Amateur Radio Club of El Cajon

Getting Your 'Crenshaw Factor'

For those of you new to mileage hunts, a common practice among groups is to set a course so that there is a common factor to equalize the various odometers that are no doubt out of calibration with each other. Our fellow hunters to the North have established a course along Crenshaw Blvd and Tom (KE6VCR) has a Crenshaw factor so he thought it might be nice to have a course down here that would use the same distance so that when we participate in each other's hunts there will be a common factor.

 Here is the San Diego course.

 The start point is on Mission Gorge Road just West of Highway 52 at MESA ROAD. Headed WEST on Mission Gorge Road, pull up to MESA ROAD as if you were going to stop at the pedestrian crosswalk and record your mileage, including the tenths digit(or zero your tripmeter). You will proceed in the right lane on Mission Gorge Road and take the Friars Road connector. Continue past the Stadium and watch for an exit for Qualcomm Way. As you pass the exit there is a LARGE green Caltrans sign that says Qualcom Way AND to 8. This is the end of the course. You should record your mileage, again remembering the tenths digit. Subtract the beginning mileage from the ending mileage and that is your "Crenshaw" factor. KE6VCR's Crenshaw factor is 9.1 as an example. This factor will equalize all of the odometers.


HISTORYof the CRENSHAW FACTOR RUN
                                             Updated 5/26/99 by N6UZS

Brief History
Back in the mid 80's local LA hunters needed some kind of mileage correction factor
for the All Day Hunts. It was common from time to time for hunters to drive hundreds of miles
to the fox and have their mileage separated by a couple of tenths to a couple miles in difference.
Hunters used to have "drive-offs" to determine a winner. Each car would drive the same stretch of road and whoever had the lowest
mileage correction would be the winner.

Enter the Factor
One hunter Dale Kubichek N6JSX decided it was time for a more accurate means of finding a winner. The most logical idea at the time
was to use Crenshaw Boulevard which runs right to the top of the All Day start point in Palos Verdes, a local 1400 foot peninsula just
south of LA.
Crenshaw runs in a nearly perfect line north-south until you reach the base of the peninsula at
Pacific Coast Highway. From there it squiggles back and forth on its way to Crest Road
at the start point on top.
A few years ago Bob Thornburg WB6JPI ran an experiment to see just how long the actual
"Crenshaw Run" would be. Using GPS calculations Bob came up with the figure of 9.1 miles
for the entire run. He accomplished this by logging over 80 waypoints on his GPS and getting
an average mileage run.

Running the Factor
The factor starts in front of an old, converted Winchells Donuts in Gardena. It is now a Pizza Hut
Express. Location is on Crenshaw Blvd. approximately 2 blocks south of Artesia Blvd. on
the west side of the street. An outside telephone booth was used to "line your car up" and start
your run. Now one must meticulously align the front bumper of their vehicle with the southern edge of the Pizza Hut building. Then you
zero out and reset your trip meter or note your odometer
setting before departing.

Once you have departed move quickly to the Number 1 inside lane of Crenshaw heading
southbound. This is the lane closest to the center of the street. Continue south and you will soon
be climbing up the peninsula. DO NOT turn at the first Crest Road you see. The first one
is the next light past Pacific Coast Highway and is clearly marked "CREST ROAD, CITY OF
TORRANCE". Continue on up the hill.

At the top of the hill you'll encounter the second Crest Road. This one is marked by a stop sign.
Pull into the left hand turn lane and up the limit line. Now mark your total miles from your trip meter including tenths or from the
odometer. This number will be your Crenshaw Factor.

To quickly recap:
1. Start your run from the southern edge of the Pizza Hut Express.
2. Get in the left inside lane quickly as possible.
3. Continue south past the first CREST ROAD, CITY OF TORRANCE sign.
4. End your run at the second Crest Road with the stop sign and tally your mileage.

Totaling the Factor
Typical factors will run from 8.6 to 9.4 miles with most averaging around 9.0. This factor has
quickly become the "de facto standard" for computing final mileage results on all LA area hunts
including the All/Half Days, All Nighters, and every Saturday night hunt. If you hunt outside of
LA in such places as Riverside, San Diego, or Santa Barbara all hunting is done on the first in/first win approach. None of these areas
seem interested in dealing with mileages.

Mapping the Run
Soon I will have maps of the Crenshaw Run to give you a better idea of where this all takes place.


Updated, 12/27/2004, KC6NXZ