[ARDF] ARDF events during Hamvention?

[Marvin Johnston]

You ask some really difficult questions :)!!! While they are good ones,
I think they are not terribly important from the standpoint of
beginners. The most important thing is that they have *fun* with this
activity. I've driven away quite a few people on our first beginners
hunts by putting on what I thought was an easy hunt, but actually was
incredibly difficult (and frustrating) for someone new to transmitter
hunting. The biggest problem is going to get new people to know what it
is they are actually trying to do, i.e. what they are listening for. One
of the problems people new to ARDF have is always heading towards the
transmitter that is on, and getting nowhere fast :)! 

For someone not familiar with orienteering, the map will probably be
more of a curiosity than something useful. As such, it is unlikely to be
used. And most beginners don't really know what they are supposed to be
listening for on a transmitter hunt. And triangulation is impossible if
someone doesn't know where they are on the map. Add reflections to the
mix, and ...

Are you going to supply equipment, or have a workshop where they can
build an antenna and some sort of attenuator, or let them fend for
themselves? I don't mean this to be a trivial question since *I* think
it rather important that new people be allowed to use good equipment.
The Joe Leggio, WB2HOL, tape measure beam is a very good start. Couple
that with an offset attenuator and some training, and people will stand
a chance of understanding what direction finding is actually all about.
Again, training is necessary.

I might add that it would probably be a *really* good idea to use
relatively low power transmitters on a small venue, maybe 100 mW or less
so signal saturation doesn't become a problem. The transmitters I use
put out 50 mW and are powered by a 9V battery. I think you've seen them,
and they work well for small venues.

One thing that Dennis (WB6OBB) and I do is put on an ARDF type
transmitter hunt at the Malibu HandiHams camp. The people there have
disabilities ranging from not being able to see to using a wheelchair to
manuever around. They have taught me a *LOT* about what I take for
granted, and a lot of the above questions come from our experience at
the HandiHams camp.

Marvin, KE6HTS


Matthew Robbins wrote:
> 
> It's about a month from Hamvention, and the post I sent in December
> hasn't received much response.  So...
> 
> The foxhunt forum is Saturday, May 21, at 8am.
> 
> We want to put on a small ARDF at a local park.  We're thinking
> 2pm-to-6pm Saturday afternoon.  There are several possible parks.  The
> closest is a Boy Scout camp maybe 2.5 miles from Hara Arena.  It's
> mapped mostly as open forest, but there are lots of trails.  Probably
> the least intimidating park is about 2 miles east of downtown.  It's a
> large grassy area with some honeysuckle "forest" surrounding the
> grass.  It's very flat.
> 
> One park I really like doesn't allow orienteering off-trail this time
> of year.  A course on trails is a possibility there.
> 
> The local O'Club, Miami Valley Orienteering Club (MVOC) is having a
> regular orienteering event on Sunday.  It may be possible for me to
> extend their approval either to Saturday or just add on to the Sunday
> event.  The park is in Centerville, on the south side of Dayton.
> 
> I've got several questions regarding an event intended for beginners
> who hear about it at the 8am forum:
> 
> 1.  What is appropriate for an event like this?  (Meaning for a
> general audience who probably didn't pack clothes or shoes to get
> dirty in.)  Is "trails-only" acceptable?  I'm pretty sure in May
> there's enough rain to keep most trails pretty wet.  It really
> depends, I guess.
> 
> 2.  How important is using an impressive map?  All the maps are ISOM
> standard, but many of the small ones aren't too interesting.  I'd
> prefer to use a map they could use to look at later and learn
> something.  There are pretty decent map resources online, though.
> 
> 3.  Of the three things we talk about: Fitness, Orienteering, and
> Radiocraft; What should the emphasis be on?  I think it's safe to make
> fitness a non-factor.  I sort of like the completely flat area due to
> the cleanliness and the ability to allow focus on the map and the 5-T
> cycle, but it doesn't seem like a "real ARDF", but maybe that's not
> important.  There is enough "forest" there to allow a couple more
> difficult points.  I'll ask MVOC if there are any places with
> all-weather trails (like mulched or paved paths).
> 
> 4.  How important is it to have a very close or very easy to get to
> park?  I want to attract as many people as possible.  I've got several
> choices within the metro area.  I was leaning toward "near to
> downtown" as a way to make it easy for people to get there on the way
> to their hotel.
> 
> Again, if anyone is interested in a larger event, please let us know
> soon.  We've got some really nice new maps if you don't mind driving
> to Cincinnati (It's actually one map, but it's such a large area, we
> print it out as multiple maps).  Probably the only time to do 2
> full-length courses would be Thursday and Sunday, but if you want
> something serious Saturday afternoon, we might be able to do that.
> The sun goes down pretty late.  It's possible to have a 2-day serious
> event on Friday and Saturday (with starts as late as 4 or 5 pm), if
> there's interest, but the maps would have to be in Dayton.
> 
> Donald, W9EKB, thought Sunday morning (before the prize drawing) was a
> really good time for an ARDF.  I know a lot of people think Sunday is
> a buyer's market, but I guess I think it's more a seller's market.
> So, I agree that Sunday am is worth considering.
> 
> Matthew
> AA9YH
> Cincinnati, Ohio USA
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