[FoxHunt] Report and This Week 9/11/2000

[Neil Pickford]

Last Weeks Hunt went off successfully with 3 Hounds and 
3 Hunts.  The weather held back for the first two hunts 
(almost) but it bucketed down during the third.  Luckily 
there was shelter in the form of the Arts Centre Porch 
where the successful hounds could wait for the other hounds.
Neil transported the Hounds back to their starting point
so they did not get too wet.

Report
The first location originally saw the fox buried in the top
of a pile of wood chips, however the rain soaked wood chips
absorbed too much RF and the hounds could not hear it.
Neil went back and moved it to a more open location in a
grass tussock near the environment centre.  The Hounds Quickly
found their way to the area with a choice of which side to be
made.  John VK1ET chose the wrong side and so after circling
the complex ended up last.  Kerri VK1TKR & Dimitris VK1KBN 
arrived first.

The second fox was substantially weaker, again due to wet 
vegetation, so Neil gave the pedestrian hounds a few clews
to get them in range.  Even so Kerri never heard this one and 
proceeded straight to the third fox location.  John was first
on the scene of the second fox, finding the long antenna wound 
along the branches of a low bush near a chain mesh fence in Mort 
Street.  Dimitris had a difficult time with this one as he was
looking for a box not an antenna, and kept ignoring the higher
level readings.  He did however find it in the end.  
Those last couple of meters can be real difficult!

It was at this point the Downpour began, Dimitris decided to 
continue, and Neil loaned him his GoreTex.  Hounds arrived at 
the final location, a hedge next to the Arts Centre (Old 
Questacon Building) in the order Kerri, John and Dimitris.
Lets hope this is the last hunt to have rain this year!

Next Hunt
Well this week I am scheduling another Hunt for Thursday 
night.  6:30 PM start again from near the skate bowl in the
griffin centre carpark.  As usual spar equipment will be 
available for hounds who don't have a full set of gear.
Bring at least a 2M hand held.  The first hunt will be on
146.200 MHz commencing at 6:30 PM.  Liaison repeater is
VK1RAC 146.900 MHz Black Hill.

We might move the December Hunts to another location because 
Civic these days is a rather RF dirty location.
Any suggestions are welcome.

Neil Pickford
VK1KNP