Somewhere in Gloucester County
Fox Hunt XXI : Taking Fox Hunting To New Heights
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
Sunday, May 16, 2021
One week after the radio direction finding instruction and practice held during Tech Saturday at the Clubhouse, it was time to take to the field what we’d practiced. Hint: it didn’t help. Frank was particularly devious as the fox. Nobody had found him after an hour looking, so he started giving out clues. He wasn’t kidding when he said the transmitter is with the car in a high spot. Us hunters kept seeing each other, passing in opposite directions and making U-turns on the road as we narrowed in on the area of strongest signal, retracing and crisscrossing our paths until we ended up in downtown Woodbury.
Why were we having so much trouble? A picture is worth a thousand words. It turns out that a 146 MHz radio signal bounces off of solid objects real good. And who was thinking to look up?
Congratulations to Al KB2AYU, first to find the Fox after walking several blocks to home in on the transmitter’s location from where he parked his car. Maybe this was a little too hard. Next time, perhaps we’ll try a simple walking hunt, similar to what we done during the training exercise out at the Clubhouse. What do you think?
Order of finish :
Frank, N3PUU - The Fox
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
Sunday, May 16, 2021
One week after the radio direction finding instruction and practice held during Tech Saturday at the Clubhouse, it was time to take to the field what we’d practiced. Hint: it didn’t help. Frank was particularly devious as the fox. Nobody had found him after an hour looking, so he started giving out clues. He wasn’t kidding when he said the transmitter is with the car in a high spot. Us hunters kept seeing each other, passing in opposite directions and making U-turns on the road as we narrowed in on the area of strongest signal, retracing and crisscrossing our paths until we ended up in downtown Woodbury.
Why were we having so much trouble? A picture is worth a thousand words. It turns out that a 146 MHz radio signal bounces off of solid objects real good. And who was thinking to look up?
Congratulations to Al KB2AYU, first to find the Fox after walking several blocks to home in on the transmitter’s location from where he parked his car. Maybe this was a little too hard. Next time, perhaps we’ll try a simple walking hunt, similar to what we done during the training exercise out at the Clubhouse. What do you think?
Order of finish :
Frank, N3PUU - The Fox
- Al, KB2AYU
- Jim, N2GXJ
- Lenny, W2LJR and Rusty
- Rich, KD2WDN and Marc, KC2VAR
- Karl, W2KBF and XYL Susan, W6SKT
- Sheldon, K2MEN
Fox Hunt XXI will be occurring tomorrow, Sunday, May 16, 2021, from 13:00 to 14:00 Hours local!
The boundaries will be the area of Gloucester County within a 3 mile radius of the last foxhunt location (River Drive in Westville). As that is the northwestern corner of the county, we are left with roughly a quarter circle. The below map outlines the hunt area within the red line.
The map is also available at :
http://www.shadetree.org/tmp/skunkworks/foxhunt_may2021.png
The fox will be visible from your vehicle.
We will begin taking check-ins approximately 10 minutes prior to the hunt on the W2MMD 147.180 repeater (EchoLink W2MMD-R).
Best of luck to all the hunters!
Frank, N3PUU
The boundaries will be the area of Gloucester County within a 3 mile radius of the last foxhunt location (River Drive in Westville). As that is the northwestern corner of the county, we are left with roughly a quarter circle. The below map outlines the hunt area within the red line.
The map is also available at :
http://www.shadetree.org/tmp/skunkworks/foxhunt_may2021.png
The fox will be visible from your vehicle.
We will begin taking check-ins approximately 10 minutes prior to the hunt on the W2MMD 147.180 repeater (EchoLink W2MMD-R).
Best of luck to all the hunters!
Frank, N3PUU
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.
A day before the hunt, the FOX will send an email to the Club reflector. In it, he will give directions that will narrow down search area we have to hunt in to something no larger than approximately 4 square miles, here in southern NJ. Then, by 1 pm on the Fox Hunt day, we drive into that area, and wait to hear from him on the W2MMD 2 Meter repeater (147.180 MHz PL Tone 131.8 Hz) asking for check-ins. You can also check-in using EchoLink : W2MMD-R. Each car full of us will check in with him on the repeater, so that he’ll know who all is hunting, and can give clues if anyone gets lost. Then the transmitter is turned on, and the hunt begins! 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 |