Mr. Wizzard/Dale/Yoda would have been proud...

As I mentioned in my last article, I have been doing quite a bit with the Ham radio this past winter. In fact, I joined an Amateur radio/emergency services communication club here in Sidney and have enjoyed learning more about this hobby from some pretty smart guys there.

One of the things the club is going to do is take part in what are called "fox and hound" events. Better known as radio direction finding exercises, the over-simplified objective of the event is to find the emanating source of a radio signal. The club will send out an operator who will find a place somewhere in the county and begin sending periodic radio signals of very short duration. These signals could represent anything from the emergency transmissions from a downed aircraft to (what is more likely) someone who has his hand-help radio stuck "open" (keyed up and broadcasting) without his knowledge. This happens quite often in mobile units when the hand mic might fall down between the seats, wedging open the PTT (Push To Talk) switch, thus tying up the frequency and rendering it inoperative.

The fun thing about this kind of activity is the "hounds" have to build a portable antenna which is used to locate the radio signal and enable them to triangulate the "fox's" location. We have to know the area, how to read a compass and a map, and most importantly, how to build the antenna.

Here is an antenna I built for this exercise. It's pretty cool and seems to work. We'll see. My wife thought I was building a divining rod so I could go out and find water. Another nice thing about this is these kinds of events are pretty cheap to participate in -- this antenna cost me about $10.

Now, those of you who know me know I just can't go out there with this antenna that looks like something from some spy novel and play this straight. So, I'm thinking I should maybe dress up in a full body, aluminum foil wrap and a silver football helmet and walk around like that. What do you think the locals would say about that? Better yet, maybe I should get out my old Army protective mask and wear my uniform and walk around through the fields. Bet that would cause a stir.

One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his greatest surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't. (Henry Ford)

Hooah