Fort Washington Fox Hunt April 6
The Fort Washington Amature Radio Club will be hosting an open FOX HUNT on Saturday April 6 they have provided details for anyone intrested.
There is A LOT of information and details below, click thru to see it all.
When- Sat, April 6, 8am – 12pm Hunt, 12pm - 1pm social
Where- Food Lion Parking Lot 191 St. Patrick's Drive, Waldorf MD if by chance you cannot hear the fox at that location, text 240 682 5436 and I will give you sure location but be sure to use your directional antenna at the start point.
Lunch- BYOGoodies if you want, the fox will have sodas, water, and PB&J sandwiches
Check-in/Admin- (240) 682-5436
Fox Frequency- 147.555 MHz Simplex
Fox hunters- If you plan to attend, please register with Kato (KB3LIB) via email at kspearsk2@cs.com or text (240) 682-5436 (leave message if no answer). Please give me your call sign (if you have one) and number of hunters in your hunting party.
Topographic Map
https://www.mytopo.com/review.cfm?mytopoid=21271220560
Details:
1.The event will be a mobile foxhunt starting from the Food Lion Parking Lot 191 St. Patrick's Drive, Waldorf MD on 6 April 2019 from 8am to 12pm. Our social will be from 12 to 1pm.
2.The Foxes will call every fifteen minutes on 147.555 MHz for two minutes starting at 0800 (0800-0802, 0815-0817, 0830-0832, etc.) and ending at 1200 or until all registered hunters arrive at the den. Clues and hints to the Foxes’ den location will be provided at each 15 minute announcement, becoming more descriptive with each announcement. At 1130, 1145 and 1200, the Foxes will reveal where the den is for anyone still on the hunt. Lunch will be on your own if you want or tasty PB&J. Limited refreshments and treats will be at the den.
3. Participants should listen both on a rig with an omni directional antenna to hear the fox (to confirm it is up) and switch to a rig with a directional antenna to narrow down which direction the fox is transmitting from (based on signal strength and/or nulls and using the process of elimination). In some cases a directional might be needed to hear the fox - DONT rely on your omni at the start point!
4. The participant(s) or partner(s) (navigator) should draw a line on a map from the start point (or their current location) in the direction where they believe the fox is transmitting from. Drawin a fan is recommended in order to conduct better analysis.
5. The team should get in their vehicle(s), move to another good listening location (on high ground perpendicular to the previous line drawn on the map) and repeat until there are at least 3 lines (fans) drawn on the map which intersect. Where the lines intersect is potentially where the fox is. The more lines draw the narrower the area of search will be. Timing and route selection is critical as there are only 4 opportunities to get a solid direction on a map per hour. Here is where having excellent navigation skills or a partner is crucial. I suggest obtaining a map prior to the hunt and studying "go to" locations in the surrounding areas of the start point. Here is a good map:
https://www.mytopo.com/review.cfm?mytopoid=21271220560
6. The team should drive to the potential search location and try to narrow it down even further by repeating the process closer to the fox (or by continuing to stay further out and get more confirmation befor moving in). You may have to decrease the sensitivity of your receiver once you are closer to the fox because it will seem like the transmissions are coming from all directions. You can do this a few ways by:
a. using an electrical attenuator connected between your radio and antenna - click one link below for a good one to purchase
b. slightly rolling off of the frequency (instead of listening to 147.555 try 147.550 or 560, etc).
c. body shield your antenna
d. take off your antenna completely or use a poor antenna
e. cover your antenna with aluminum foil on 3 sides
f. standing in a poor location (low elevation or close edge of a hillside with an opening near the suspected direction - if you get a signal by just peaking around the hill, you can assume the signal is coming from the other side of that piece of terrain and you can eliminate the other direction behind you)
7. Again, repeat the process of determining what direction the strongest transmissions are coming from (or not coming from) and move to the area where you think the fox is.
8. There will be increasingly warmer clues as time goes by.
9. Participants should bring a compass, map, protractor, ruler, pencil, vehicle, VHF radio receiver, directional antenna, omni directional antenna, GPS with "favorites" (places you know will be a good next location after the start point) saved (to get you around safer). Charles recommended using a reciever with AM capability as well.
Some good links:
https://www.mytopo.com/review.cfm?mytopoid=21271220560- Fox hunt map
Boy Scouts and Fox-hunting:
http://www.scouting.org/filestore/jota/pdf/TURNER.pdf
How to Build a Yagi antenna:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekF6UhTyvCs
http://nt1k.com/blog/2012/vhf-3el-tape-measure-yagi/
http://www.g6hoq.com/documents/2m%20tape%20measure%20yagi%20instructions.pdf
http://www.open-circuit.co.uk/tape.php
https://sites.google.com/site/tapemeasureantenna/
Yagi Calculator (seen below)- http://www.csgnetwork.com/antennae3ycalc.html
Fox-hunt Vids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U9Kz1mveQk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4DQIGz68tU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2RI-qkWf_A
Recap on Fox-hunting steps:
Meet at the the Food Lion Parking Lot 191 St. Patrick's Drive, Waldorf MD on 6 April 2019 from 8am to 12pm.
Check-in (text) at the number provided above between 0730 and 0755 to let us know you are participating in the hunt.
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Meet and greet other hunters — team up and cross load if needed
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Prepare directional antennas and compass and listen for the first Fox clue at 0800 on 147.555 MHz
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Record most likely direction "fan" (strongest direction + and - 15 degrees)
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Draw the fan or your map and stretch it as far as theoretically possible
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Identify another suitable direction finding location and move to it
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Listen on the 15s and repeat the direction finding process from two or more locations
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Identify where the fans intersect
· two choices: Stay far out from where you suspect the fox to be and get more confirmed points (keeps you from getting sucked into an area where you need to use attenuation techniques) or Move to the suspected area and attenuate the signal to get a narrow fan by:
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using a poor signal location
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using a poor antenna
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using an attenuator
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using an off frequency
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sheilding your antenna
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using no antenna
Repeat the direction finding process until you find the fox!
73
Kato Spears
kspearsk2@cs.com
Cell (240) 682-5436
KB3LIB
GMRS WQRZ487
Volunteer Examiner
Radio Merit Badge Counselor NCAC
President, Fort Washington Amateur Radio Club