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Fox Hunts
Spring 2010
- See pictures at -- http://w2xrx.org/image/tid/94
- See description at -- http://w2xrx.org/node/1183
Spring 2008
XARC held it's Spring 2008 Foxhunt on May 10th during National Foxhunt
Weekend. Jon, N2JAC, and Bob were the huntmasters. Four teams started
in Mendon Ponds Park at the top of the sledding hill. We enjoyed a
beautiful sunny day as our hunters headed west from the park in search
of the elusive fox signal.
The main fox was on Fishell Rd. near rte 390 in Rush. The fox was
hidden on the Lehigh Valley Trail, a former railroad line that's now a
linear park. The second fox was hidden a mile west down the same
trail, and both foxes were well hidden under leaves and camouflage.
The main fox was transmitting 7 watts into a small mobile magnet mount
in a tree with a counterpoise wire. The second, smaller fox was
transmitting less than a watt into a rubber duck at ground level. Both
foxes were built by WO2P.
Fred, WO2P, and Judy, N2KXS, were the first to find both foxes after a
couple of challenging detours. Ned, W2NED, and Gregory were second to
find the main fox after hearing some good hints on the XARC repeater.
Ross, KC2LOC, a first time hunter, got a little confused by the two
foxes transmitting on close frequencies, but managed to find the
smaller fox and capture 3rd place. John, W2JMR, and Sharon got close
to the fox as usual, but did find the lunch location in time to enjoy
hamburgers and 'the fox that got away' stories.
See photos at http://w2xrx.
http://ph.groups.
Fall 2007
See
Spring 2007
Spring 2006 Foxhunt
The foxhunt started at the white house in Webster
park. WO2P hid a small fox so people could practice a
little on foot hunting before the main hunt. We had
some new hunters, new antennas and some new gadgets,
so we were all ready to start.
The fox was putting out much less signal than planned
(my power supply failed to charge it properly), but it
was heard by a few eager teams at the start, so the
hunt was on. I was worried because I couldn’t hear the
fox until I was very close to it, and by that time it
had stopped modulating the signal and was just sending
a very weak carrier, but still on it’s regular on-off
timing cycle.
Also during this time the echolink station on the
same frequency started getting active, so I called the
operator and asked him to shut it off for a few hours,
which he did. Then I parked a few blocks from the fox
and started sending touch tones on the fox freq,
because several hunters still had not heard the fox at
all and were starting to get frustrated. This allowed
them to get close enough to the real fox to hear it’s
carrier and start the on-foot hunt. Eventually 6 of
the 7 teams did find the fox within a reasonable
amount of time.
My clues every half hour were pretty specific to get
them close enough to hear the weak signal. Ultimately,
the fox was found just north of the parkway in Greece
in a waterfowl refuge area.
1st place – Fred, WO2P and Judy, N2KXS
2. Ned, W2NED and Warren, AA2LQ
3. Paul, N2TAJ
4. Brian, K2AS and Greg
5. Bob, K2OID and Van, WA2DPM
6. Brad, W1YX
7. John, W2JMR
The predicted showers did not make an appearance and
we had a great lunch at the famous Schaller’s where
certificates were presented to all teams. Thanks to
everyone for putting up with some annoyances and still
making this a fun hunt.
Jon, N2JAC
Fall 2004
October 9, 2004
- Jon Dickason N2JAC and Rob Scott
- Brian Donovan K2AS
- Dave Shaw KB2URD and Chris from RIT
- Fred Miller WO2P and Judy Stonehill N2KXS
- Jim Cronig N2VX and Brad Armstrong W1YX
- Bob Karz K2OID and Doc WA6UCY
- Fred Donahue W3MUD and Ray Wartinger W2SAX
- Will Herzog K2LB and wife and dog
Starting Point: Harris Hill Park, Penfield, NY
Fox Location: Tyron Park, Rochester, NY
Huntmasters:
Pete Fournia W2SKY
Larry Lavery WW2J
XARC Fall 2003 Foxhunt
September 6, 2003
- Bob Karz K2OID, Doc Weinberg WA6UCY, and Ely
Mora KC2LAJ - Demetricus McIver KC2GBE, Doug Howard KC2KNH and
Fred Donahue W2MUD - Brad Armstrong W1YX and his son Joey
- Brian Donovan K2AS and his son Greg
- John Randall W2JMR and Sharon
- Doug Stewart N2BEG and his son Ben KC2JXP
- David Crawford K2DPC
- Jon Dickason N2JAC
- Bill Kraft WB2IHN and son Toby
Starting Point: Harris Hill Park, Penfield, NY
Fox Location: Riverside Cemetery, Rochester, NY
Huntmasters:
Pete Fournia W2SKY
Larry Lavery WW2J
The hunt started at Harris-Whalen Park in Penfield near the corner of Rts 250 and 441. It ended about 3 hours later in Riverside Cemetery which is North of Kodak Park off Lake Ave. Clues were essential to find the fox. Our antenna directivity and clue "The fox can sometimes hear a lion roar" helped get most all of the parties trapped in Seneca Park.
The clue "The fox is not in Seneca Park" was not enthusiastically
received. Some managed to get to the other side of the Genesee river
and discover the 2 cemeteries. "The fox is not Catholic" steered them to the Riverside Cemetery.
Six of the nine teams found the fox. Two teams were called away and the remaining team was closing in. A total of 18 people attended. This was a very challenging hunt.
The 2nd place went to Demetricus McIver KC2GBE, Doug Howard KC2KNH and Fred Donahue W2MUD. Fred grumbled the most about the hunt masters.
Rightly so, we had Fred in mind when scheming to place this fox!
The 3rd place went to Brad Armstrong W1YX and his son Joey. This is Brad's 1st XARC hunt but he has done will in other hunts.
Others teams were Brain Donovan K2AS and his son Greg. Also John Randall W2JMR and Sharon; Doug Stewart N2BEG and his son Ben KC2JXP; David Crawford K2DPC; Jon Dickason N2JAC; and Bill Kraft WB2IHN and his son Toby.
After the hunt we met at Damons in Culver-Ridge Mall to compare notes.
Certificates containing a team picture was awarded to each participant.
Thank you for joining the XARC fox hunt. We hope you enjoyed it.
Pictures of the event are available from Pfournia@rochester.rr.com.
Each image is about 200-300 KB.
XARC Spring 2003 Foxhunt
May 10, 2003
- Pete Fournia W2SKY and Larry Lavery WW2J
- Fred Miller WO2P and Judy Stonehill N2KXS
- Jon Dickason N2JAC and Laura
- Bob Karz K2OID and Doc WA6UCY
- John Randall W2JMR and Sharon
Starting Point: McAvoy Park - WInton and Empire, Rochester, NY
Fox Location: Horizon Hill, Perinton, NY
Huntmasters:
Fred Donahue W3MUD
Rick LaDonna N2IJI
Brian Donovan K2AS
The XARC fall 2002 Fox Hunt
This fall's Fox Hunt was held on Saturday morning, October 26th. The starting location was the parking lot of the Xerox Research building W128 in Webster, New York. Although the day started damp, the weather improved< significantly by the 10am start time and it remained dry for the entire duration of the hunt. Huntmasters Judy Stonehill (N2KXS) and Fred Miller (WO2P) reviewed the standard rules and introduced a new "tag method" of
At the post hunt lunch, held at "Tom's Original", it was the consensus of the assembled hunters that the new "tag method" method worked out quite well. It added a new dimension to the hunt as various "devious" methods of guise and deception could be used to throw another team off track. Individual awards were presented to all the hunters and stories of "I would have", "I should have", and "I almost" were shared and enjoyed by all. The only down side of event was the untimely demise of Pete Fornia's HT that, while performing it duties flawlessly, was inadvertently dropped over the side of a bridge and on to an electronics-eating rock. Pete was fine, the HT did not recover (moment of silence here)...
Well, tradition dictates that the first place team organizes the following year's hunt. During the latter part of the lunch, I could already see Fred, Brian, and Rick with their heads together, scheming to try to perplex us on the next hunt. We look forward to what looks to be a challenging and spirited hunt. Respectfully submitted, Fred Miller WO2P Huntmaster
First Place award: 1st place team: Fred Donahue W3MUD Brian Donovan K2AS Rick LaDonna N2IJI 2nd place team: Ned KC2FLM Greg (Ned's son) Bob KC2HXD 3rd place team: Pete Fournier W2SKY Carol Fournier 4th place team: Bob Karz K2OID Doc WA6UCY 5th place team: Jon Dickason N2JAC Laura
XARC Y2K Fox Hunt
W2XRX
April 29, 2000
9:00 AM
Start Point: Egypt Park Rt. 31 Perinton, NY
Fox Location: Embankment Park Pittsford, NY Approx 4 mi. West
Huntmasters: K2AS, Brian and N2XV, John
Participants:
-
K2OID - Bob, WA6UCY -Doc, W3MUD - Fred
-
W2SKY - Peter, W2GCK - George
-
W02P - Fred, N2KXS - Judy
-
N2JAC - Jon, Bob Scott
-
K2GXT - RIT ARC with KB2YQE Dave, KB0WJO Andy, KB1EKZ Justin, KB1ENW Todd, KC2FQD Paul
-
KE2QW John / Sharon
Results:
1st Place - WO2P Fred and N2KXS Judy - 55 minutes
2nd Place - K2GXT Group - 63 minutes
3rd Place - K2OID Bob, WA6UCY Doc, W3MUD Fred - 93 minutes
4th Place - W2SKY Peter, W2GCK George - 104 minutes
5th Place - N2JAC Jon, Bob Scott - 130 minutes
6th Place - KE2QW John and Sharon - 150 minutes
XARC 1999 annual Spring hidden transmitter 'fox' hunt
April 25th 1999
XARC's first hidden transmitter hunt of 1999 was great fun and challenging for all. Fellow foxhider Bob Scott and I arranged a beautiful sunny day for the hunt. We started in Perinton Park and could just barely hear the fox. Four teams participated:
K2AS, Brian and Greg
W2SKY, Peter, WA6UCY, Doc and K2OID, Bob
KE2QW, John and Sharon
WO2P, Fred, and N2KXS, Judy
WO2P and K2AS had the biggest antennas, but had trouble hearing the fox from the start. They did hear it on their HTs though so we started hunting at 12:31 PM. Several teams stayed in the park for a while trying to get a good bearing on the fox, which transmitted on a semi-random interval ; ^ ) .
Fred and Judy had a quad mounted on a van, with a rotator control mounted inside. Very cushy.
Brian was hand-turning a large Yagi while standing in the back of his pickup truck (only while parked I hope).
Doc and Peter were testing some kind of water-skiing/mop/dowsing rod/dipole contraption.
Bob had a handi-finder type of gadget on his HT.
Most of the teams stayed in the Fairport-Perinton area because the signal was fairly weak everywhere else. The rolling hills provided high points to take readings, and the signal could change drastically from one hill to another. When people starting looking around Casa Larga Vineyard and Woodcliffe they were getting very warm.
Bob and I had hidden the fox near a hiking trail in Perinton, "Trail Town USA". A hill between the fox and the start effectively blocked most of the signal and made it difficult to track down.
We used the rubber duck antenna that Fred supplied with the fox that he designed. Bob sneakily covered the fox with pine tree branches so it was hard to see from the trail.
Just when I was beginning to worry that we hid the fox too well, K2AS was the first team to find the fox at 1:59.
The team of OID, SKY and UCY were next at 2:54. At 3:30 Bob and I went to retrieve the fox, a little disappointed that the two remaining teams hadn't reported in. I had given a couple vague clues over the air.
As Bob and I hiked up the trail to the fox, we heard the morse code message from the fox, but we didn't have our radios on! We both thought we were just imagining the sound after hearing it for three hours, when we spotted Judy and Fred very close to our fox. We snuck up on them just in time to see them find the fox.
John and Sharon were very close to the fox, driving right by the trail entrance on route 250, but never zeroed in on it.
We all met afterward for food, drinks and awards, and agreed that we want to do this more often. We'll definitely have some lunchtime hunts at Xerox and maybe some more casual ones on the weekend.
Xerox Amateur Radio Club
Fox Hunt 9/27/1997
Hunt masters
Judy N2KXS
And Fred WO2P
Hunt masters
Judy N2KXS
And Fred WO2P
XARC 1997 FOXHUNT
The Xerox Amateur Radio Club held its second annual FOXHUNT on Saturday September 27th 1997. Based on last years results it appeared that teams vs individual efforts netted better results. This years event consisted of three teams.
All teams had assembled at the "Valley View" shelter in Webster Park by 11:45. It was a super day for a hunt, sunny a bit breezy with the temperature in the upper 60s. It was great to see the lengths that the teams went to improve their equipment over last years efforts. Each team had a yagi for long distance "sniffing" and an assortment of close in antennas. There were loops, small phase shift units and the tried and true aluminum tubes for attenuating the signal when you are really close in. The award for most sophisticated setup this year goes to Paul's team. In addition to all the previously mentioned equipment, they had GPS unit connected to a laptop to track their route, help in planning strategy and taking bearings. Jon's team also had plans to use GPS but Mr. Murphy (creator of Murphy's law) decided that this was not to be and placed his hex on Jon's GPS unit just prior to the start of the hunt.
After a flurry of final antenna tweaking and secret gadget testing, Judy took all the hunt vehicle odometer readings and reread the rules of the hunt to all the teams. This years scoring was unique in that it consisted of the total of 10ths of miles traveled during the hunt PLUS the number of minutes from the start of the hunt to when a team checked in. The lowest score would win. Check-in was via the XARC repeater (145.290 ) where teams would verify they had located the fox by giving us a certain letter of a word that was taped to the top of the fox transmitter.
The fox was turned on remotely at 12:15 and after consensus that all the teams were able to hear the fox signal the hunt was underway. As huntmasters it was interesting to watch the teams posturing while taking bearings. Each team tried not to give away the "true" direction they had came up with. By 12:30 all teams had left the parking lot and all we had to do was wait.
Now as huntmasters came the hard part, waiting. The hunt was scheduled to run for a maximum of 3 hours. Would they find the fox to quickly? After all they were much more prepared this year than last year. In order to introduce another confusion factor we decided after the hunt had started to cycle the fox on and off periodically (on for 10 minutes or so, off for 1 to 2 minutes). After all as hunt masters we could introduce changes in the hunt whenever we pleased. When it began nearing 2:00 and we had heard nothing from any of the hunters we started wondering if the fox was hidden to well. So beginning at 2:00 and every 15 minutes we would stop the fox signal, give a hint on the fox frequency as to its location and turn the fox signal back on. The hints that were given were:
2:00 "The fox is located on the Xerox Campus"
2:15 "The fox is located East of Phillips Road"
2:30 "The fox is located East of Phillips and North of Klem"
2:45 "The fox is not very far from the Klem Road extension"
At 2:04:32 Pete's team located the fox and at 2:21:40 Paul's team located the located the fox. Jon's team, the defending champs from the 1996 hunt, caught a false reflection (see the fox statistics and location for a possible explanation) and chased a false fox signal into Irondequoit.
By 3:30, the teams returned to the park where they turned in their mileage, commiserated on the hunt, enjoyed some liquid refreshments, pizza and chowed down on some really excellent venison chili complements of Paul.
At 3:45 Judy presided over the award presentations:
|
Finish |
Team |
Minutes |
10ths of miles |
Total score |
|
First |
Paul's Team |
126.7 |
143 |
269.7 |
|
Second |
Pete's Team |
109.5 |
230 |
339.5 |
|
Third |
Jon's Team |
180 |
300 |
480.0 |
FOX STATISTICS and LOCATION
Frequency 146.565 simplex (national fox frequency)
Mode FM CW
Message sent "FOX FOX DE WO2P"
Secret word "THALASSA" (Greek for "Eureka", the word used in1996)
Transmission duration 20 seconds ON 10 seconds OFF
Power out 7.0 watts
Antenna 5 element Quad
Antenna polarization vertical
Height off ground 16 feet
Direction of antenna 178 degrees magnetic
The fox was located on the West bank of a large North - South running drainage ditch. The ditch is located in the North - South running cutout of a wooded area North from the East end of Klem road extension. The antenna was oriented at 178 degrees true, pointing directly into the (offset) corner of building 200. Because of the large offset the signal was reflected in a number of different directions making it very difficult to locate with a doppler or phase shift antenna systems. The minimal side lobes of the quad coupled with the RF absorbing properties of the woods to both sides of the quad made signal detection to either side of the beam very difficult. The back lobe was detectable from the North but to walk to it would have required a 1.2 mile walk from the nearest road. For over 2 hours most of the hunters were actually chasing reflections!
