Results of the July 26th 1997 All Day Transmitter Hunt

Hiders: WA6TQQ and KC6TNJ

Where?.........Gorman to Yosemite

The plan was to hide a T at Signal Peak (on some maps Devil's Peak) at an elevation of 6990ft. On TNJs GPS it measured 273 miles from PV start point. This location was tested of sorts the week before, I listened to the PV 145.38 TMJ machine with a 3 element beam and got a S9 signal. 435 came in loud and clear also.

Just to make sure we gave the hunters a signal at the start, we placed TNJs HTX1 set to 147.585 and programmed to turn on at 10:00am on Liebre mountain. The theory was if they didn't hear Signal Peak on 146.565 we would have them switch to 585 and hunt that down and surely they would hear Signal Peak from Liebre mountain.

We had also planned to put 3 KF6GQ Ts out along the route as bonus Ts. Based on the mileage it took off the route to find them we gave that back and a little more. It's easy to drive by GQ Ts.

We decided enroute to place a second alternate freq. T. at Whistler road which is one way to Wasco and we all know how significant Wasco is at least to AIN who, by the way checked in at that T, #3A.

The first bonus T was at Grapevine at the end of this little dirt road between the freeway North and South lanes. Each GQ T had a spare battery the first team to find or sign in was instructed to change the battery.

As I said, we zoomed away and very quickly we didn't hear the T. Was it working? Next bonus T alongside the road just North of Goshen, after zooming 8/10 mile North we couldn't hear the T. I forced TNJ to turn the zoom mobile around and go back, thats 15 miles round trip but the T was on the air, boy the hunters are going to have to be right on those bonus Ts.

Zooming North again at warp speed right into Oakhurst, checked into T central (at least we thought so). Then maybe only full impulse power to Signal Peak. Set up the equipment and didn't hear PV oh oh, well should work, check 435 - that works back to impulse power and to Oakhurst for dinner, its 10:00pm, after dinner to bead. Oh 6:30 wake up call oh 7:30 departure - warp 9 up to signal peak. Check equipment, call the boys - can't get through with the cell phone, we call on the radio, nothing, can't hear145.38 - 435 sounds bad. OK turn it on at 9:50, after first transmission we hear 5x5 5x5 we turn it down - still too loud - all amps off. About 5 watts, MI says its OK. We advise the special instructions AF6O will relay.

UT oh cross band doesn't work- ah turn off shift, OK - warp 5 now - brakes sound bad either a stone between the rotor and pad or pads gone - warp 5 seems OK for John Luc Almquist.

Zoomed into Wawona (inside Yosemite by dirt roads). Lunch at Wawona hotel. Zooming once again to the gate, UT oh, gota pay to get out. $20.00 wow.

TNJ wants to now get brakes looked at, into Oakhurst but nobody wants to work on brakes. Auto part store sells us pads and finds someone to put them on, great, its hot and I don't want to.

I guess we placed a bonus T at the Logger narrow gauge RR sign and an alternate freq. T at hotel.

When finished with the brakes, we got cleaned up and decided to drive down 41 to see if we could find some hunters. We ran into RJN just as we got to the end of town - while talking to him, ZHZ/CYG showed up. We discussed things and they went on. MI and AF6O showed up so we dined with them.

By the way I apologize to N6MI and AF6O. I was a little out of sorts as it happens.

They left (MI+AF6O) the Sierra City Grill and went to 49 and up to the peak that way, well I think so at any rate. We zoomed up to the railroad to see who signed in - wow RJN and ZHZ but whats this YKE is sniffing - we stood by. YKE had taken a little trip through Shaver Lake area. Didn't expect him in the area quite yet. YKE went on, and feeling quite proud of ourselves we went off to bed. .We set up a cross band 1.2 to 440 in TNJs Zoom Mobile. So we went 1.2 to 440 to 2m. I could listen and talk from my room. But about 39 seconds after sitting down on the bed I was gone.

We broke everything down and packed up the zoom mobile headed down picking up Ts as we went. We thought we were behind ZHZ and CYG but no they had stopped to have lunch, so did we in Fresno.

We didn't lunch quite long enough because when we got to the bonus T at Goshen they hadn't signed in and as a matter of fact were on the other side of the median sniffing. So we move up and turned around 7 miles up the road.

We had a great time and as Hannibal Smith saez's "I love it when a plan comes together".

Thanks to all that came out.

73 WA6TQQ

RESULTS