KØOV's Photo Album

of the 2010 USA ARDF Championships

Page 1 of 5

The Ohio countryside is beautiful, with well cared for lawns and intersting sights to see, including this old covered bridge.

When the wind is favorable, there is hot-air ballooning.

The woods are full of interesting birds, like this Tree Swallow, and unusual bugs that the birds like to eat.

Beginning Wednesday, May 19, the organizers put on a two-day "training camp" for anyone who wanted an extra opportunity to hone their skills finding transmitters in the woods. There were short and long courses in four locations. These are the training camp participants on Thursday afternoon.

Bob Frey WA6EZV, who has been a medal winner and member of ARDF Team USA, set some courses for the training events and helped the newcomers.

Cindy Spade KDØEQN was a first-timer at ARDF who came to the Wednesday and Thursday training camps. In this photo she's getting help from Marvin Johnston KE6HTS. Unfortunately, Cindy came down with flu symptoms and couldn't participate in the formal competitions.

Brian Jansen KC9GMW from the Milwaukee area came to the training camp to experience competitive ARDF for the first time.

Jay Hennigan WB6RDV is an experienced radio-orienteer and marathoner from California who has been to the World Championships several times, but never misses an opportunity to train.

Here is one of the 80-meter fox transmitters in a waterproof ammunition box. The antenna is a vertical wire supported by a 20-foot fishing pole with an impedance-matching network at the base.

The rugged lightweight two-meter AM keyed-carrier transmitters are built into PVC pipe. The omnidirectional horizontally-polarized "turnstile" antenna (not shown) consists of four 19-inch removable rods that protrude from the pipe near the top.

It takes five hands to synchronize the five two-meter transmitters so that they transmit one after another in perfect sequence.

Friday's get-acquainted and equipment-testing session (called the "model event") was on the campus of Miami University in Oxford. The gathering point was a parking lot next to a child care center. Before finishing, we invited the kids to come out and learn about ARDF. Dick Arnett WB4SUV and Mike Minium did the teaching.

It's fitting that, while Dick Arnett was teaching these youngsters about ARDF, his newest granddaughter was being born.

In all my talks to clubs about ARDF, I emphasize that it's a wonderful way to get children and youth excited about Amateur Radio. Doesn't this photo prove it?

On Friday evening, as the last of the competitors were arriving in Ohio, the organizers led a meeting to make sure everyone had directions to the competition sites and knew what to expect on both days. It was revealed at this meeting that persons in some age categories would be required to find one additional transmitter in the 80-meter event.

Each registrant received a commemorative mug. Those who registered well in advance found their callsigns baked into the back of their mugs.