Have You Read These Articles?

Homing In, CQ VHF Magazine, Fall 2011 -- "USA ARDF Championships 2011:  Medals and Fun in the Land of Enchantment"

• "Perhaps AARC's leaders didn't fully understand what they were signing up for, but they were definitely up to the task. They arranged for housing, local transportation, hunt venues, maps, medals and endless other details."

• "Warm moist air masses come in from the south, are uplifted in the mountains and create thunderstorms almost every afternoon. The monsoons were welcomed this year because they ended the threat of forest fires."

• "Bears, cougars and poisonous snakes had been reported within the competition sites. A potentially greater danger was a shooting range within the two-meter competition area."

• "Competitors had speculated that it would be in the Sandia, San Pedro, or Sangre de Cristo Mountains, but instead the bus went north for about an hour to the outskirts of Santa Fe. Then it went north and west for another hour and entered the town of Los Alamos."

• "Just days before, Sulphur Canyon had been closed due to multiple bear sightings. Rangers had noticed that a certain berry, found in abundance in that canyon, was attracting them in unusually large numbers."

Links and resources related to this article:

• IARU ARDF rules
  
• Electronic scoring for ARDF
  
• FjwW ARDF software
  

Homing In, CQ VHF Magazine, Summer 2011 -- "New Products, New Hunt Opportunities and Foxhunting Down Under"

• "Byon teamed with Allen Lord of VHS Special Services to create Micro-Fox 15, a complete QRP two-meter transmitter and controller on a 1x3-inch circuit board."

• "The biggest problem is how to hold onto the yagi while beating the bushes. A hand around the boom is awkward and it introduces body capacitance. An extension of the boom behind the reflector is even more awkward because the entire antenna pulls the hand down at the wrist."

• "I told Julianne that all she needed now was a way to mount the radio to the antenna for one-handed hunting. Sure enough, she was back at the next hunt with a nifty plastic platform behind the reflector that secured her handi-talkie via its belt clip."

• "Radio foxes in Melbourne are often hidden on the banks of the Yarra River. At least one team team carries an inflatable rubber dinghy and compressed gas cylinder."

• "Only one set of RDF equipment is permitted amongst the group from that vehicle. This includes foil under T-shirts."

Links and resources related to this article:

• International-rules for on-foot transmitter hunting
  
• WB2HOL tape-measure yagi
  
• Kit for tape-measure yagi
  
• Offset-type attenuator for ARDF
  
• MicroFox by Byonics
  
• 3D printer technology
  
• E-mail to Marvin Johnston KE6HTS, seller of plastic parts for yagis
  
• Hamcon 2011 in Torrance, California
  
• Event site for 2011 USA ARDF Championships
  
• Australian foxhunting championships at Mt. Gambier
  

This deluxe measuring-tape yagi has six tape holders, a handle and a radio holder from the 3D printer of Julianne Walsh KI6DYX.  Inside the top of the handle is the active attenuator board.  Read more about these new products and a new "MicroFox" in Homing In for Summer 2011.

CQ Magazine, May 2011 -- "Results of the 2010 CQ Worldwide Foxhunting Weekend"

• W8DER: "What a blast! This was the best hunt yet! And then the next one comes along and it is just a little better yet."

• NA6BR: "This ended-up being a bit of a spectator sport, as the transmitter was hidden near the Argonaut High School FFA Pig Pen. Luckily for the hunters, it wasn't inside the fenced area."

• K6FRC: "The third team to arrive, screaming loudly as they pulled in the parking lot, were two girls who were just thrilled to beat all the boys! Their enthusiasm for their victory was hilarious."

• WA7NBF: "It's been a long time since I had a chance to walk around these grounds on a nice spring day with cherry blossoms blooming. But talk about reflections! All of those tall beautiful stone-faced buildings, probably with steel frames."

• N2JAC: "While scouting for hiding spots, I forgot to turn off my APRS beacon, so I was worried that someone might have noticed me driving around the finish area weeks before the hunt."

CQ Magazine, April 2011 -- "Radio Foxhunting Season Brings Medals and Merriment"

• "Radio foxhunting started in northern Europe and Scandinavia with 80-meter loops and portable receivers in the early 1950s."

• "The optimum order for finding transmitters with minimum distance traveled is up to the competitors to figure out, based on the signal strengths and bearings they get when they start."

• "A championship blind ARDF course has five 80-meter transmitters in a flat grassy area such as a soccer field. Receiver/antenna sets on that band are smaller and signal reflections are usually non-existent."

• "Imagine the fun of a dozen club members spread out in search of a half-dozen mini-foxes, all on different frequencies, in a local park or school yard."

• "Automated foxboxes are nice, but not mandatory. From the hiding place, the designated fox operator can simply make frequent transmissions on the repeater input, urging every listener to get in the car and participate."

You can read my regular ARDF Update articles on the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Web site.

73 Magazine ceased publication with the September 2003 issue. Homing In is now in CQ VHF magazine, a quarterly publication. Click for CQ VHF subscription information.

The Fine Print: This is the official Web site for Homing In and other KØOV articles about RDF, but not for any magazine. Homing In articles are produced independently in southern California. Text and artwork of all articles Copyright © Joseph D. Moell. All rights reserved.

Surfing suggestion: Wondering what you've been missing by not reading Homing In since 1988? Check the complete index of topics at this site. It also has links to my ARDF Updates.

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This page updated 21 November 2011