WD9EYB offers his
Strategy and Tactics of Hidden Transmitter Hunting here.
The Fox Boxes
For our "International Style" hunts we'll have 5 "fox boxes" (transmitters) with each transmitting in sequence for 1 minute out of every 5 minutes. Each fox box transmits a unique identification signal in Morse Code. But don't worry! Even if you're not up on your code, it's not hard to distinguish the different signals. The fox boxes look like this:
Identifying the signals
Each fox box repeatedly transmits its ID (at 7 WPM Morse Code) for one minute. Just before the end of the minute the box transmits the club callsign (KC9BXV) at 18 WPM, so it's easy to tell when the minute is up. The box then rests for the next four minutes while the other fox boxes take their turn in the sequence. The ID that each fox box transmits is:
| Fox Box |
ID |
CW |
1 |
MOE |
_ _ _ _ _ . |
2 |
MOI |
_ _ _ _ _ .. |
3 |
MOS |
_ _ _ _ _ ... |
4 |
MOH |
_ _ _ _ _ .... |
5 |
MO5 |
_ _ _ _ _ ..... |
See the pattern? All you have to do is count the dits! (Please forgive me you old fists.) Each fox box is able to transmit its ID eight times during its one minute transmissions.
The Transmitters
Each fox box contains an FM transmitter/controller that was built by the Eastside Outdoor Ham Club. They transmit on a frequency of 147.450 MHz at around 500 milliwatts. We've tested them out on a few practice hunts and they work great! We're awful proud of our group effort in the construction of these units (check out the group build pics here ).
Here's a detail schedule of what a fox box sends during it's 1 minute on the
air:
Second | What's sent |
|---|
| 0 |
Transmitter ON |
2 |
Identifier at 7 WPM |
| 8 |
Identifier |
14 |
Identifier |
20 |
Identifier |
26 |
Identifier |
32 |
Identifier |
38 |
Identifier |
44 |
Identifier |
50 |
DE KC9BXV at 18 WPM |
58 |
Transmitter OFF |
Mobile Hunts
We often times use our fox boxes for our mobile hunts too. The Foxmeister can hide anywhere from 1 to 5 of the transmitters for a hunt. However, we usually limit the hunt time to around 2 hours. And the Foxmeister knows, that unless we greatly improve on our RDF skills, there's not much sense in hiding more than 2 or 3 boxes. But you never know!
Sometimes, though, there's nothing like the ridicule, harassment and devious clues that can only be provided with a real live "fox". So make sure you know what kind of fox we'll be using on any mobile hunt.
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