After a week of freezing temps the day dawned much warmer than usual, reaching into the 70s by mid-day, perfect for a picnic and foxhunt. We had a great turn out with several new families joining us. Glenn (KD4ULB) and Pete (K4QHR) manned the grill cooking up burgers, dogs, and some country sausage to go along with all the great side dishes and desserts. After a great meal we held a quick club meeting, then held elections for this year's club officers. A well deserved and heartfelt thanks went out to the 2007 officers for all their efforts and dedication, especially our President, Joe Bezy (AA4BZ), who has been the driving force behind our club's growth over the last few years. After all the ballots were counted and tabulated, Tom (K4TMN) was elected President and Glenn (KD4ULB) was elected as our new VP. John (WD8LQT) was reelected as our Secretary and Bill (KD1Q) returned as our Treasurer. Congratulations to our new and returning officers! Tom (K4TMN) once again provided a challenging fox hunt, especially when a quick visit by Murphy resulted in the antenna lead disconnecting from the fox transmitter board, reducing the output power to just a few milliwatts. To help hunters get in the ballpark, Tom set up a beacon transmitter on a different frequency near the fox. Several teams set out with various types of equipment in the hopes of being the first to find the fox, grab a numbered card, and claim their prize;
- John (WD8LQT) and his son Ken (KI4FMV) teamed up again using and HT and lightweight 3 element 2m yagi
- Thurston (W6NY) was on a quest to keep his 1st place crown from last year, armed with an HT, 30db attenuation switch box, and 3 element 2m yagi
- Israel (KF4YLQ) joined the search with an HT and new RDF loop antenna
- Glenn (KD4ULB), #2 last year, teamed up this time with his lovely XYL, Brenda, using a dual-band HT, 40db attenuation switch box, and home brew 4 element 2m yagi
The beacon was elusive enough but eventually the signal was found and the hunt was on. It was a perfect day for walking, sunny but cool. In the end, the KD4ULB team were the first to pick up the signal of the fox itself but the other teams were close behind. After a bit more triangulation, the fox was located behind one of the park buildings, attached to a tree. Team KD4ULB were first, followed by W6NY seconds later, with Team WD8LQT and KF4YLQ just behind him. Thanks to Tom, K4TMN, for another excellent hunt!
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