[ARDF] Fun and Frustration

[Dale Hunt WB6BYU]

I've introduced a lot of people to ARDF (and T-Hunting) here in the  
Portland
area over the years.  By far the biggest problem I've found for  
beginners is
learning to take a bearing on a transmitter within the one minute cycle.
Even some experienced mobile T-Hunters have problems with that.
I used to put out two of my ARDF transmitters for the local mobile  
hunts,
but found that was too confusing for the participants, and now use just
one continuous transmitter.  Trying to keep track of 5 transmitters,  
plus
figure out how to use new equipment to take bearings on all of them,
route choice, multipath, etc. is too complex of a mental task for many
people who are just learning.  I find it best to start simple and let  
them
master one task at a time before trying to combine them all.

Our monthly Yamhill County hunt is this coming Sunday afternoon, and
I'm holding it on foot rather than mobile for a change.  This will  
give me
more of a chance to walk alongside the newcomers and help them out.
I'll put out my set of 5 ARD transmitters for the more experienced  
folks,
but will also have at least 2 continuous transmitters available for  
practice.

Other common problems:

Lack of readily available commercial equipment.  This is one reason we
tend to attract the builders/tinkerers, etc.

Initial hunts that are too difficult, for any of a number of reasons.   
Those
brave souls who try DF for the first time at a Region 2 Championship
have a steep road to climb in a short amount of time.  But I've also  
seen
this due to transmitters too well hidden, equipment failures, etc.  We
had a practice down in Salem earlier this year with over 20 hams
turning out.  Unfortunately the transmitter was over a mile away sitting
low on the ground with a broken antenna connector, so most hunters
had to get 3/4 of the way there before they could hear it at all.  I'm  
trying
to woo many of those back into the fold, but when your first hunt is too
frustrating it is hard to keep up interest.

Physical condition of the participants.  (At the practice in Salem,  
two of
the hunters needed rides back to the start after walking a mile in
the sun.)

The 5 minute sequence (with 4 minute off times) is actually a bit long
for hunts in small areas where the transmitters might only be 2 minutes
apart.  This is a problem with my set of Micro transmitters:  many times
I'd rather put out a set of 3, but I can't easily adjust the timing.


And I suspect that we will have a relatively high dropout rate due to
the nature of the sport and the number of skills it requires.  Some  
folks
aren't in good physical shape, some aren't good at reading maps,
others may not do well trying to read the S-meter on an HT (but would
adjust well to an audio S-meter perhaps), and some aren't comfortable
walking off trails (there is  whole set of skills to walking on rough
ground and choosing your way through the undergrowth when the
path isn't obvious.)  Most of these can be learned or developed with
time, but are not innate, and someone who is not comfortable with
any of them (or all of them in combination) may not enjoy ARDF.

My thoughts, anyway.


	- Dale WB6BYU



On 20 Sep 2009, at 21:38, Marvin Johnston wrote:

>
> Hi everyone,
>
> I would love to hear your thoughts about is what people find fun, and
> what they frustrating about ARDF. Joe and April Moell and myself have
> been putting on ARDF hunts almost every month in So. California for a
> number of years now. Something I've noticed is the relatively low  
> return
> rate of newcomers.
>
> This begs the question of why.
>
> Your comments/thoughts would be very much appreciated!
>
> Thanks!
>
> Marvin, KE6HTS
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