Fox Hunt XX
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Saturday, May 8, 2021
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W2MMD Clubhouse Field Site
Amateur Radio Direction Finding
You might have wondered what all this talk is about "radio fox hunts" that our Club does from time to time. Well, now's a great chance to find out! Outdoors, at our next Tech Saturday, we'll do a demo, and then give you a chance to try it out with your own hand held radio. What a coincidence that this coincides with the CQ worldwide fox hunting weekend! If you have already participated in one of our fox hunts, great! Please bring the equipment that you use for show and tell! We are a bit more casual about our hunts, than the ones described in this article but still, everyone might find it an interesting read. Thank you Chuck for having passed it along! (https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/not-sports-amateur-radio-direction-finding) See you at Tech Saturday, Jim For those that have not tried one of these fox hunts before, the idea is simple, and is quite fun. You can even bring the whole family along. It goes something like this.
By using a “warmer / colder” technique, where the signal is strongest when you are closer, and weaker when further away, or any technique of your choosing, the idea is to find the transmitter within an hour. If anyone is still searching after an hour, he’ll talk us all in using the Club’s repeater, so that all hunters will have the chance to meet up with him and laugh about our adventures! The transmitter is a Byonics MicroFox 15. It has an approximate transmitting range of 1 mile radius. The hunt frequency is 146.565 MHz. The transmission mode is FM simplex. When you are getting close to the transmitter, you can switch to 439.695 MHz, which is the third harmonic, to get a better read on its location. Hunters are encouraged to team up together, as it is a great event to partner up with non-ham family members who can help drive while you home-in on the signal using your radio. |
Transmitter
Frequency 146.565 MHz (3rd harmonic 439.695 MHz) Transmitter
Range +/- 1 Mile Radius |