2008 October FRRL Foxhunt
Another foxhunt was held on Sunday, October 26, 2008. The starting point was at the Colonial Cafe, on RT. 38 just east of Randall Road. The day started as a really pleasant fall day, but then turned a little weird, alternating between sunshine, unusual gale force winds, rain, and even some surprise snow. That was some front that came through. Fortunately, the duration and intensity of the precipitation did not cause any major problems, although the wind did present some challenges to the tape measure antennas.
The fox's station was a mobile radio, powered from a lawn tractor size sealed lead acid battery, transmitting through a black painted 3-element tape measure beam. The antenna was mounted atop a black push-up fiber glass pole about 18 feet high and was somewhat invisible among the bare branches of the trees.
The test transmission by the fox at 5 watts could not be heard at the starting point, so the power had to be increased to the 30 watt level. Once the hunters got into the vicinity of the fox, this power level was a problem, tending to overwhelm the hunters' equipment. At the hunters' request, the power was decreased first to the 15 watt, and then the 5 watt level. Dropping the power helped both the hunters and to preserve the fox's battery.
The fox, Tom N9CBA, turned out to be hidden in some light vegetation in the Bliss Woods Forest Preserve, in an area just under 10 miles SSW of the starting point (see the map, here). It was possible to drive to within about 100 feet of the fox, at which point a cable barred the way and the hunters had to procede on foot. Parking was available about 100 yards away. The fox was hidden in some light brush, about 20 feet from a grassy area, laying on the ground, and was slightly camouflaged (with about the same level of visibility as a black bear drinking black coffee in a cave at midnight). The hunters were not expecting this level of concealment, so while they made it to the park fairly quickly, it took a while for them to find the wily fox after they had transfered to foot.
Greg N9CHA found the fox at 3:30, followed by the team of Bill W9WRS and Joe AB9OU at 3:45.
After the hunt, the fox and hunters met back at the Colonial Cafe to warm up, have lunch, and chat.
The hunters would like to extend their sincere thanks to the fox, Tom Geletka N9CBA,
for a challenging and enjoyable afternoon.
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Pictures from Jan '08 Fox Hunt are here.
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