How Geeky charm turned a WWII maneuver into a competitive sport

Meh. It's not political at all and only offensive to hams who are ham-shaped.

I run or bike weekly, and now that I have my first covid jab, have gotten back in the gym on a limited basis (to go full retard once I get the 2nd shot). I frequently take a radio running or biking when the route involves a SOTA or POTA opportunity (I attempted to activate a local state forest under POTA Tuesday midway through my run) or when there's a contest going on and I can operate "pedestrian" or "bicycle" mobile (as I did in the recent VA QSO Party).

There is a pretty decent contingent of hams who are active and integrate radio into their sports. SOTA is a good example of that. Yes, there are drive-up summits, but there are plenty that aren't drive-up and involve fairly strenuous hikes. Not all hams live in their mobility scooters.

Chris

 

Pretty much like most summits in the South Dakota Black Hills. Very few have trails to the top, lots of bushwhacking... Add in the biting flies from the Badlands and you'll have yourself a horrible time!! It'll weed out the weak

 

Wow...even has the typical European music!! I'm sure Will Ferrell could star in a movie about this!

 

I think the ARRL calling contesting "Radiosport" Is insulting to ones intelligence. I am sure there are outliers but contesting means the biggest station, antennas and amplifier's which it far out of reach for most. I happen to know a couple of big time contesters who each have over 100k or more invested. Really what skill is required? Its not Nascar where the best drivers get the best rides.
At least this fox hunting requires skill and endurance, concentration and physical ability so it would fit as a sport. There are just too many hams fooling themselves with the contesting racket.

 

What is "somewhat dated" in this video? ;-) We did it with my friends in St.Petersburg in 2014. Thanks for adding of this link. This video exists in many other languages. (Russian, German etc). You can look at : https://ardf.club/#movie I like ARDF 73, Raisa R1BIG

 

That would be a really interesting challange. Surely a activity to encourage younger participants to amateur radio.

 

I bow down to you, Master.

 

Thanks for the great article!
This how I got interested in radio and electronics back in LZ land as 7th grader.
Chasing these hidden transmitters and building radios to get them.

 

Mostly good at running our mouths and pressing our luck (ptt). As a public health professional I whole heartedly agree with you about the state of our physical health. Proper diet and exercise can go a very long way in reducing medical costs and improving the quality of life. A simple walk each day can do wonders for an individuals health.

During my clinical days I was most surprised by how many people have a vitamin D deficiency; I found that very shocking considering most of the US gets a lot of warm weather and sunshine - it is a clear indication people don’t spend much time outside.

It isn’t at all offensive to state a public health problem especially when there can be a positive outcome from a very basic lifestyle change. Also considering the pandemic and the advise to socially distance - taking a walk can be both mentally and physically rewarding. Bring your radio along and have at it.

Again to circle back you made a good point about the state of global health. We hams should set a high bar as an example for others to follow.

 

But Chris, unless you were only being sardonic, apparently in your locale, there are both a well established and active ORIENTEERING club, the QOC, plus a similarly situated amateur radio club, the W4OVH group, which already participates in outdoor OTA events like Winter Field Day.

They would seem to be natural candidates for a cooperative relationship in ARDF.

 

I was speaking specifically about the more athletically-oriented ARDF events. I used to be a member in W4OVH (before life got too busy for clubs). At least at the time they didn't do the sort of thing shown in the OP and seldom did foxhunting at all (that may be different now). While summer Field Day was a big event for them, they were only just getting into Winter Field Day when I drifted away. I'm still on their email reflector and haven't seen anything to indicate a change.

The QOC is new to me and I'll be checking them out. I used to use topo maps and a compass to navigate backcountry mountain bike trips back before GPS was commonplace, so it would be neat to get back into that sort of thing.

Chris

 

A delightful article; very much appreciated.

 

Vry nice..!!!
De
W0IW

 

Our club here in Ellis County, Texas, does a once a month foxhunt on the last Saturday of the month. I think we have had 6 or 7 now? I love them.
I will use this video to get more folks out to play. We do not usually have to run but our last one was a drive to get the first signal then go find the fox.
Lots of fun. The 144 signal bounce confused me so much I lost finding the fox by 10 seconds. Walked right past it as it showed to be "over there". Argh...
So I am only 5 of the last winner. lol
Thanks for the post!
Ray.

 

Ray, what video do you mean? I would like to inform you and everybody that this ARDF video: https://ardf.club/#movie is made by us here in 2014 aimed at ARDF promotion, there is no ads there and you can download the HD-file online and edit it yourself like you want. The whole film with the "joke" in the first minute could be to long for your goals. So you can reduce it and even add something from your own content.