Meathead
Transmitter Hunt
Hider: Doug WA6RJN
Hider’s story (and he’s sticking to it)
Doug
WA6RJN
This year has been a challenge and the hide was no different. I had planed to go out on Friday and set up the Ts. Instead I ending up working a half day which got me to the area as the sunset. I went to the microwave site 6 miles north east of I40 up a power line east of Hector which is about 25 miles east of Barstow. I couldn’t hear the Palos Verdes repeater so I decided to use the site for a smaller T and moved on to my secondary site. After decided that wasn’t going to work either, I decided on my third possibility. I set up T1, checked the swr, amp output, battery voltage and made sure the timer was set for 10 AM (not 10 PM). With T1 in place for the start of the hunt, I return to Barstow about 1 AM.
Come 10 AM Saturday, the timer failed. I was setting out other Ts in the area so I headed for the microwave site. Scott (N6MI) called on the way to inform me the signal could not be heard – I already knew that. At the microwave site I set up a temporary beam and plugged it into the radio in the 4 Runner and called N6MI back – or tried. I had full signal on the call but couldn’t complete the call due to all the RF at the site. I dismantled the antenna and drove down the hill a bit and set it up again. Both the call and the signal connected and a bearing was found. Turns out the site would have worked after all. I set up T2 running 4 watts into the infamous coat hanger beam which would now server as the main T.
I didn’t get to T1 until about 1 PM and just collected it figuring that it was no longer needed to get the hunters into the area.
T9 and the “bug” T were on the same power line road as T2 but on the south side of I40. T9 could be heard from T2 and the bug T. T10 was a half mile north of the tracks at Hector. To get to it required opening a gate leading into the BLM area.
T11 was on Troy Rd 2 miles south of Newberry Springs. T4 was 3 miles south of I40 (Daggett) on Camp Rock road.
Results:
Number of
Call Ts Miles
N6MI/K6VCR 5 232 T2 T9 T10 T11 BugT **Winner **
KF6GQ/KD6LAJ 3 210 T2 T10 BugT
N6AIN 3 251 T2 T4 T10
WB6JPI 3 325 T2 T4 BugT
Bug T
T1
T2 at Microwave Site
Deryl N6AIN looking over the BLM sign at the gate to T10
And Here's the sign