Amateur Radio Direction Finding

Amateur Radio Direction Finding is an adventure sport organized by the International Amateur Radio Union. It is popular among the youth and involving orienteering and radio direction finding skills . The race, popularly known as radiosport , is bound by time and is set in the wooded terrains. The participants are allowed to use a topographic map, a magnetic compass and radio direction finding apparatus which help them to find their way and reach the finishing line in time. The race uses radio frequencies on the universally available two-meter or eighty-meter amateur radio bands which help to receive the signals. The participants are also allowed to use the magnetic compasses.

Northern and Eastern Europe is usually said to be the birthplace of the sport of Amateur Radio Direction Finding. Amateur Radio being widely promoted in the areas, a number of schools and radio clubs promoted the sport. With time, the sport reached countries beyond its native Scandinavian area and entered countries like the Soviet Union, Denmark, the People's Republic of China and England, where the formal rules of the sport were first proposed.

Sweden hosted the first European Championship of the sport in 1961 and by the 1970s, a number of additional international championships were held in the continent of Europe. The year 1980 saw the first World Championship of Amateur Radio Direction Finding and has been taking place every two year since 1984. International Amateur Radio Union has also been organizing Regional competitions in the different continents. The youth competitions are also organized for participants of 15 years of age or below. The efforts of the governing body and the players have extended the boundary of the sport and have contributed a lot in making it popular.