Fox Hunt XIV
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After Action Report
Thomas Jefferson's birthday turned out to be a perfect sunny day for the GCARC Spring Fox Hunt XIV. Checking in for the hunt were Vinnie (N4NYY), Ken (WB2P), Herb (KT2Y), and Al (KB2AYU). Also out for the hunt was Joe (N2CX), who emails afterwards that he forgot to bring an HT to check in, yet was out there trying, and even heard the transmitter, but never found us due to some difficulties with his "old kinda-TDOA setup". Sorry Joe! Maybe next time?
For this hunt, I hid the fox radio transmitter behind a tree near the brush line in Quay Park, and turned on just before 1 pm. The hunt was on!
The park turned out to be particularly challenging to find :
All this made for an exciting hunt!
The first call came in from Al after about 5 minutes. He was asking if the transmitter was actually on. He said he was located near the center of the hunt area, and with his beam antenna, and you could just hear it in his voice that he couldn't believe that he wasn't hearing the transmitter at all. Score one for the fox!
Jon (WB2MNF), was out checking slow scan pictures from the ISS received at our Clubhouse and monitoring the hunt progress on the repeater from there. He called in to let us know he was listening, and that no, he couldn't hear the transmitter from there either.
About 10 minutes into the hunt came the next call, this time from the Vinnie/Ken/Herb mobile crew, and a little more upbeat, saying they could hear the beacon, but still not sure where it was. The hunters were closing in!
For the next quarter hour they worked to home in on the signal, driving through neighborhoods and side streets, finally getting a strong signal as they drove down Route 635 (Hurffville-Grenloch Road). That's when they looked over and saw a small park with two ball fields, and my car parked down hill in a small gravel lot in the distance. But how to get down there? Score another one for the fox!
Another 5 minutes went by, their van finds its way into the gravel parking lot and pulls up beside me. Herb is the first to pile out of the van with words of excitement and frustration. Big smiles from my wife and I in our car. But who is going to be first to find the transmitter?
Now on foot, Vinnie and Herb exit the van and head correctly for the treeline. But in the rush to get into the field, Vinnie's somehow lost his mini-SMA connector that he uses as a close-in antenna. He's having trouble homing in without it. Ken lingers a bit behind.
It's 1:37 pm now, and a white pickup enters the park. Sure enough, it's Al. He's not happy seeing everyone else already here. He started less than a mile from here, and still can't believe he couldn't get an initial signal. He asks, has the transmitter been found? Not yet! He grabs his antenna from the back. The hunt is still on!
I see Herb and Ken in the woods behind a soccer net. Then, over to the side, there is a flurry of activity with Vinnie chasing Al at the edge of the brush line. Shouts go up, the transmitter has been found!
Who found it? Al! It was Al who found it first! Last to arrive, but first to the fox, wow!
Congratulations Al, our grand prize winner!
What a spirited chase! What a great day!
For this hunt, I hid the fox radio transmitter behind a tree near the brush line in Quay Park, and turned on just before 1 pm. The hunt was on!
The park turned out to be particularly challenging to find :
- It wasn't Washington Lake Park, which was the obvious choice for anyone checking the defined hunt area before hand on Google maps.
- Google maps, though it does label the park, did not show the park and its two softball fields as a "green" rectangular area, the way it marks most other parks, making it easy to miss when navigating, adding to the challenge.
- It's in a bit of a valley, with a rise between it and the southern part of the hunt area, including Washington Lake Park (the most likely starting spot for teams), which would make the transmitter hard to hear unless you happened to be driving in the northern part of the defined hunt area, adding to the challenge.
- The entrance to the park is a bit obscured, as it is between some houses in a neighborhood, meaning that even when you knew you were close, you might still be challenged to find your way into the park, adding one more "so close but not there yet" challenge for the hunters to deal with.
All this made for an exciting hunt!
The first call came in from Al after about 5 minutes. He was asking if the transmitter was actually on. He said he was located near the center of the hunt area, and with his beam antenna, and you could just hear it in his voice that he couldn't believe that he wasn't hearing the transmitter at all. Score one for the fox!
Jon (WB2MNF), was out checking slow scan pictures from the ISS received at our Clubhouse and monitoring the hunt progress on the repeater from there. He called in to let us know he was listening, and that no, he couldn't hear the transmitter from there either.
About 10 minutes into the hunt came the next call, this time from the Vinnie/Ken/Herb mobile crew, and a little more upbeat, saying they could hear the beacon, but still not sure where it was. The hunters were closing in!
For the next quarter hour they worked to home in on the signal, driving through neighborhoods and side streets, finally getting a strong signal as they drove down Route 635 (Hurffville-Grenloch Road). That's when they looked over and saw a small park with two ball fields, and my car parked down hill in a small gravel lot in the distance. But how to get down there? Score another one for the fox!
Another 5 minutes went by, their van finds its way into the gravel parking lot and pulls up beside me. Herb is the first to pile out of the van with words of excitement and frustration. Big smiles from my wife and I in our car. But who is going to be first to find the transmitter?
Now on foot, Vinnie and Herb exit the van and head correctly for the treeline. But in the rush to get into the field, Vinnie's somehow lost his mini-SMA connector that he uses as a close-in antenna. He's having trouble homing in without it. Ken lingers a bit behind.
It's 1:37 pm now, and a white pickup enters the park. Sure enough, it's Al. He's not happy seeing everyone else already here. He started less than a mile from here, and still can't believe he couldn't get an initial signal. He asks, has the transmitter been found? Not yet! He grabs his antenna from the back. The hunt is still on!
I see Herb and Ken in the woods behind a soccer net. Then, over to the side, there is a flurry of activity with Vinnie chasing Al at the edge of the brush line. Shouts go up, the transmitter has been found!
Who found it? Al! It was Al who found it first! Last to arrive, but first to the fox, wow!
Congratulations Al, our grand prize winner!
What a spirited chase! What a great day!
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How about some fun for an hour from 1-2 pm this Saturday?
Grab a family member or friend to team up to try and find the GCARC hidden radio transmitter! I'm attaching a $5 bill to the transmitter this time. It's yours if you are the first to find it! When? This Saturday, April 13 (Thomas Jefferson's Birthday) What time? 1pm - 2pm What frequency? 146.565 FM Where? I'll narrow down your hunt area in advance with these clues.... It will be the triangle shaped area of just a few square miles defined as:
Check in with me Jim, N2GXJ, at 1 pm on our Club's 2 meter repeater so I know who is hunting, so that we can talk in anyone who has not yet found the transmitter by 2 pm. Who will be first to find the fox this time? Good luck you crazy fox hunters out there!
What’s a ham radio fox hunt, you ask? In short, it’s a radio version of “hide and seek”, and is great fun for the whole family, hams and non-hams alike! A copy of a slide show detailing the answer from a presentation given at an earlier GCARC Club meeting can be found on the GCARC Fox Hunts page. Check out smiling faces from the past Fox Hunts that are linked on that page.
So what if you’ve never tried doing something like this before. Part of the fun is meeting new people and trying new things! Here’s a quick run-down on the basics, and some hints for what to expect. There’s stuff you can do in advance, and then there is the hunt! In advance:
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Transmitter Frequency 146.565 MHz 
Transmitter
Range 1+ Mile Radius |