Tuesday Night January 17th - Fox Hunting Part 1
Foxhunting was suggested as a topic for this week’s net, but there is so much information to cover I thought I should break it into two parts. This week I’m going to talk about what Foxhunting actually is.
I know that most of you already know what Foxhunting is, but there are some of us, myself included, who have a lot to learn. Foxhunting is also known as T-hunting, hidden transmitter hunting or ARDF, (Amateur Radio Direction Finding).
Foxhunting is a contest where people are trying to be the first to find a hidden radio transmitter. The hunt can be just a few hours, or all day, and sometimes as long as a full weekend.
The transmitter in this competition is called “the Fox” and is supposed to be hidden. This activity is supposed to be fun and challenging, so the Fox should be hidden well. The Fox will transmit either continuously or at regular intervals.
The “Hounds” are the competitors who are looking for the hidden transmitter. The Hounds use receiving equipment to locate the Fox. Some foxhunts cover long distances and require using vehicles, and some cover smaller areas and so the competitors walk.
The person that goes and sets up the Fox is usually called a “hider” or a “setter”, but their job is to go set up the transmitter, turn it on, and then announce that the hunt has begun.
The Hounds will then begin attempts at getting a bearing on the signal of the fox. It’s a bit of a trial and error process, and can involve quite a bit of walking (or driving.) The first person, or team that finds the Fox is the winner.
When you find the Fox, the last thing you want to do is notify all the other competitors, so you’re supposed to just walk away. Depending on how your hunt is set up, you will then either announce on a specified frequency that you have located the Fox, or you will meet back at the starting point to let the coordinator know. The Fox will continue to transmit until all the competitors have either located it, or given up.
Part of the fun of foxhunting is building your own equipment used for locating the Fox. But, it’s not required that you build your own, there are kits available. So next week we’ll talk about the equipment used in foxhunting. I’m going to attempt to have a guest speaker to talk about the technical stuff, since I’m still a new ham myself.
I know that most of you already know what Foxhunting is, but there are some of us, myself included, who have a lot to learn. Foxhunting is also known as T-hunting, hidden transmitter hunting or ARDF, (Amateur Radio Direction Finding).
Foxhunting is a contest where people are trying to be the first to find a hidden radio transmitter. The hunt can be just a few hours, or all day, and sometimes as long as a full weekend.
The transmitter in this competition is called “the Fox” and is supposed to be hidden. This activity is supposed to be fun and challenging, so the Fox should be hidden well. The Fox will transmit either continuously or at regular intervals.
The “Hounds” are the competitors who are looking for the hidden transmitter. The Hounds use receiving equipment to locate the Fox. Some foxhunts cover long distances and require using vehicles, and some cover smaller areas and so the competitors walk.
The person that goes and sets up the Fox is usually called a “hider” or a “setter”, but their job is to go set up the transmitter, turn it on, and then announce that the hunt has begun.
The Hounds will then begin attempts at getting a bearing on the signal of the fox. It’s a bit of a trial and error process, and can involve quite a bit of walking (or driving.) The first person, or team that finds the Fox is the winner.
When you find the Fox, the last thing you want to do is notify all the other competitors, so you’re supposed to just walk away. Depending on how your hunt is set up, you will then either announce on a specified frequency that you have located the Fox, or you will meet back at the starting point to let the coordinator know. The Fox will continue to transmit until all the competitors have either located it, or given up.
Part of the fun of foxhunting is building your own equipment used for locating the Fox. But, it’s not required that you build your own, there are kits available. So next week we’ll talk about the equipment used in foxhunting. I’m going to attempt to have a guest speaker to talk about the technical stuff, since I’m still a new ham myself.
posted by Stephanie @ 6:00 PM
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