Texas to Host USA's ARDF Championships:

Bastrop State Park in Central Texas will be the site for this year's USA championship of on-foot hidden transmitter hunting. Fans of this international sport -- also called foxhunting or Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) -- are making travel plans now.

Interest and participation in ARDF has been growing every year since stateside hams first competed at the World Championships in 1998. Beginning in 2001, there has been an annual national championship to see who is best at the sport and to select team members for the World Championships. The Texas ARDF group and the Houston Orienteering Club are combining to host this year's events, to be held the second weekend of May.

Thursday, May 8 is scheduled for arrival and equipment testing; 2 and 80 meter transmitters will also be on the air near the event headquarters. There will also be a get-acquainted meeting and drawing for the starting order. The 2 meter contest will take place Friday morning. Competitors will start in small groups made up of different age and gender categories, in the drawn order.

The 80 meter event will be early Saturday morning with starts in reverse order, highest numbers first. After everyone returns from the woods and the results are tallied, medals will be presented for first, second and third place in each category. There will be ample time for everyone to return home in time for Mother's Day activities.

On both bands, each of the five foxes transmits for 60 seconds at a time in numbered order on one frequency, and then the cycle repeats. Fox #1 continuously sends "MOE" in Morse code, then #2 sends "MOI," #3 sends "MOS" and so forth. Knowledge of Morse code isn't necessary, because the number of dits reveals which fox is on. Find your required foxes in any order and then head for the finish, following your map or the continuous beacon transmitter on a second frequency.

As always, the USA ARDF Championships are open to anyone of any age who can safely navigate the woods. A ham radio license is not required, so encourage your unlicensed-but-athletic friends and family members to join in. Each person competes as an individual; there is no teaming or person-to-person assistance allowed on the courses. Using GPS as a navigation aid is also forbidden.

The annual ARDF championships are an ideal opportunity to watch and learn from the best radio-orienteers in the country, as well as visitors from around the world. Previous USA championships have drawn experts from Australia, China, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

Registration for the 2008 USA championships is now open. A $70-per- person package includes the practice session, both competitions, Friday dinner and a T-shirt. Check out the Texas ARDF Web site http://www.texasardf.org/ for detailed schedules, frequencies, lodging information and registration forms. An e-mail reflector http://lists.texasardf.org/mailman/listinfo/texasardf is available for Q&A, as well as for coordinating transportation and arranging equipment loans.

If you have never participated in an international-style transmitter hunt, you will find all the basics at ARRL Amateur Radio Direction Finding Coordinator Joe Moell's, K0OV, Web site http://www.homingin.com/intlfox.html including the rules and signal parameters. You will get equipment ideas for 2 meters and 80 meters. You can also determine your own age category. The pages of photos from our previous championships will help you decide what gear to carry (the lighter, the better) and what to wear. -- Information provided by ARRL ARDF Coordinator Joe Moell, K0OV

Source:

The ARRL Letter Vol. 27, No. 10 March 14, 2008

There are no comments on this article: Post One