East Sussex Radio Foxhunt Group www.RadioFoxhunt.co.uk
About Foxhunting
Firstly, it should be pointed out that radio
foxhunting, despite its name, does not contain any foxes or dogs - the name is
purely taken as a similarity as the team being found are known as 'foxes' and
the teams tracking are known as 'hounds'. The following provides some basic
general information about what is needed and what to expect on a hunt.
The Foxes
Foxhunting involves several groups of radio 'hams'
participating in a tracking exercise. One of the groups (typically the winners
of the previous hunt) is designated as the foxes, and their role is to hide
themselves within a six mile radius of a given location (such as a
town/village, or local landmark - somewhere that is distinguishable on a map),
which is circulated to all participants in advance of the day.
The foxes will often need to do a preparation session
before the hunt day to find suitable locations to hide. The criteria
for locations is that they are publicly accessible via roads or
footpaths and bridalways. This means that we avoid
the possibility of trespass and that all foxes are able to be found with some
tracking skills.
Once the day has arrived, the foxhunt will start at a
previously specified time. This is kicked off by each fox in the team
transmitting for around one minute continuously, each following on from each
other, at five minute intervals. This allows the hounds to start tracking, as
described below. The fox hunt continues for a two hour period from its start
time, although hopefully each fox will have been found by each time by the end
of this time period. During the transmission period, the foxes are not allowed
to move location, although can vary their power and transmission media to try
and confuse the hounds! Foxes can be found in various unexpected locations,
such as in large prickly bushes, up trees and even in rivers!
As a fox, the only equipment that is needed is a
transmitter, to which most people will generally use a small handheld which has
the ability to transmit on the hunt transmission frequency, and a watch to ensure
the timing is kept correct. Foxes have often been known to vary this to include
aerials with a greater range and transmitters with a higher power output. Other
recommended items are something comfortable to sit on, clothing to keep warm
and dry, and food and drink to keep the foxes refreshed.
The Hounds
The hounds, previously informed of the given location,
position themselves within the six mile radius ready for the start time. Using
directional aerials, the hounds work out the location of the foxes, first by
taking bearings against a map, and then tracking via radio signal strength and
sight once in the rough vicinity of where in foxes are hiding.
Generally, the hounds will use the designated
transmission frequency to listen on whilst homing in on, however when getting
closer, harmonics (which are multiples of the original frequency) will often be
used as they can be picked up on when the fox is close by.
Whilst the role of the fox can be performed only by
licensed radio amateurs due to the need to be able to transmit on the
restricted bands, the role of a hound can be completed by anyone with suitable
equipment as this does not involve transmitting on the band.
The basic equipment for the hounds comprises of a
vehicle (pretty important for traveling the distances covered on the hunt!), a
receiver for the hunt frequency (which it is often recommended should cover one
of the multiple harmonics to help to locate the fox) and a directional aerial.
Strong boots and warm, weatherproof clothing should also be worn due to the
varying weather and physical conditions that can to found during the course of
the hunt. Hounds have also developed other methods to try and track foxes, some
more effective than others so you may see some weird varieties over the course
of the hunt.
For specific information on the ESRFG hunts, please
see the 'About Us' section. www.RadioFoxhunt.co.uk