12/19/2024
Icom when you want to give those you love the very best
In this Issue:
Gloucester County ARC Holds Family Fun Fall Fox Hunt 31
Hams, Including Clubs in Kansas and Colorado, Let Kids Ragchew with Santa This Holiday Season
Nashville Amateur Radio Club Marks Historic Milestones
Phil-Mont Mobile Radio Club Celebrates 75 Years
Submitting Info for this Newsletter
How to Plan and Apply for an ARRL Hamfest or Convention
Important Links
Gloucester County ARC Holds Family Fun Fall Fox Hunt 31
On November 9, 2024, Gloucester County Amateur Radio Club (GCARC), W2MMD, in New Jersey kicked off our most recent hidden transmitter hunt starting from our clubhouse. The event was organized by Jim Wright, N2GXJ, with Alex Duboski, KB2YEF, serving as the fox this time, hiding somewhere in Gloucester County with a cell phone and the transmitter.
Eight hunt teams consisting of first-time and experienced hunters checked in, so we all knew who to expect at the finish. Then a cell phone call was made and Alex the fox put the transmitter on the air!
With radios tuned to 146.565 MHz, hunters with directional antennas could hear the signal as they moved away from the clubhouse and started sweeping their antennas back and forth, but they were still not sure from which direction the signal was arriving. To make sure everyone was on the right track before teams got in their cars, an initial clue was given: “Drive out to the highway and turn right. It is not before the water tower.” After that, teams got in their cars and started out. The hunt for the fox was on!
After getting to the road and turning right, the signal did seem to start getting stronger. A half mile or so on the way towards Mullica Hill, the received signal became strong enough to break squelch, and seemed to be strongest when driving past Ella Harris Park. Driving beyond the park, the signal became weaker again, indicating that the fox had to be somewhere in the park. An on-foot scramble commenced as teams exited their cars, radio gear in hand, hoping to be first to find the hidden transmitter. Al Arrison, KB2AYU, and Frank Romeo, N3PUU, and his crew were first to get to the general area where the signal seemed to be coming from -- an old tree stump they had found just off a walking trail within a wooded area.
In tight competition, Al gets credit for being first to the radio, when he saw it first while digging through leaves that had collected inside the open tree stump. Turns out that the clever fox had purposely buried the transmitter in dry leaves inside the tree trunk so that only its nearly invisible thin black antenna wire was sticking out. Nice job, Alex!
After finding the fox, they stepped back to watch and smile at the other hunters that soon began arriving in the area. Using a variety of techniques, including “body fade,” “tree block,” and third harmonics with their handheld radios, everyone was eventually able to find that tree trunk, and then with great delight, the radio hidden in it.
Well done and congratulations everyone, especially first-time hunters! You’re veterans now! What a nice day for a family fun fall fox hunt!
– Thanks to Jim Wright, N2GXJ. Originally printed in GCARC CrossTalk, December 2024
GCARC foxhunt participants.
Hams, Including Clubs in Kansas and Colorado, Let Kids Ragchew with Santa This Holiday Season
Santa Claus will be on the amateur radio airwaves again this year.
The 3.916 Santa Net will be on the air every night at 7:00 PM CST from November 29 through December 24. Reserve a spot with Santa by making a pre-net check-in. You can check in each night starting at 6:30 PM CST online at www.CQSanta.com.
Santa and Mrs. Claus will also be on the air, together, thanks to special arrangements with the Cowley (KS) County Amateur Radio Club. They will be on the air on the 147.000 repeater and the Sunflower Net system, beginning at 10 AM on December 21. In addition to the local repeater, the Sunflower Net offers connection options to Allstar, DMR, D-STAR, Echolink, Fusion, Hamshack Hotline, M17, and P25. The club is also setting up a radio link at the local library to talk to Santa.
Also, for the fourth year, Santa has sent Elf Chucky and his team of amateur radio operators to northern Colorado to help make sure children can talk to Santa on station N0P from the North Pole. Thanks to the Longmont Amateur Radio Club and the Northern Colorado Amateur Radio Club, children can get into the holiday spirit by talking to Santa on the radio. Get the details on that operation at w0eno.org/santa.
