Fox Hunt

August, 2018

10,000 steps. That is what some are suggesting it takes for us to maintain a healthy lifestyle. 10,000 steps every day! For our Fox Hunt, I walked about 17, 495steps. I realize that the Fox hunt is not everyone’s cup of tea. It can be a little stressful. It could mean cutting through rugged terrain, but if all you did was follow some of the hunters around, it would be a good form of exercise. Now, most of all those health benefits may have been lost after the event as we gathered for some adult beverages and food! (Well, some people did…hoo-rah for those disciplined enough to only order water!!)

We had a great night. The weather was perfect. No mosquitoes. Lots of interesting strategies at play. The winner, as it has been for the past couple of seasons, was Warren Pugh. He uses one of these newer synthesized foxhunt sniffers. When there is a signal to track this device produces an audible tone that get louder as you get closer to the device. It is amazing how effective these tools can be. Now, even with this assist, it takes some skills to find the fox. Warren was at the hidden fox site early on, but it took more time to find where it was hidden. Turns out, last year’s winner, Pete Walter- K9PWT, hid the fox right under a well-placed safety cone. This decoy alluded many hunters. Pete left behind two of his prized Viking Sniffers for others to use. These little devices are amazing. They do all the work…all you need are feet and a willingness to walk. I offered them to some of our newest hunters, Tami Witbrot and Forrest Lamb. Well, they found the wee fox and placed second and third respectively. Tami did it even in flip flops! Proving that you don’t need fancy technology to get the job done, Casey Diers came in 4th with his home brew yard stick antenna.

I demonstrated to myself that even the simplest ideas will work as well. I ended up using my radio and a paper clip in the antenna mount (specially hand made mount). I knew I was on top of the fox but could not find it, even going to the third harmonic, so I drifted on and walked right past it. I did not see anyone else, so I figured I was lost or confused and was about to give up. That is when I ran into fellow hunter Marty Boroff. He had a synthesizer device but with a telescoping antenna. Seeing him renewed my competitive charge to at least find the dang thing. I knew I was not going to win. At my age, even placing is a badge of honor. I charged past him to the place where I had been earlier and now found a few other hunters, basically confirming my suspicions. My fancy dancy Yagi antenna and stepdown attenuator got me to the place, but the attenuator was not working. It is on my bench now. That is why I resorted to the paper clip strategy. I came in 6th but proud that I found it.

Al Hovey handled all communication for the event at the Starbucks in the Glen and had a hand full of people with him socializing. 22 of us ended up at a little Irish restaurant pub down the street afterwards. It was a magical night.

This event is a time-honored tradition with our club. For years, we would start at the Harger Center in downtown Highland Park and then do our hunt east to the lake. We had a very large area to cover, or so it seemed. It would take many of us 30- 40 minutes just to get to the general vicinity of the fox…and we had to walk through a busy downtown area. Imagine all of us pirouetting down Central Street with our radios. (If you don’t know, when the fox broadcasts, you typically spin in a circle to see if you can discern a null or a signal strength indicator. People did ask, “what the heck are you doing? “In the end, the final push would be to find the Fox often cleverly hidden under brush or bush or trash can. By then it was often quite dark outside, and the mosquitoes would be competing for our blood. We moved to the Glen a couple of years ago to get a change in scene and try different terrain. The Glen Town Center, the site of the former Glenview Naval Air Station has some interesting features and so far, has been an engaging place for this event. I encourage all of you to try it, for the walk alone!

Getting Involved

We are seeing some turnover with some of our Board positions this year and will be seeking your help. We are looking for someone to help manage our web site; help with internal communications; help with our annual action…specifically we are looking for someone with an eye for detail and enjoys tracking sales. We expect to build a team to support this effort…we need a data cruncher to help manage the sales flow, a web salesperson and a team of folks to check and clean up the gear. There are many other ways you can support your club. If you have an interest in doing more for the club, please contact me. If everyone does a small part, it makes a big job smaller.

ROB’S BLOG
August Blog 2018 10,000 steps.  That is what some are suggesting it takes for us to maintain a healthy lifestyle. 10,000 steps every day! For our Fox Hunt, I walked about 17, 495steps. I realize that the Fox hunt is not everyone’s cup of tea.  It can be a little stressful.  It could mean cutting through rugged terrain, but if all you did was follow some of the hunters around, it would be a good form of exercise.  Now, most of all those health benefits may have been lost after the event as we gathered for some adult beverages and food! (Well, some people did…hoo-rah for those disciplined enough to only order water!!)We had a great night. The weather was perfect.  No mosquitoes.  Lots of interesting strategies at play.  The winner, as it has been for the past couple of seasons, was Warren Pugh.  He uses one of these newer synthesized foxhunt sniffers.  When there is a signal to track this device produces an audible tone that get louder as you get closer to the device.  It is amazing how effective these tools can be. Now, even with this assist, it takes some skills to find the fox.  Warren was at the hidden fox site early on, but it took more time to find where it was hidden.  Turns out, last year’s winner, Pete Walter- K9PWT, hid the fox right under a well-placed safety cone. This decoy alluded many hunters.   Pete left behind two of his prized Viking Sniffers for others to use. These little devices are amazing. They do all the work…all you need are feet and a willingness to walk. I offered them to some of our newest hunters, Tami Witbrot and Forrest Lamb.  Well, they found the wee fox and placed second and third respectively. Tami did it even in flip flops!  Proving that you don’t need fancy technology to get the job done, Casey Diers came in 4th with his home brew yard stick antenna.I demonstrated to myself that even the simplest ideas will work as well.  I ended up using my radio and a paper clip in the antenna mount (specially hand made mount).  I knew I was on top of the fox but could not find it, even going to the third harmonic, so I drifted on and walked right past it. I did not see anyone else, so I figured I was lost or confused and was about to give up. That is when I ran into fellow hunter Marty Boroff.  He had a synthesizer device but with a telescoping antenna. Seeing him renewed my competitive charge to at least find the dang thing.  I knew I was not going to win.  At my age, even placing is a badge of honor. I charged past him to the place where I had been earlier and now found a few other hunters, basically confirming my suspicions.  My fancy dancy Yagi antenna and stepdown attenuator got me to the place, but the attenuator was not working.  It is on my bench now.  That is why I resorted to the paper clip strategy.  I came in 6th but proud that I found it.Al Hovey handled all communication for the event at the Starbucks in the Glen and had a hand full of people with him socializing.  22 of us ended up at a little Irish restaurant pub down the street afterwards.  It was a magical night. This event is a time-honored tradition with our club. For years, we would start at the Harger Center in downtown Highland Park and then do our hunt east to the lake.  We had a very large area to cover, or so it seemed.  It would take many of us 30- 40 minutes just to get to the general vicinity of the fox…and we had to walk through a busy downtown area.  Imagine all of us pirouetting down Central Street with our radios.  (If you don’t know, when the fox broadcasts, you typically spin in a circle to see if you can discern a null or a signal strength indicator. People did ask, “what the heck are you doing? “In the end, the final push would be to find the Fox often cleverly hidden under brush or bush or trash can.  By then it was often quite dark outside, and the mosquitoes would be competing for our blood.  We moved to the Glen a couple of years ago to get a change in scene and try different terrain.  The Glen Town Center, the site of the former Glenview Naval Air Station has some interesting features and so far, has been an engaging place for this event.  I encourage all of you to try it, for the walk alone! Getting InvolvedWe are seeing some turnover with some of our Board positions this year and will be seeking your help.  We are looking for someone to help manage our web site; help with internal communications; help with our annual action…specifically we are looking for someone with an eye for detail and enjoys tracking sales.  We expect to build a team to support this effort…we need a data cruncher to help manage the sales flow, a web salesperson and a team of folks to check and clean up the gear.  There are many other ways you can support your club.  If you have an interest in doing more for the club, please contact me.  If everyone does a small part, it makes a big job smaller.