m, 17m, 20m, with 10m as the main band to watch first.

HomeSFI --K ---:-- UTC

Grid QK42 Band Conditions

Localized HF conditions for Maidenhead locator QK42. Coordinating at 12.50°, 149.00°. Updated with real-time telemetry from NOAA and DX cluster reports.

QK42 conditions are FAIR. Best bands: 10m, 12m, 15m, 17m, 20m. SFI: 137.

Regional Radar

SFI

137

K-Index

3 Kp

Center Coords

12.5, 149.0

Local Phase

Daylight

Grayline window

Sunrise 19:48 UTC

Sunset 08:34 UTC from QK42

From the QK42 operating area, work the 19:48 UTC and 08:34 UTC grayline windows: probe 20m, 30m, and 40m in the 15 minutes either side while the terminator crosses QK42.

Best band now

10m

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

Closest operating hub

the QK42 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: tropical
Local phase: Daylight
Aurora exposure: low at this latitude
Grayline: 19:48 UTC / 08:34 UTC
Best high band: 10m
Nearest city: the QK42 operating area

● Local Band Quality Scorings

Use this local score for QK42, 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 QK42 — the QK42 operating area

Great-circle distance, short-path beam heading, the bands most likely open right now from QK42 to each DX region at SFI 137 / Kp 3, 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
East Asia / Japan	1,762 mi	339°	10m, 15m, 20m	Open now
Oceania	2,937 mi	179°	10m, 15m, 20m	Open now
South Asia	4,693 mi	289°	10m, 15m, 20m	Open now
North America	6,856 mi	46°	10m, 15m, 20m	Open now
Europe	7,457 mi	334°	40m, 20m, 80m	Open now
Southern Africa	8,633 mi	247°	40m, 20m, 80m	Open now
South America	10,618 mi	99°	10m, 15m, 20m	Open now

● Band-by-Time Plan for QK42

A planning heuristic for the local day at QK42, built from sunrise 19:48 UTC, sunset 08:34 UTC, SFI 137, and Kp 3. Not a measurement — a starting point for where to listen as the day turns.

Dawn grayline

around 19:48 UTC

40m · 30m · 20m

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

Morning

after 19:48 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 08:34 UTC

20m · 40m

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

Night

after 08:34 UTC

40m · 80m

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

Recent local activity

Spots touching QK42 and the adjacent squares

These are the newest 10m, 15m, and 20m reports where one side of the path sits in QK42, QK43, QK41, QK52, QK32. This gives the page unique, local context instead of a generic solar snapshot.

No fresh PSKReporter paths are cached for the immediate QK42 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

Worked All Europe - SSB starts Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT. Current forecast from QK42: 10m EXCELLENT, 15m EXCELLENT, 20m GOOD. Current solar conditions (SFI 137, K 3) favor 10m, 15m, 20m for this contest weekend.

Open contest calendar

Nearby grids