[GCARC] Fun fun fun tomorrow at 1 !!!

[Jim Wright]

What a great fall day!  And tomorrow may be even nicer, with an extra
hour!  Why not get out of the house, enjoy the fall colors and some fresh
air, and join your fellow GCARC members on a hidden transmitter hunt from
1-2 pm?

The transmitter will be turned on in a public place, not private property,
here in Gloucester County.  To make it more fun, and to help narrow your
searching area in advance, here are the boundaries to help you in your
search here in Gloucester county:

   North of Route 322 (Glassboro rd).

   South of Route 654 (Hurffville-Cross Keys rd).

   East of Route 47 (Delsea Drive).

   West of Route 655 (Fries Mill rd).

   Make sense?  If not, email or call me direct.

Tomorrow, with your hunt team, check in with me, Jim N2GXJ, on our 2 meter
repeater just before 1pm, so we all know who is hunting.  That way we’ll
know who to “taunt” during the hunt, and if there’s anyone still searching
after an hour that needs some hints to get to the finish line.   Let's have
some fun!

What frequency?

The transmitter will be on FM simplex, 146.565 Mhz.  As you get closer to
the transmitter, the signal will be stronger.  If you go past it, it will
get weaker.  When you get real close, you may be able to hear it on the
third harmonic (146.565 x 3 = 439.695).

First timer?  Great! Want some tips?   Sure!

In the past, I’ve seen people park somewhere near the hunt zone and start
with squelch off on their radio, just to see if they can even hear the
transmitter.  If not, they know they are not that close and will drive
around the hunt zone until they can hear it.

Once can hear it, then they might set the squelch higher, and put the radio
on the floor - driving around some more until they get a general idea of
where squelch breaks and signal is strongest, where it does not.  Sometimes
they will take the antenna off the radio, knowing that only a stronger
(thus closer) signal would be heard this way (just don’t accidentally press
transmit if you did this!!!).

Once in the general area, then people will often get out of their cars
periodically, to use a directional antenna, or use a “body fade” technique
to get an idea of from which direction the signal seems stronger or weaker,
and home in on it that way.  A “body fade” is where you put your radio up
against your chest and turn in a circle, listening to find which direction
sounds _weakest_.  Then you know the transmitter is somewhere behind you
(because your body is blocking some of the signal strength).  This same
technique can also work by putting the radio up next to a big tree, using
the tree to block the signal.  You might see fellow club members also
hunting.

So why not?

This is a great club event, with a built-in excuse to get outdoors with
family and friends on a adventure, to enjoy the day, and have fun!  We’ll
be there on-air to help you, if you need it, and at the finish line to take
a group picture, socialize, and exchange hunt stories afterwards!

Alright then, see you on the hunt tomorrow!

Jim, N2GXJ