Team USA Competes at Amateur Radio Direction Finindg 12th World Championship

The American Radio Relay League ^ | Sep 24, 2004

[Denver Ditdat]

A 21-member delegation represented the US and ARRL at the Amateur Radio Direction Finding 12th World Championship in the Czech Republic September 7-12. ARRL ARDF Coordinator Joe Moell, K0OV, says this year's global competition attracted 327 competitors from 28 countries to the town of Brno--some 110 miles southeast of Prague. ARDF is sometimes called foxtailing or radio orienteering, and world championships take place in even-numbered years.

Charles Scharlau, NZ0I, finishes the 80-meter course. "Yes, that is duct tape holding my head together," he said. "The look of pain probably came from seeing my time displayed ahead of me as I approached the finish." Scharlau finished 30th out of 47 in the M40 category. The duct tape was place sticky side to sticky side--to avoid any loss of hair when it was removed, he explained.

"In ARDF championships, each entrant competes on 2 meters and on 80 meters, on separate days," Moell explained. "There are five age categories for males, and four age categories for females, in accordance with International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) ARDF rules. Each country may to have up to three persons per category on its team." Medals go to the top individuals and teams in each age/gender division and on each band.

As they did for the 2002 world competition in the Slovak Republic, the ARRL Foundation and a Colvin Award grant provided a portion of the entry fees and in-country expenses of Team USA. Individual team members covered the remainder of the costs out of their own pockets.

The September event marked Team USA's fourth trip to the ARDF World Championship, Moell said. Team members ranged in age from 19 to 62 and hailed from nine states. This year's Team USA Captain was Harley Leach, KI7XF, of Bozeman, Montana. Veteran fox hunters Dale Hunt, WB6BYU, of Portland, Oregon, and Marvin Johnston, KE6HTS, of Santa Barbara, California , represented the US and IARU Region 2 on the international jury overseeing the competition. Each was assigned as a course marshal at one of the "radio foxes"--the objects of the hunt.

Moell says the competition took place over some 4800 acres of forested land, "with occasional thickets, slopes and cliffs." The terrain presented some challenges to the competitors.

"One Team USA member described the Saturday course as the toughest he has ever done," Moell said. "A shallow river ran through the middle of that site. It was in a deep ravine that had to be scaled to cross it."

Nadia Scharlau, seen here approaching the 2-meter finish line in the 2003 USA ARDF Championships in Ohio.

The courses may include three, four or five radio foxes--depending on the category. The test for the participants is to locate each using portable radio direction-finding equipment as the foxhunter travels between the starting point and the finish line. Total course length in a championship hunt is between 5 and 10 km. Contestants get orienteering maps, and a beacon transmitter on a separate frequency near the finish assists hunters who get lost.

"This year's course time limit was 2-1/2 hours," Moell said. "The gold medal winner in the five-fox prime age category for men completed the 80-meter course in less than 53 minutes."

Team USA. (L-R) Back row: Nadia Scharlau; Charles Scharlau, NZ0I; Bob Cooley, KF6VSE; Jerry Boyd, WB8WFK; Vadim Afonkin; Richard Thompson, WA6NOL; Gyuri Nagy, KF6YKN; Bob Frey, WA6EZV; Csaba Tiszttarto; Dick Arnett, WB4SUV, and Matt Robbins, AA9YH. Front row: Jay Thompson, W6JAY; Karla Leach, KC7BLA; Harley Leach, KI7XF, and Jay Hennigan WB6RDV. (Jay Thompson was a winner--with Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM--of the ARRL 2003 Hiram Percy Maxim Award.)

Two Team USA members garnered top-10 individual finishes in their categories. Nadia Scharlau of Cary, North Carolina, placed 6th out of 22 in the 2-meter competition, Her time in the 80-meter event was much better--just a shade more than 10 minutes behind the first place finisher in her category. Unfortunately, on that day the battery fell out of her receiver as she was on the way to locating the final transmitter in the course, and she had to use her previous bearings to find the fox. "The lost time put her in 11th place instead of perhaps earning a trip to the medal podium," Moell said. Sixty-two-year-old Bob Cooley, KF6VSE, of Pleasanton, California, placed 9th out of 34 on his 2-meter run.

"European and former Soviet countries have been holding ARDF events for over 30 years, so it is no surprise that they dominated in the standings," Moell observed. "Nine of these nations garnered all of the individual and team medals." The Czech Republic, Russia and Ukraine led the medal count with 34, 28 and 26 respectively.

Although their team members enjoyed the friendly rivalry of the world competition and the hospitality of the host country, the US, Australia, and Great Britain were among the 19 nations that won no medals. "Each is relatively new to the sport and is building a national ARDF program," Moell said.

There's more information about ARDF, the World Championship and Team USA--including a member roster and team category standings--on Moell's "Homing In" Web site.

[Denver Ditdat]

Another thing to try one of these days - it sounds like fun!

[Denver Ditdat]

Ham Radio Ping List

Please Freepmail me if you want to be added to or deleted from the list.

[RhoTheta]

Foxhunt ping.

[Mark17]

If I am not mistaken, the father of Hiram Percy Maxim invented a machine gun. Did you hear this also?

[Denver Ditdat]

It's true. Hiram Maxim, the father of Hiram Percy Maxim, invented the automatic gun that bears his name.

He's credited with the gun silencer among his other inventions. Not a guy who would be well thought of by today's lefty crowd.

[spodefly]

-... - - -

[Mark17]

Not a guy who would be well thought of by today's lefty crowd.

No, not at all. I don't know about you, but I feel so strongly about my conservative political views, that I do not have liberal friends. If I know they are liberal, I do not associate with them. I even broke off a good relationship with a liberal female, because of our differing views. BTW, my sister and mother live in Littleton.

[Mark17]

Actually, I forget to mention one thing. I saw a James Bond movie, with Joe Don Baker, and he mentioned a Maxim. I knew exactly what he meant, as soon as he said it.

[Clinging Bitterly]

I have done that. Always a regular event at the Annual state convention at Seaside, and our group cosponsors a hamfair every year at Rickreall (near Salem) where we often have them.

The article mentions Dale Hunt. I have competed against him a number of times. Most of us are doing it for fun and the gear we assemble for the task is usually pretty low tech. In the old days I and most other competitors used some sort of a vehicle mounted beam antenna, an ordinary mobile rig or HT with a S meter, and a step attenuator if we really wanted to get tough. But Dale and his team were always there and usually beat everyone else handily. He has experimented with a number of designs and techniques over the years and did well with whatever he used. If I recall correctly, he was one of the first in the area to use a Doppler unit and it didn't do so well for him at first, but still there are plenty of them around and they are competitive. In one of the last hunts I remember being in, some of us laughed when he came out on foot with all handheld gear and no car - and this folding antenna made out of a tape measure or something - so while we are all driving up Sunset Blvd to get on the hill at Ecola State Park and get an initial bearing, he starts tracking immediately and walked steadily to the fox (or bunny we called it then).

It's no surprise that he's marshaling at international events these days, he's pretty good.