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 Previous: Surfin': What's on ATV Tonight? |  Next: The Amateur Radio Crossword Puzzler |
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 Marvin Johnston, KE6HTS--shown here competing in the 2002 USA ARDF Championships in Georgia--will chair the 2004 ARDF US Championships in Santa Barbara. |
 Scott Stevenson, KC5VVB, of New Mexico tests a FoxFinder-80 RDF set designed by WB8WFK of Albuquerque at the 2003 USA ARDF Championships in Ohio. |
 Off the 2-meter starting line are Marvin Johnston, KE6HTS (left), Emil Mayeva (right), and Paul Bohrer, W9DUU, (behind). |
 Coming down the final stretch is Dale Hunt, WB6BYU. He has found all his transmitters and has folded up his antenna to help him run faster. |
 Harley Leach, KI7XF, made his own synthesizer for his 2-meter receiver. He has taken it to the World Championships twice. It is about to help him get a silver medal. |
NEWINGTON, CT, May 1, 2004--Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) enthusiasts across the US are getting themselves and their gear ready for the fourth annual national ARDF Championships next month. ARRL ARDF Coordinator Joe Moell, K0OV, says, the sport--also known as radio-orienteering and foxtailing--is an all-on-foot "adventure in the woods" to see who can track down and find the most hidden transmitters in the shortest time. The Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC) will host the fourth annual USA ARDF Championships. Radio-orienteers from all over the country plus visitors from abroad are expected to attend. Some competitors who have participated in previous national and world championships now are considered experts, but Moell says there are also plenty of newcomers who want to learn how to become the champions of the future.
"Equipment for hunting radio foxes can be very simple and inexpensive," Moell says. "Most beginners do very well by augmenting their handheld VHF transceivers with simple Yagi antennas made out of a steel measuring tape and PVC pipe from the hardware store." For "closing in," Moell says, an offset RF attenuator consisting of some $15 worth of small parts will knock down the signal and keep the receiver's S-meter within its scale. "Plans are on the Web, and kits are available, so warm up your soldering iron," he adds.
The ARDF competitive courses are open to anyone of any age and at any foxhunting skill level. No Amateur Radio license is needed. Medals in the event will be awarded in five age categories for males and four for females, in accordance with International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) rules.
"If you're not a marathoner," Moell says, "you still have a chance for a medal, as there will be plenty of trotting and walking on the courses."
Heading up the USA ARDF Championships is Marvin Johnston, KE6HTS, whom Moell calls "one of North America's ARDF pioneers." A member of Team USA's first string to the ARDF World Championships in Hungary in 1998, he has been on the team ever since, competing in China in 2000 and in Slovakia in 2002. He also medaled at the last two USA ARDF Championships.
An optional training camp with map-and-compass orienteering kicks off the ARDF Championships action the weekend of June 12-13 at Mount Pinos in California's Los Padres National Forest. The next two camp days will be at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, to practice course strategies, route choices and bearing-taking.
The main events get under way on Wednesday, June 16, as competitors arrive at the headquarters site in Gorman. The following day, they'll fine tune their skills and align their direction-finding equipment using short courses on both 2 meters and 80 meters. Opening ceremonies and a drawing to determine the starting order will take place that evening.
Friday starts early with a bus ride to the full-length 2-meter competition at an undisclosed location. On Saturday, the 80-meter competition, typically an event of similar size, will get under way at a different venue. Closing ceremonies will be Saturday evening, and the competitors take their medals home on Sunday.
The events in California will end just in time for final selection of ARDF Team USA 2004 members, who will travel to Brno, the Czech Republic, for the 12th ARDF World Championships September 7-12. More than 200 participants representing two dozen or more countries are expected to turn out for the event. Team USA's positions will be filled based on performances in this year's national championships in California and in last year's national championships in Ohio.
An information page on the 2004 USA ARDF Championships provides details on the schedule of events for both the championships and the optional training camp. A Foxhunting Forum will take place at Dayton Hamvention Saturday, May 15, 8-9:15 AM, in Room 4 of Hara Arena.
A downloadable registration form and more information are on Moell's "Homing In" Web site. The site also offers information on other local, national and international radio-orienteering events, plus equipment ideas and photos from previous championships. You can also subscribe to a group e-mail list to receive USA ARDF Championships updates.--Joe Moell K0OV
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