80 Meter Fox in Westford, June 1, 2019

Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, writes on the foxhunting list on June 1 at 12:14 PM:

There is an 80m fox  deployed in Cider Mill Pond in Westford.  Note that this conservation area is  now 55 acres bigger due to a recent purchase by the Town of Westford.

It is designed to automatically turn on around 8 AM, and automatically turn off  around 7 PM.  It should actually transmit a “QRT” message as it goes down.  If  you hear it transmitting a “LOW POWER” message, let me know, as that means the  battery is nearly depleted.

I’m curious to see how long the battery lasts with my latest improvements.

Frequency: 3579-3580ish.

4 Comments on “80 Meter Fox in Westford, June 1, 2019”

  1. Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ writes on the foxhunting list on June 1 at 1:13 PM:

    I have confirmed that the transmitter is working correctly. George (K1IG) has already found the fox.

    With the el-cheapo fox receiver R3500D, one can just barely hear the fox at the parking area. With the RigExpert receiver, the fox is much more audible.

    Have fun and 73!

  2. Bob Evans, N1BE, writes on the foxhunting list on June 4, 2019 at 2:22 PM:

    If you’re inclined to homebrew, you can use the plans for an 80-meter DF receiver by Dale Hunt, WB6BYU, in the September 2005 QST. This includes a directional antenna. I built this RX and it works pretty well.

    A kit of parts for the antenna may be available from KE6HTS. See his web page at
    http://www.west.net/~marvin/wb6byu.htm

  3. Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, writes on the foxhunting list on June 4, 2019 at 6:20 PM:

    This evening, around 5:30 PM, I retrieved the 80m fox. It was not transmitting, so likely its batteries are exhausted. I’ll do a post-mortem analysis and let you know if I find anything unusual.

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