Fox Hunt VII - March 7, 2015
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The answer to the “Has Spring Sprung?” question asked as the title of our most recent radio direction finding hidden transmitter foxhunt was a definite “no” on the morning on Saturday, March 7. Snow covered fields, road-side snow plow mounds, and icy road conditions did not deter the eager early morning hunters as they braved the elements, in cars, and on foot, to find the hidden transmitter.
As I was the first to have found the transmitter during the previous hunt, it was up to me to hide it for this hunt. Not wanting to leave a trail of footprints that would be easy to follow through the snow, I hid it in a plastic tacklebox, and then hid that in the snow on the back-side of a large snow plow mound in the parking area of the William Wilt Soccer Complex, just off the Route 322 bypass in Mullica Hill, NJ.
Within just 20 minutes of having turned on the transmitter, the hunters had already converged on the park near Mullica Hill where the transmitter had been hidden. But victory only goes to the first to actually find the transmitter itself, not just the general vicinity of where it was hidden. Congratulations to Jeff Garth, KC2WCS, first to find the hidden transmitter! Congratulations also to Dan N2TXG, and Chuck, KD2EIB, who also found the transmitter this frigid morning. Jeff, you now have the honors of hiding the transmitter for our next hunt, maybe as part of our Field Day in June, or at our summery picnic on July 25. With luck, by then, we will all have had time to thaw out!
As I was the first to have found the transmitter during the previous hunt, it was up to me to hide it for this hunt. Not wanting to leave a trail of footprints that would be easy to follow through the snow, I hid it in a plastic tacklebox, and then hid that in the snow on the back-side of a large snow plow mound in the parking area of the William Wilt Soccer Complex, just off the Route 322 bypass in Mullica Hill, NJ.
Within just 20 minutes of having turned on the transmitter, the hunters had already converged on the park near Mullica Hill where the transmitter had been hidden. But victory only goes to the first to actually find the transmitter itself, not just the general vicinity of where it was hidden. Congratulations to Jeff Garth, KC2WCS, first to find the hidden transmitter! Congratulations also to Dan N2TXG, and Chuck, KD2EIB, who also found the transmitter this frigid morning. Jeff, you now have the honors of hiding the transmitter for our next hunt, maybe as part of our Field Day in June, or at our summery picnic on July 25. With luck, by then, we will all have had time to thaw out!
Has Spring Sprung? Asked as a question, but we know the answer. If not yes now, then soon! Call a friend, hop in a car, and get out of the house for some Radiosport adventure, Saturday morning March 7! Why? Because it is the “Has Spring Sprung?” fox hunt #7!
If you’ve never been on a radio fox hunt, or if it has been a long time since you have, then what is your excuse? This could be your lucky #7 day! It can be lots of fun; even more so when you team up with someone who can do the driving while the other fiddles with a radio and does the navigating. So team up with a family member, a partner, or whomever, and see if you can find our hidden transmitter by homing in on the signal strength of its periodic transmissions using your hand-held Baofeng, favorite radio, or whatever you can dream up to help you find it! Since it was the team of my wife driving, and me fiddling with the radio that were the first to find the hidden transmitter last time, we get the honors of hiding it this time. Once again, it will be hidden somewhere in Gloucester County, in a public location, for you to find. The hunt area within Gloucester County will be announced in advance, via email and posted to our website, to let you start within a few miles of the transmitter’s location. For this hunt, it will generally be in the vicinity of our Clubhouse. Teams participating check-in with the hunt coordinator at the designated start time on our club’s 2 meter repeater, and will get various clues from the fox on that frequency as to where the transmitter might be hidden. If there are any teams still searching at the end of an hour, they’ll be talked in to the finish. After this hunt, we’ll head over to the clubhouse to join the monthly “Tech Saturday”, to exchange hunt stories with each other, and other club members. For this hunt, start time is 0800 Hours, Saturday March 7. Location within Gloucester County to be announced (but will generally be in vicinity of our Clubhouse). If you want to set up a channel on your radio in advance, the hidden transmitter will operate on the generally recognized fox hunt simplex frequency of 146.565 MHz (FM). When you get close, you can probably also hear it on 439.695 MHz (the third harmonic) as well. We’ll have the transmitter on display at the March club meeting, if you want to check it out. Alright! Time for some Radiosport! Who are you going to team up with for this event? |
Transmitter
Frequency 146.565 MHz Transmitter
Range 1 Mile Radius |