Chris LaRosee, KC1TSA, writes on the Boston ARC mailing list:
I’m planning to introduce a 4-weekend RF Foxhunting course and plan to pitch the idea tomorrow at our meeting. The course aims to dive into RF foxhunting, mixing theory with hands-on practice. It’s a chance to sharpen our skills and potentially draw in new faces to the hobby. Here’s the breakdown:
– **Week 1**: I’ll cover the basics—what foxhunting is, the gear we need, and understanding RF propagation with a field demo of polar patterns.
– **Week 2**: Shirley KE1L will guide us in building our own directional antennas. It’s a DIY project with immediate practical use.
– **Week 3**: Liam Platt, an electrical engineer, will help us build diode-based attenuators. We’ve got custom PCBs and all parts ready.
– **Week 4**: We wrap up with a real foxhunt, using the gear we’ve built.
**Costs & Materials**: We’re looking at around $132 per person to cover materials (antennas, attenuators, radios) if we have 5 people join. This includes everything they need to start, with a bit of margin for the unexpected.
**Goals**: Beyond the fun and learning, this could be a great way to get more people into RF and ham radio. It’s hands-on, it’s outdoors, and it ends with everyone actually using what they’ve built.
I’ll go into more detail during our meeting tomorrow, but wanted to give you a heads-up. Looking forward to making this happen!