Sunday, February 26, 2023
1300 to 1400 Hours
Somewhere in Gloucester County
Fox Hunt XXVII - Sunday, February 26, 2023
By Frank Romeo, N3PUU
We could not have asked for a better day for a February Fox Hunt! It seems a lot of folks agreed as we had a terrific turnout for Fox Hunt XXVII in the Deptford area of Gloucester County. In addition to our usual group of hunters, we were joined by several new hunters including XYLs, Harmonics, and even some 2nd Harmonics!
Hunting for the fox is always a fun and exciting challenge. This is, of course, why we go out and do it. Once you are the first to find the fox, you quickly learn that there can be another side to this challenge - hiding it! Scouring the map looking for a good hiding spot I came across what seemed like the perfect place in Deptford, Old Pine Farm Natural Lands - 36 acres, hidden away at the end of residential streets, containing a series of hiking trails that is not well marked on the usual maps. Checking the area I find several well-marked parks nearby which makes my hiding spot even less obvious. Pleased with my find, I outline a boundary map and send it off to the Club mailing list. We are ready to go, or so I thought!
The morning of the hunt rolls around and I'm once again checking out the maps, this time looking for a place to park where my car full of antennas won't give away the hiding spot. While reading I learn that while open to the public for hiking, Old Pine Farm is technically private property. Uh-oh! In order to avoid trouble, our foxhunting rules require us to stick to public property. Back to the map I go, selecting nearby Almonesson Park as a plan B. It's much more "obvious" than I would like, but the hunt is in a couple of hours and the boundaries are already set, so I can't be too picky! To avoid the need to hide my car, my wife agrees to drop me off at the park.
We all climb in the car and start heading towards Deptford, monitoring the Club repeater on my HT. A couple of minutes into the journey I hear Jim, N2GXJ announce that he is on his way to the Deptford Home Depot where a bunch of other hunters are meeting up to start hunting. My heart sinks - Home Depot adjoins Almonesson Park! If I hide it there, they will be right on top of it - with just minutes to go I now need plan C! Scrambling to Google Maps on my cell phone shows the easiest solution is Timber Creek Park, just down the street from Home Depot, but at least not right on top of it.
In the end, it all worked out, with Timber Creek Park having a small trail network perfect for hiding the fox. Congratulations to Al KB2AYU for being the first to locate the fox this time! Big thanks to our hunt pack (in no particular order) :
By Frank Romeo, N3PUU
We could not have asked for a better day for a February Fox Hunt! It seems a lot of folks agreed as we had a terrific turnout for Fox Hunt XXVII in the Deptford area of Gloucester County. In addition to our usual group of hunters, we were joined by several new hunters including XYLs, Harmonics, and even some 2nd Harmonics!
Hunting for the fox is always a fun and exciting challenge. This is, of course, why we go out and do it. Once you are the first to find the fox, you quickly learn that there can be another side to this challenge - hiding it! Scouring the map looking for a good hiding spot I came across what seemed like the perfect place in Deptford, Old Pine Farm Natural Lands - 36 acres, hidden away at the end of residential streets, containing a series of hiking trails that is not well marked on the usual maps. Checking the area I find several well-marked parks nearby which makes my hiding spot even less obvious. Pleased with my find, I outline a boundary map and send it off to the Club mailing list. We are ready to go, or so I thought!
The morning of the hunt rolls around and I'm once again checking out the maps, this time looking for a place to park where my car full of antennas won't give away the hiding spot. While reading I learn that while open to the public for hiking, Old Pine Farm is technically private property. Uh-oh! In order to avoid trouble, our foxhunting rules require us to stick to public property. Back to the map I go, selecting nearby Almonesson Park as a plan B. It's much more "obvious" than I would like, but the hunt is in a couple of hours and the boundaries are already set, so I can't be too picky! To avoid the need to hide my car, my wife agrees to drop me off at the park.
We all climb in the car and start heading towards Deptford, monitoring the Club repeater on my HT. A couple of minutes into the journey I hear Jim, N2GXJ announce that he is on his way to the Deptford Home Depot where a bunch of other hunters are meeting up to start hunting. My heart sinks - Home Depot adjoins Almonesson Park! If I hide it there, they will be right on top of it - with just minutes to go I now need plan C! Scrambling to Google Maps on my cell phone shows the easiest solution is Timber Creek Park, just down the street from Home Depot, but at least not right on top of it.
In the end, it all worked out, with Timber Creek Park having a small trail network perfect for hiding the fox. Congratulations to Al KB2AYU for being the first to locate the fox this time! Big thanks to our hunt pack (in no particular order) :
- Marc Federici WM2Y & Harmonic
- Rich Federici KD2WDN & XYL
- Marty Wilt W2ILT & 2nd Harmonic
- Al Arrison KB2AYU
- Rusty Rust K2LJR
- Lenny Rust W2LJR
- Joseph Gadoury KE2AKT, XYL & 2nd Harmonic
- Vinnie Sallustio N4NYY, XYL & Harmonic
- Jim Wright N2GXJ
- Sheldon Parker K2MEN
Fox Hunt XXVII
February 25, 2023
By Frank Romeo, N3PUU
We will be foxhunting tomorrow, Sunday, February 26th @ 1300 local time. This time around we will be hunting in northern Gloucester County, around the Deptford area.
The boundaries for this hunt form a triangular shape and are as follows :
A map of this area is available at :
https://shadetree.org/W2MMD_Feb2023_Foxhunt_Boundaries.png
Best of luck to all the hunters!
73,
Frank N3PUU
February 25, 2023
By Frank Romeo, N3PUU
We will be foxhunting tomorrow, Sunday, February 26th @ 1300 local time. This time around we will be hunting in northern Gloucester County, around the Deptford area.
The boundaries for this hunt form a triangular shape and are as follows :
- The Gloucester County Line to the East.
- Good Intent Road to the South/Southwest.
- Clements Bridge Road to the North/Northwest.
A map of this area is available at :
https://shadetree.org/W2MMD_Feb2023_Foxhunt_Boundaries.png
Best of luck to all the hunters!
73,
Frank N3PUU
Fox Hunt XXVII - Pre-Spring Fox Hunt
22 Days Until Spring Equinox By Jim Wright, N2GXJ Please reserve the date : Sunday February 26 , 2023! Why this date? It is in February, it is a Sunday, it is not the “big game” football Sunday (which is Feb 12), it is not part of President’s Day/Mardi Gras weekend (Feb 18-21). And Frank N3PUU says he is available that day, which is important because, as the first to find the fox last time, he’s the “Fox” that gets to hide the transmitter this time! More details for this one will be posted at w2mmd.org on the “GCARC Fox Hunts” page as we get closer to the event. New to foxhunting? No problem! Maybe partner up with a fellow Club member to hunt together? Just ask at our next Club meeting, or on one of our 2 Meter radio nets. Really, really, really, really, hope you’ll consider coming out on February 26th to give this a try! Next one after this will probably be in May, to align with CQ’s 26th Annual Worldwide Foxhunting Weekend on May 13 - 14. 2023. These events are quite fun for the whole family, as you don’t need a license to hunt (listen). Just need the ham family member to call in to check in 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. Check-in before the 1pm start time so we know who all is hunting, so that we’ll know if anyone is still hunting after an hour, to help talk them in to the finish line where we have fun exchanging hunt stories and taking a group photo. 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! Can we count you and your family as being in on this one? 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. 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. So, who’s ready for a fun fall fox hunt! See you out there! |
Transmitter
Frequency 146.565 MHz (3rd harmonic 439.695 MHz) Transmitter
Range +/- 1 Mile Radius |