All Night Transmitter Hunt
In keeping with the Autumnal Equinox theme
of the hunt, and being indistinguishable from an All Day
Hunt, since the length of day and night where equal on this
date, I decided to pick a location that the hunters would
consider neither near, nor far. (And I wanted to be
certain that I could get a signal into the valley, as I
would be hiding alone, with no backup at another location in
case of "No signal" reports. I really hate those
reports...) I decided on Monument Peak, with it's
colorful history in Thunt lore, and we had not been up there
for a while.
At the last minute, my XYL, KG6LOR, decided that she would sacrifice a perfectly good Saturday, and come with me to make sure I did not get in too much trouble. She remembered that all day style hunts included food, snacks, drinks, etc. and if we could not use a stove, due to fire restrictions, she could still make sandwiches. She made the preparations for the food, while I tried desperately to get some recalcitrant IDers to work. She was quite successful, while I was not...
So, having only two working transmitters, we headed out early to get the signal on the air, so the hunters would arrive near lunch time, in keeping with the theme, of course. The first transmitter landed in a tree just south of Monument Peak, on Bailey Canyon road, with a nice view of the Inland Empire. No high power transmitter would be needed here, so a modified Baofeng UV-5R with working IDer would be used. (Unfortunately, I had been inspired to use small LiIon batterires, in stead of the more robust and traditional gel cells. The result of this error, was I had to change out the batteries every couple hours, and the signal strength was a modified sawtooth at every transmission. Ooops...)
The second transmitter would be the very robust and reliable T2 that you all know and love. (It is a modified commercial transmitter, with over deviation and plenty of power.) It was placed just north west of Monument Peak, allowing it to send a good signal into the high desert and Silverwood Lake.
Results:
Following the somewhat complex formulas devised by JPI, now a silent key, I have used the following factors, and with the Board's approval, come up with a winner.
Paul and Peter both climbed the hill to find T9, multiple times, and still climbed again, for intructional reasons, after it had been located. Very impressive, and they are the Winners.
Doug had mechanical difficulties, but still managed his usual good showing, with some delay.
Scott and Tom ignored all reasoning and bought outside food when Debra, KG6LOR, had slaved over a hot stove for hours to provide a wonderful meal for them. She would have totally disqualified them, but she is too nice. (And the Board would not approve this punitive action. Mostly due to possible legal repercussions from unnamed lawyers...)
Deryl gets the GOOD SPORT award for keeping his cool, even when blocked and bumped and generally harassed by a group of more than 60 off road vehicles, sent to prevent him from finding the last transmitter.
LAJ Steve
At the last minute, my XYL, KG6LOR, decided that she would sacrifice a perfectly good Saturday, and come with me to make sure I did not get in too much trouble. She remembered that all day style hunts included food, snacks, drinks, etc. and if we could not use a stove, due to fire restrictions, she could still make sandwiches. She made the preparations for the food, while I tried desperately to get some recalcitrant IDers to work. She was quite successful, while I was not...
So, having only two working transmitters, we headed out early to get the signal on the air, so the hunters would arrive near lunch time, in keeping with the theme, of course. The first transmitter landed in a tree just south of Monument Peak, on Bailey Canyon road, with a nice view of the Inland Empire. No high power transmitter would be needed here, so a modified Baofeng UV-5R with working IDer would be used. (Unfortunately, I had been inspired to use small LiIon batterires, in stead of the more robust and traditional gel cells. The result of this error, was I had to change out the batteries every couple hours, and the signal strength was a modified sawtooth at every transmission. Ooops...)
The second transmitter would be the very robust and reliable T2 that you all know and love. (It is a modified commercial transmitter, with over deviation and plenty of power.) It was placed just north west of Monument Peak, allowing it to send a good signal into the high desert and Silverwood Lake.
Results:
Following the somewhat complex formulas devised by JPI, now a silent key, I have used the following factors, and with the Board's approval, come up with a winner.
So, a brief explanation might be in order, so that the Board does not have to field a lot of calls from angry hunters:
Call Shared Found all Accepted Did not exceed Information Transmitters HomeMade Food Mileage Allotment HPW Yes Yes Yes Yes (plus 2 for Navigator, and 1 for multiple hill climbs, for instructional purposes) AIN Yes Yes and No Yes Yes RJN Yes Yes Yes Yes MI and VCR Yes Yes NO Yes and No (minus 2 points for eating outside food, and minus 1 for making me drive down in the dark, and plus 2 for navigator, but minus 2 for not listening to him.)
Paul and Peter both climbed the hill to find T9, multiple times, and still climbed again, for intructional reasons, after it had been located. Very impressive, and they are the Winners.
Doug had mechanical difficulties, but still managed his usual good showing, with some delay.
Scott and Tom ignored all reasoning and bought outside food when Debra, KG6LOR, had slaved over a hot stove for hours to provide a wonderful meal for them. She would have totally disqualified them, but she is too nice. (And the Board would not approve this punitive action. Mostly due to possible legal repercussions from unnamed lawyers...)
Deryl gets the GOOD SPORT award for keeping his cool, even when blocked and bumped and generally harassed by a group of more than 60 off road vehicles, sent to prevent him from finding the last transmitter.
LAJ Steve