TRO FOXHUNT 19 MAR 16
Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away....
Well, not really... but the TRO had not held a foxhunt in such a long time it feels like it happened long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Plus the Executive Committee has decided we need to get back to doing some of the fun things we used to do, so I opened my mouth at the February meeting and said, “If no one objects, I'll be the Fox next month on the third Saturday.” No one objected, so I was stuck... but I'm glad I was!
As I tend to do sometimes, I overprepared.
When we used to have Foxhunts, no one had written down any rules, so I worked up a document based on the rules we used to use. Because we hadn't done one in such a long time, I knew that new hams might need some guidance on how to do it, so I wrote up a tutorial as well. I created an event page on the club's Facebook group, and posted the documents to the Files section.
I thought long and hard about my “foxhole,” and didn't decide until just a few days before the hunt to “hide” in Chandler Park. According to the rules, the Fox must hide in a publicly accessible area inside Tulsa County. We don't want any foxhunters getting sideways with security or law enforcement personnel, so we encourage the Fox to check with business owners or managers first, or to inform law enforcement agencies if hiding on publicly-owned land. In light of recent history, some members of the public could be suspicious of a man talking on radio. Chandler Park covers a large area, and it can accommodate more than one event at a time, and is seldom crowded enough to cause it to be a target for those with bad intentions, so law enforcement shouldn't be a problem. I checked the Park's online calendar, and they did have an Easter Egg hunt scheduled for Pageant Field, where we often hold Field Day, close to the Community Center. I left a voice mail with the contact person explaining what was going on with the Foxhunt, in case anyone had questions, and that I would avoid the area near the Easter Egg hunt.
I charged up all my handhelds the night before the hunt, and printed out the rules and tutorial documents.
I got up a bit early for me that Saturday morning, and did part of my regular routine before packing up my HT's and my portable antenna and mast, and loading them in the car. I headed out to my foxhole, with a stop at a convenience store for coffee and breakfast.
I drove around the park, to confirm where the Easter Egg hunt would be, and to scout out the exact location I would set up. I chose a spot in front of the first picnic shelter past the swimming pool and near a public restroom. Drinking extra coffee that morning due to the chilly temperatures made the proximity of a restroom an important factor in my choice of a foxhole!
I made my first transmission on the 146.88 repeater at 10 AM. Ron Lancaster, KB5VDB, responded that he wasn't out hunting, but he had me ¾ scale at his house near 41st & 129th East Ave. Ray Young, K5CFY, had me just a little north of due west on his beam at 31st & Garnett. When he said that, I thought, “Oh boy... this Foxhunt might not last as long as I planned!” I like to make things challenging, changing radios, antennas, and so on, including the multiple receivers that .88 has!
Another ham, John Wilson, KG5JNT, was northbound on US 75 on his way to visit with Larry Holden, KC5KLM in Osage County, so he wasn't hunting, but he did report on my signal strength a few times. His first report had me at ½ scale near 67th Street North. Considering that Chandler Park is on top of a hill overlooking the Arkansas River, he probably had an almost clear shot at my signal.
At 1010, I gave my first clue: “I am located on the surface of an oblate spheroid.” Real helpful, huh? Like I said, I like to make Foxhunts challenging!
On my next transmission, I explained about the repeater's 3 receivers and gave the PL tones to each one. I followed that with more information about the oblate spheroid. An oblate spheroid is a body that is not completely round. The Earth is flatter in the Northern Hemisphere than it is in the Southern Hemisphere, so it is an oblate spheroid. Like I said, that's not very helpful, but at least people learned something about geometry and the planet we call home.
At 1026, I said that another hunt was going on where I was, but it was seasonal, occurring once a year.
Kenneth Baucum, KG5CBM, checked in, saying he just got out of a CERT training event, and he had time to join the hunt. He had me ½ scale on Memorial while crossing the river.
Ron deciphered the clue about the Easter Egg hunt and began an Internet search of hunts occurring in parks in Tulsa County. He mentioned two, one in Haikey Creek Park in Broken Arrow and one in Bixby.
At 1035, I confirmed the clue about the Easter Egg hunt, and added that I could see traffic where I was. Of course, a lot of traffic was coming into the park, but I was facing north, and could see across the river to US 412. I also changed from my mobile radio to using my HT's. The only one I didn't use was my Baofeng UV5R. When I used a handheld, I held it with my left hand out the window and resting on top of the 'Ole Green Bean (my car), and talked into a speaker mic.
At 1040, I began to read from the Rules to fill up the required one minute duration of my transmissions. Kenneth replied that he had no signal on the repeater input at Haikey Creek Park. Ron advised him to go to Chandler Park. Kenneth added that he was headed that way anyway for another training event later on. Rob Giger, KG5AUN, added that he heard me nearly full scale at the Fairgrounds.
At 1050, while finishing up my reading of the Rules, Kelly Walls, KD5HPG, showed up behind Chase Robbins, a young friend of his who is studying to take his test at Green Country Hamfest next month on the 8th and 9th, at the Claremore Expo Center.
At 1102, I read some more from the tutorial, and Kenneth reported my signal as 6 or 7 at 71st & Riverside.
My next transmission at 1110 produced no audio due to an equipment malfunction. The speaker mic plug slipped part of the way out of the jack, causing the radio to continually transmit without passing on any audio.
At 1125, Kenneth arrived as I finished reading the tutorial. I declared the Foxhunt over, because Kenneth was the last active Foxhunter that I knew of. However, Charles Sharpe, AA5TC checked in at 1130, stating that he was looking, but couldn't check in due to a radio issue.
After the Foxhunt, I turned control over future Foxhunts to Kenneth. He is the TRO Activities Chair, so the hunts should be under his jurisdiction. He can change the rules as he sees fit, but I don't think he will make any great changes right away.
We hung around for a while and swapped foxhunting stories. Kelly is an experienced foxhunter from when we used to have them years ago. I remember listening to one hunt when he was the Fox, and he cooked hamburgers for the Foxhunters that found him. I think that might have contributed to my desire to get into foxhunting!
We will hold the Foxhunts on the third Saturday of the month from spring through fall. The next Foxhunt is set for 16 APR, one week after Hamfest. Kelly has indicated he will probably use the 146.88 repeater again, but he definitely won't be hiding in Chandler Park!
In addition to being the Fox in April, I emailed Kelly a certificate.
I'm not sure that I'll be able to participate in future Foxhunts, so I figured the least I could do was to get them started up again. I did have fun, and I encourage everyone to join in on the fun whenever you can!
Doug Lee, KC5ZQM