2005
January 2005 Real hunts
We had 8 hunts in December and 2 in January. After the success we will
post results in the real hunts we page.
April 2005 Rest Area 5 hounds against 1 fox, 1hour 20 minutes!
The
temp was
74degrees and
that was unusual for April. Paul (N1PUA) and Tim (N1PTZ) had an easy
site right
in a rest area along side RT. 7 in Lenox. They had no vehicle so
everyone drove
right by them. When the hunt started we could not hear Paul on the
input or the
output. They had some antenna problems. Fortunately Dave (KB1EAA) and
RoAnne(KB1EUH) climbed up on the roof of his house with a beam to hear
Paul to
the South West. Obie (N1QOV) was invaluable as well from his place in Pittsfield he
could hear
Paul to the South. Nobody else heard the fox! Without the help of two
base
stations this hunt would have had a very slow start. The early
suggestion was
Lenox so off we went! I, (KE3HT), went down RT. 7 (the center). Dave
and RoAnne
went down the East (East
Street)
and George (KB2SAE) and John (WA1ZHM) went down the west side (RT 41)
of the
area. We had the area blanketed. I went in to the center of Lenox and
lost the
signal. Everyone was starting to get hungry as most hounds do. As their
battery
wore down the fox lowered his power just like a real jammer or downed
aircraft
would do. Pat and Joe (N1LZH and W1SZ) joined in the hunt a little
behind the
start but managed pretty well. Everyone was in the area but everyone
was
confused by reflections in the hills. My Dop Scan did a circle as I
passed them
on RT. 7. I knew I was close but missed them as I had gone a full
circle. I
assumed a reflection and started around in reverse when I saw them
sitting at a
picnic table in the rest area of RT. 7. The first hound arrived at 7:20
and the
hunt was over at 7:30. One and a half hours. Some of the humors things
that
happened included Dave and RoAnne finding Paul’s Son Ben at a
basketball area.
I pulled into a small road to turn around and found N1PUA's car in
front of his
house (weak signal there though). We had a great hunt! We NEED base
stations to
help! Please feel free to add your comments during any hunt.
May 2005 - June 2, 2005 Hunting, over and over again!
As many have heard we had a nice weather day for a hunt
but the MAY hunt was over almost before it started. Myself, Tim KE3HT
was the
fox and I decided to play the reflection game against Paul's N1PUA dop
scan.
Well the fox failed miserably! The hounds decided to team up and that
defeated
me in about 10 minutes! They got a bearing to the north and split up.
N1PUA was
on his way to his assigned spot and drove right into me. This was not
much fun
since the hunt was over way to fast. Maybe the fox should have called
for a restart
but the fox just asked N1PUA to stop transmitting for a short time and
let the
others have some fun. Just goes to show that when we act as a team
things go
real fast and the fox doesn't stand a chance.
I
figure there is an additional lesson to be learned
here as well since the VERY NEXT hunt N1PUA and N1PTZ decided to hide
the in
the EXACT SAME PLACE. How many times does that happen? Well this is the
first
time I had ever seen this done in two back to back hunts! I saw the
signal in a
direction I recognized but assumed it was a reflection because it could
not
have come from the same place. N1PUA couldn't do that could he? We I
went out
on a limb, drove way north of him and triangulated. There he was! We
also had a
visit from KB1EPP now a resident of Florida
and his wife, KI4JYS who seemed to enjoy the hunt. In fact they WON the
hunt!
What a team they made. Reminds my of Dave and RoAnne who were quite a
team as
well. Our club president and former president N1LZH, PAT, and Joe W1BS
came in
second. N1XHR was in on this hunt as
well but did not do as well as he has in the past. From home we had
N1QOV,
WA1ZHM and KB2SAE all helping out although John seemed to think N1PUA
was in South
County
for awhile!
We have some
picture on the Hounds web site if you want to see who all was there! http://www.nobarc.org/hounds/pictures/
If any one has info on the two
hunts missing here just send me a note with details and I will add them
here.
Nov 5, 2005 70 degrees and Sunny! (is this November?)
I wonderful day for a hunt. This hunt took about an hour and a
half. Paul (N1PUA) was the fox. George KB2SAE, Joe (W1BS) &
Pat(N1LZH) and Tim (KE3HT) were the hounds. Bradlees was the
starting spot and we could not hear the fox at the start. So we spread
out in different directions on high spots to see if we could hear him
anywhere. I did hear him at the GAA and had him WNW on the Beam. Nobody
else heard him. The next time I heard the fox it was on the mobile
antenna while I was on RT 7 by Zuchinni's. Then I heard him again from
the upper parking lot at Pontusac lake, again towards the west. Others
came in from the south and west and heard him as well. Nobody heard him
strong. Elusive this fox was. Lesson: when approaching a hill and the
fox is on the other side the signal strength should drop. If he is on
this side it should get stronger. Why then did it stay the same even
over 10 miles? REFLECTIONS! The signal was bouncing off of the Mountain
in Pittsfield State Forest! As this played out Pat&Joe were
south of me and George was to the SE. Pat&Joe headed down RT41 and
the fox suddenly got stronger! We all started heading down RT41.
Pat&Joe got there first with Tim getting there second. I used
16 miles of that expensive Gas but it was worth the fun. From home MR.
ESP (John WA1ZHM) seemed to figure on a 90degree angle from Pittsfield
state forest and the GAA and he was right. He named Richmond Furnace
and again he was right. John could not even hear the signal from his
home. He just listened to what we were reporting and deduced it based
on the terrain.
NO EXPERIANCE
NECESSARY! All you need is an HT and a map to
participate. if your not sure you can do it, ask anyone of our hounds
and I am SURE they will help. Its a great bunch of Hams we have.
Please listen to the NoBarc New Comers round table at 7:30pm on
Tuesdays for an announcement for the next hunt. We also run a very
informal News List for the NoBarc hounds. To subscribe send e-mail to
"majordomo@ke3ht.org" and in the body of the e-mail put "subscribe
hounds". After you are subscribed you can send e-mail to
hounds@nobarc.org. This way you will hear up to the minute info on
the next hunt as well as some of the challenges and bantering we
partake in. We also have some info at http://www.nobarc.org/hounds.
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