1. FOX HUNTING 101 RADIO DIRECTION FINDING TECHNIQUES SAFETY FIRST!
WATCH YOUR SURROUNDINGS—
ESPECIALLY WHEN DRIVING
K0YY

2. FOX HUNT PURPOSE AND TECHNIQUES
TO FIND A HIDDEN FOX TRANSMITTER
LEARN HOW TO USE YOUR EQUIPMENT FOR RDF
USE RDF TECHNIQUES THAT WORK
NOTIFY NET CONTROL OF STATUS— DON’T ANNOUNCE FOX LOCATION
LIMITED TIME FOR SEARCHING

3. BASIC RADIO DIRECTION FINDING (RDF) TECHNIQUES
1. YOU ARE CHECKING THE SIGNAL STRENGTH AND DIRECTION FROM YOU TO THE FOX TRANSMITTER-- YOU MAY LOOK FOR A SIGNAL MAXIMUM OR A MINIMUM TO INDICATE THE DIRECTION TO THE FOX, DEPENDING ON WHAT WORKS BEST WITH YOUR AVAILABLE EQUIPMENT. THE STRONGER THE SIGNAL THE CLOSER YOU ARE.
2. YOU CAN USE “BODY BLOCKING” OR HOLDING YOUR TRANSCEIVER CLOSE TO YOUR BODY AND TURNING IN A CIRCLE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SIGNAL STRENGTH-- WHEN THE SIGNAL STRENGTH IS AT THE LOWEST, THE FOX IS BEHIND YOU. WHEN IT IS AT THE HIGHEST, THE FOX IS IN FRONT OF YOU.
3. WHEN YOU ARE CLOSE TO THE FOX YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR RECEIVER ANTENNA POLARITY TO REDUCE THE SIGNAL STRENGTH AND GET A BETTER INDICATION OF DIRECTION-- CROSS POLORIZATION (IF THE FOX ANTENA IS VERTICALLY POLORIZED, HOLDING YOUR RADIO/ANTENNA IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE) CAN REDUCE A SIGNAL BY AROUND 25 DB.

4. 4. POINTING YOUR RUBBER DUCK ANTENNA MAY CHANGE SIGNAL STRENGTH-- WHEN THE RUBBER DUCK ANTENNA IS DIRECTLY POINTING AT THE FOX, THE SIGNAL WILL LIKELY BE THE WEAKEST.
5. MORE ADVANCED TECHNIQUES MAY USE A DIRECTIONAL ANTENNA SUCH AS A YAGI OR LOOP ANTENNA. SIGNAL STRENGTH WILL BE GREATEST OFF THE FRONT OF A YAGI. SIGNAL STRENGTH WILL BE AT A MINIMUM WHEN THE PLANE OF A LOOP IS IN LINE WITH THE DIRECTION OF THE FOX-- SIGNAL STRENGTH WILL BE GREATEST WHEN THE LOOP IS PERPANDICULAR TO THE FOX. HOWEVER, WITH A LOOP ANTENNA THE SIGNAL COULD BE IN TWO DIRECTIONS OFF THE FRONT OR BACK OF THE LOOP. YOU HAVE TO DETERMINE WHAT IS THE ACTUAL DIRECTION BY TRIAL AND ERROR. (MOVE AND CHECK AGAIN).
6. STEP OR VARIABLE ATTENUATORS ARE USEFUL TO REDUCE THE RECEIVED STRENGTH OF THE FOX SIGNAL AS YOU GET CLOSER TO THE FOX TRANSMITTER-- IF THE FOX SIGNAL JUST PINS YOUR S METER IT IS DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE THE DIRECTION TO THE FOX. YOU ADD MORE ATTENUATION AS YOU GET CLOSER TO THE FOX.

6. 7. YOU CAN LOOSEN OR OPEN THE SQUELCH ON YOUR RADIO TO LISTEN FOR WEAK SIGNALS.
8. YOU CAN TUNE UP OR DOWN OFF OF THE FOX’S FREQUENCY 5 KHZ OR SO TO REDUCE THE SIGNAL STRENGTH FOR STRONG SIGNALS.
9. WHILE IN SEARCH MODE, ESPECIALLY DRIVING, IT IS HELPFUL TO WORK IN TEAMS WITH ONE PERSON CHECKING DIRECTION AND SIGNAL STRENGTH AND ANOTHER PERSON WATCHING THE ROAD AND TRAFFIC.
10. THERE ARE MORE ADVANCED TECHNIQUES USING ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT THAT YOU CAN BUILD OR PURCHASE FROM COMPANIES THAT SPECIALIZE IN RDF EQUIPMENT.

7. ADVANCED FOX HUNTING TECHNIQUES
DIRECTIONAL ANTENNAS WITH STEP ATTENUATORS—YAGIS AND LOOPS
--SEE DEMO OF YAGI/ATTENUATOR
TRIANGULATION FROM SEVERAL STATIONS WORKING TOGETHER—
--USING MAP AND COMPASS
--DIFFERENT LOCATIONS TAKING BEARINGS TO SEE WHERE THE BEARINGS CROSS
DOPPLER SHIFT SYSTEMS—FANCY ELECTRONICS POINTS THE WAY

8. INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOX TRANSMITTER
THE TRANSMIT POWER IS LOW TO PROVIDE A CHALLENGE
THE FREQUENCY IS MHZ SIMPLEX
THE TRANSMITTER CONTROLLER SENDS OUT AN FM SIGNAL AND TONES
THE TRANSMIT DURATION CAN BE VARIED
THE FOX IS IN A GREEN AMMO BOX
THE ANTENNA CAN BE VARIED

9. SUMMARY SAFETY FIRST– WATCH YOUR SURROUNDINGS
USE RDF SEARCH TECHNIQUES TO FIND THE FOX
UNDERSTAND THE TRANSMIT PATTERN OF THE FOX
WORKING IN TEAMS CAN IMPROVE YOUR RESULTS
COORDINATING FREQUENCY IS MHZ CTCSS 141.3
--CHECK IN FREQUENTLY FOR UPDATES
--ANNOUNCE WHEN YOU FIND IT (BUT NOT WHERE)