|
 The Wilson ARC held its second transmitter
hunt of 2006 on Saturday, 16 September in Long Hunter State Park just off J. Percy
Priest Lake. Tom KB4SFN and Greg K4KO were again charged with hiding the
Fox while the hunters gathered for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel in Mount
Juliet. Those meeting for breakfast included: Hugo and Mark Sandoval (N1HU
& KI4OWT), Carl (KG4QQJ) and son Johnathon Layman and Dale Pentecost (KG4EUW)
who drove all the way from Dover in Stewart County.
 Meanwhile, Tom and Greg tangled
with the ornery fox trying to get it to yelp. After hiding the
transmitter, the two spent an hour playing, "it's working... now
it's not... now it is again, now it's not" Time was
running out so as 9:15 AM drew near, the fox wranglers were forced
to improvise with a backup antenna. That solved the problem of
the silent fox and just in time too. As Tom returned from a
fourth trip into the deep, dark woods, the first of the hunters,
Clark Beam KI4KDF arrived.
 The hunt was scheduled to begin at 9:15, but one of
the hunters discovered an antenna problem of his own so the other
hunters waited while the industrious amateur pieced
together another using two partial antennas. That took about
twenty minutes, but then they were off. The only clues given were the
transmitter frequency, and the fact that the transmitter was within the
boundaries of the Couchville section of the park. Long Hunter State Park
consists of about 2,600 acres that wind along the banks of J. Percy Priest Lake,
and is further divided into three sections, Couchville, Baker's Grove and Bryant
Grove. The Couchville area of the park is directly accessible from Mt.
Juliet Road (northern Hobson Pike) a few miles south of the intersection with
Stewart's Ferry Pike and just a few hundred yards north of the big bridge
spanning the Stones River and J. Percy Priest Lake.
 An hour or so into the hunt, Bob and Gloria Learmont (N9RK &
N9GAL) stopped by the park to say hello and to check on the hunter's progress.
Then about 11:20, Tom and Greg started making their way towards the fox.
When they arrived in the area, they found Dale the Dover Foxhound close on the
heels of his wily prey. Within 15 minutes he had bagged the Fox just as
Carl and son were closing in on the sly old critter.
Afterwards, Dale said he enjoyed the hunt and that
Tom had chosen an excellent spot to hide the transmitter. The
winner also shared details about some of the equipment he uses, and
even parted with a few choice transmitter hunting tips for the Wilson County
crew. All in all, it was a fun event on a beautiful
late-summer morning in middle Tennessee.
 If you have never tried transmitter hunting, you don't know what
you're missing. It's a fun way to spend a few hours in the outdoors
playing with radios and learning about nature, propagation and direction
finding. And the best part is, the equipment doesn't cost much to obtain
(or make) and it's just as fun for the beginner as it is for the experienced
hunter.
 In two of the four Wilson ARC Fox hunts, first-time hunters with
marginal equipment found the transmitter. One used only his HT and a
flexible rubber-duck antenna while the other borrowed a radio and a simple, wire
cubicle quad antenna built at one of our club meetings back in 2003. Make
plans now to participate in the next Wilson ARC transmitter hunt.
(
click any photo for large view ) |
