Have You Read These Articles?

Homing In, CQ Magazine, May 2017 -- "Scouts Hunt Transmitters to Earn Merit Badges"

• "It was 1918, about three years after the first issue of QST was published, that the Boy Scouts of America began offering the Wireless Merit Badge."

• "After the championships, Brian realized that it was time for ARDF to move into the mainstream of Scouting, so he contacted Jim Wilson K5ND."

• "These updates are just in time for the 2017 National Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Scout Reserve in West Virginia, July 19 through July 28."

• "Southern California Scout-O-Ramas are a sort of "activity fair" where Scouts learn from other Scouts about specialized activities of their troops."

• "You have probably forgotten how difficult it is to hold onto even a medium-weight object for a while when you are eight years old.  So the lighter the RDF set, the better."

CQ Magazine, April 2017 -- "Radio Foxhunting Season Has Arrived"

• "This has to be the most unusual ham radio contest.  All of the participants are away from home, but some are mobile while others are on foot.  It takes place all over the world, but not necessarily on the same date or time for everyone."

• "Mobile T-hunting rules are created by the hunters themselves.  The winner gets to the fox first or does it with the lowest odometer mileage, depending on local preference."

• "A good time for your club's first hunt might be a weekday evening right after a net, when the local repeater has lots of listeners.  The hider should make frequent transmissions, urging every listener to get in the car and participate."

• "A local park or school yard would be a good place for your first all-on-foot foxhunt with one or more miniature transmitters of 100 milliwatts or less.  Imagine the fun of a dozen club members spread out in search of a half-dozen mini-foxes, all on different frequencies."

• "The hunt should be appropriate for the skill level of the members, be they experts or complete beginners.  Make sure it's well promoted, fun and fair for all."

Homing In, CQ Magazine, February 2017 -- "Results of the 19th Annual CQ WW Foxhunting Weekend"

• K8TB:  "Warm up your antennas, charge your batteries and gather up your maps.  Hunting season is open and you don't need a license for this one."

• WA2SUH:  "Earlier in the day, illegal dumping had been found at the riding stables and it had been cordoned off with the yellow tape.  Ron hid the transmitter just to the south of this area and the rangers came over and told him to vacate."

• KØOV:  "Some hiders spend hours staring at Google Earth, trying to find hiding places that are out of the way and difficult to access.  check topographical maps in hopes of finding ways to reflect the fox signal and give false bearings to the hunters."

• KE6PHB:  "To add a twist, instead of clearly identifying each transmitter uniquely, all four transmitters played exactly the same audio for 15 seconds in sequence, providing the hunters with a constant but cycling signal to hunt. e hunters were not told how many transmitters, their job was to identify each transmitter by bearing only."

• W8DER:  "As I sit here tonight, it is dark outside and raining cats and dogs. With my beam antenna, I can hear hunters still trying to find the fox even in these conditions.  What fun we are having!"

Homing In, CQ Magazine, November 2016 -- "Seven Medals for ARDF Team USA in Bulgaria"

• "'It was interesting, eye-opening and humbling, all at the same time,' said Bill Wright WB6CMD.  This was Bill's first time to compete at an international ARDF event."

• "Often, the start and finish of championship courses are at opposite ends of the map.  Competitors to choose an optimum path from start to finish, picking off their required transmitters along the way in the most efficient manner."

• "According to Ken Harker WM5R, 'The marked corridor that you had to follow to get to the finish line was about 120 meters long and half of it was a steep hill to climb.  All of that hillside was sand, making it nearly impossible to get traction to run.'"

• "About the Bulgarian terrain, WM5R commented, 'It was not as open as the forests of Kazakhstan two years ago.  On the map, areas that were marked the darkest green were truly impassible.'"

• "According to WB6CMD, 'If I could have found each classic transmitter one cycle faster, that's 20 minutes total and would have bumped me up several positions in the standings.'"

Homing In appeared monthly in 73 Magazine from November 1988 until the magazine ceased publication with the September 2003 issue.  My column then appeared in CQ VHF magazine, a quarterly publication, from 2004 through Fall 2013 and CQ-Plus Digital Magazine during 2014.  Now it is scheduled to appear four times per year in CQ Magazine, which is available in print by subscription and in Amateur Radio Stores. You can also subscribe to CQ in digital form, viewable on PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone and Android.  I welcome your input for future articles, so please continue to send me your news of mobile and on-foot transmitter hunt activities.

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.

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This page updated 5 May 2017