J-TEK Grid Finder

This program enables you to derive your Grid Locator, as used on the VHF bands, from your latitude and longitude. It is written in Visual Basic, version 2. This is now quite an old version but has the advantage of working within the older types of Microsoft Windows, such as 3.1, as well as the more recent ones. Another advantage is the much smaller file size of the DLL that is needed to run it compared with the later versions.

Note: This program does not run on my latest computer that runs Windows 7, 64 bits, Home Premium version.

It has since been "upgraded" to Windows 7 Professional and Virtual PC with XP Mode has been installed. This program, and others that did not previously run under Windows 7, now run normally when using the XP mode.

This view of the program window shows it calculating my home locator. You just enter your own latitude and longitude in the appropriate fields and then click on the Calculate button. Remember to check the North/South and East/West options if yours are not the default ones. If you need another calculation then use the clear button to allow you to start afresh. You can enter any value in decimal form, if you prefer, and this will prevent the fields to the right from being used. The operation is so simple that I have not included any help file. If you do have any problems with it then just ask me by e-mail.

There are many other programs around that will do the same calculation but most are embedded in web pages. Those can only be used when you are on line and connected to the appropriate web site. This one is for you to run on your computer at any time, whether you are on line or not.

In order to run the program you must download it and place it in a suitable directory. The EXE file will not run by itself but needs another file called Vbrun200.DLL to be installed as well. This can be placed in the same directory or any other one that is in the path. A suitable location could be in C:\Windows\System\. If you already have this DLL then there is no need to download it again which is why they are avaliable as separate downloads. If you choose to download any more of my programs when they become available, or others, that have been written in this version of Visual Basic then you will only need to download the EXE file. Click on the file name, then choose the option "Save this file to disk" (depending on your browser) and specify the location where you want to put it.

Download Gridfind.exe (13 k)

Download Vbrun200.dll (349 k)

This program is offered free of charge to Radio Amateurs who might find it useful. I believe that it works OK and gives the right answer. I offer no guarantee of any sort and you download and use it at your own risk. That is just to protect myself in case you have any problem that I am unaware of.

I would appreciate an e-mail from anyone who does choose to download and try it. That is for my personal satisfaction and so that I can let you know if I make any changes later. Any comments about this program or suggestions for future ones will also be appreciated.

73, Lawrence GJ3RAX