eHam
eHam Forums => FoxHunting => Topic started by: VK2ICJ on January 19, 2021, 03:55:14 PM
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Hi All
This past weekend I participated in a fox hunt. This was the first time hunting down the T in about 17 years for me. I participated in hunts regularly (like once sometimes twice a month) in the 90's and early 2000's but not recently. Perhaps many of you have done the same. I forgot how much fun trying to track down the hidden transmitter is. I logged on to my favourite ham radio website ( Eham of course) and found little to no activity in this forum. Where are you all? What has happened (aside from Covid) to all the great T hunts? Anyway I'm just trying to stir up some discussion in this forum.
73 de vk2icj
Chris
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Is the transmitter intermittent or continuous?
There's a local hunt every Saturday, the fox hides and makes 1 min transmissions on a set schedule.
First hunter to locate the fox, will be the fox for the next hunt.
I should add that the participants are mobile, the hunt covers a large area.
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I did some fox hunting decades ago when I still lived in Finland.
Over there (at least back then) all the event used 80m band, from what I've seen here in the US (maybe same in VK) the norm is to use 2m.
The 80m receivers very very small and simple, and the antenna was a ferrite rod coil, similar to AM broadcast band RX antennas. The antenna has a very deep (bi-directional) null, and provided very precise bearing "readings".
When I looked into getting back into fox hunting here, I was somewhat turned off by having to run around with a 2m yagi.
Is the norm around here to still use 2m, and a short yagi for the DF?
Mikko, AB6RF
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Thr new hams are waiting for the transmitters to be FT8 with a GPS in the coding.
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Is the norm around here to still use 2m, and a short yagi for the DF?
Depends on the hunt.
Mobile hunts are often on 2m because so many hams have 2m radios
that they can use, and it isn't too difficult to stick a quad or yagi on a
mast out the window.
The international style sport of ARDF ("Amateur Radio Direction Finding")
does have supporters, and the US (technically the ARRL) has fielded a
team for World Championship events since 1998. That has competitions
on both 2m and 80m, and is a map-and-compass exercise on foot in a
forest. But the pool of participants is relatively small compared to the
overall ham population in the US, and receivers designed for that purpose,
especially on 80m, are not very common.
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“ 80m, a map-and-compass exercise on foot in a forest.”
You described it to the t. :-) That’s exactly how fox hunting was at my youth, and I wish I could give it a try again.
Mikko, AB6RF
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You can start on the HomingIn.com web site (http://on the HomingIn.com web site), which has a
number of articles, plus links to local activity around the country and the
official ARRL ARDF web site.
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I’m glad there is a few still doing this. It’s great fun
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I’m glad there is a few still doing this. It’s great fun
I did it often decades ago on 2M using the Twoer mentioned below which was the only band in use here. Also on 2M as a teenager in the LINY area using a Gonset CD Gooney Box and in IL in the 70's with a Heathkit Twoer which I still have. At 80 Im not into long walks thru the woods with no trails, I get enough of that walking the Beverage runs looking for things to fix.
Carl
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Hi All
Where are you all? What has happened (aside from Covid) to all the great T hunts?
73 de vk2icj
Chris
They are all playing multi-player video games and then posting useless stuff on Facebook and twitter!
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It would be a shame if they have all gone to video games. My wife and I really enjoy t-hunts.
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Maybee if drones were used to locate foxes, the Utes might be interested......
KLC
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Tick borne diseases are highly prevalent and near deadly in this part of the country.
Lyme disease has been around for years but multiplying and spreading to many other host animals.
Babesiosis is fairly new around here and some hospitals arent equipped to test for it yet.
Permethrin is an effective clothing treatment, just follow the instructions closely.
Carl
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I did some fox hunting decades ago when I still lived in Finland.
Over there (at least back then) all the event used 80m band, from what I've seen here in the US (maybe same in VK) the norm is to use 2m.
The 80m receivers very very small and simple, and the antenna was a ferrite rod coil, similar to AM broadcast band RX antennas. The antenna has a very deep (bi-directional) null, and provided very precise bearing "readings".
When I looked into getting back into fox hunting here, I was somewhat turned off by having to run around with a 2m yagi.
Is the norm around here to still use 2m, and a short yagi for the DF?
Mikko, AB6RF
I've done a few foxhunts on 2m, and I've usually used a 70cm yagi. Much more compact, and it still points me in the right direction.
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Maybee if drones were used to locate foxes, the Utes might be interested......
KLC
I mean...why not? Or why not use a drone as a fox? Sounds like fun! Joking about why youth aren't interested might not be as useful as actually asking them.
I no longer qualify as a "ute," but I've gotten back into radio over the last few years and haven't made time to try the local foxhunts, but would like to one of these days.