- One Down, One to Go: The ARRL International DX Contest Gears Up for SSB February 22, 2012With the CW portion of the ARRL International DX Contest now a series of fading dits and dahs in the memories of participants, preparations for the SSB portion of the DX Contest -- the weekend of March 3-4 -- are already underway.According to ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, for this contest, stations in the US and Canada work only DX stations, […]
- Section Managers Winter Election Results February 21, 2012Two ARRL Sections -- Eastern Pennsylvania and Louisiana -- will get new Section Managers, as of April 1, 2012. Two other Sections -- San Diego and Virginia -- will keep their incumbent Section Managers. Ballots for these races were counted Tuesday, February 21 at ARRL Headquarters.Eastern PennsylvaniaAfter serving more than 11 years as Eastern Pennsylvania S […]
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The Rowan Amateur Radio Society holds a Foxhunt each month in Rowan County NC. Anyone interest in Foxhunting is invited and encouraged to attend this monthly event. The dates, times, locations, and even the rules of these events are not written in stone, so please see our club event calendar, or “upcoming events” listing found in the sidebar of our website for the next date and time.
When the Foxhunt takes place in the mornings, participants often meet at the Checkered Flag Restaurant which is located in Salisbury at the intersection of US 150 and US 29 (MAP) at 7:30AM for breakfast and general discussion regarding the day’s event and other aspects of Amateur Radio.
After Breakfast, usually about 9:00AM, the group reassembles at the Salisbury Mall which is located at the intersection of Jake Alexander and Statesville Blvd (MAP).
Once everybody has converged at the Mall Parking Lot, the transmitter is turned ON, and the hunt begins! This event is currently based on Mileage, NOT time, so accuracy and patience will help keep your mileage down and set you up for a possible win!
What is a Foxhunting?
Foxhunting, in this context, is one of many terms used to describe Transmitter Hunting (T-hunting) or Radio Direction Finding (RDF). Simply put, it is trying to find a transmitter, or a transmitted signal by using special radio receivers, antennas, GPS, and/or Maps. The idea is to have a person, known as the fox, begin transmitting a signal from an unknown location but within the agreed upon area, which in this case is in Rowan County.
The fox transmits on an assigned frequency using different power levels at intermittent times. The hunters try and find the fox by determining the direction the signal is coming from and it’s strength using directional antennas and any number of techniques like triangulation. It is not always as easy as it sounds….and can often be quite challenging.
Our Foxhunt Rules
Generally speaking the hunter with the least miles traveled or the first to locate the fox wins. However, the rules can be modified on an as needed bases, or just to try new things. As an example, for the February 2011 Foxhunt, the rules were changed slightly. After a little discussion, participants decided to use a point system . For every 1/10 of a mile traveled, you got one point. Then after the fox was discovered by one hunter, one point was given for each minute after that time to the other hunters until they found the fox. The sum total of points then determined the actual winner. This event is all about having fun, learning, and honing our skills. The results are published each month in our club newsletter.
If you would like to learn more about Foxhunting, Amateur Radio Direction Finding, mobile T-hunting, etc., we invite you to visit the “Homing In” Website at: http://www.homingin.com/.
73, Happy Hunting!
