October fox chooses Leo lair

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foxhunt cartoonThe October foxhunt occurred on 4 October amidst a beautiful mid-Fall Sunday. There were three hunter teams participating in this contest. Jim & Annie Pliett, K9OMA & KA9YYI plus Al & Carole Burke, WB9’s SSE & RUS formed team number one. Team number two included Charles Ward, KC9MUT, Fred Gengnagel, KC9EZP and Robert Dean, KC9UHU. And the Machamers, Jim & Kim, KB9’s DOS & DOT filled out team number three. All three teams awaited the warbling of the wiley fox from their starting point at Cobin Memorial Park.

Meanwhile, Steve & Linda Nardin, W9’s SAN & LAN, and their grandson Alex served as the fox and thus, for this hunt, skulled around the Leo/Cedarville Pavilion at Grabill and Schwartz Roads and ensconced the micro-fox amidst and under some rock features in the Pavilion complex. Since the micro-fox blurped out just a few milli-watts, its meager signal was augmented by a high power fox via a mobile rig driving a yagi for the initial portions of the hunt.

With Linda at the mic taunting the three hunter teams, the contest started on time at 13:30 hours and all three teams heard the high power fox’s emissions on 146.340 MHz from the get-go. So everyone exited Cobin Park in a cloud of screeching rubber and headed east.

It wasn’t long before the three team vehicles became separated and we were on our own. We wound up taking Lake to Maplecreast, following the DF readings on the high power fox we were getting, and finally wound up on East Dupont Rd. /Indiana 1, although the details of just how we got there are a little fuzzy. All I know is that we drove safely and consistently towards the fox signal, perhaps frightening the local residents a little as we passed by with the menacing antenna mounted on the roof of Jim’s van and the blank robotic stares we gave them as we passed. The Star Wars music Jim had blaring from the radio added to the effect, hee hee.

When we got into Leo/Cedarville we started hearing the microfox as well as the high power fox, and at that point the DF readings had us turn southeast onto Grabill Rd. and across the Cedarville Reservoir finally ending up at the Leo/Grabill Pavilion where we found the Ward/Gengnagle/Dean team of hunters, in addition to the hunted. Fred had been the first to find the microfox followed by Charles and Robert, around forty six minutes into the hunt. Our team located it about eight minutes later and Jim & Kim found it twenty six minutes after that.

Following the hunt everyone proceeded to the Dairy-Sweet Drive-In in Grabill and explored the wonders of their menu. I must admit it offered a surprisingly large selection. While enjoying the repast we agreed that the last hunt of the year (in November) would feature Charles, Fred and Bob as the fox, and would conclude with the annual get-together out at Jim and Annie Pliett’s QTH for a bonfire and chow-down featuring hot dogs, chili and, well you know, the usual stuff.

So the final foxhunt of the year will occur on 1 November, same time, same place. The fox will transmit on 146.855 MHz, and we will use 146.760 MHz as the intercom. Immediately following the hunt the Pliett’s will host the end-of-season bon-fire at their home out on Wappes Rd.

Based upon the outcome of the October hunt, scores for October, and cumulative for the year are as follows:

Hunter October points Year-to-date points
K9OMA 2 22.66
KA9YYI 2 20.66
WB9RUS 2 27.33
WB9SSE 2 28.33
W9SAN 6.67 16.67
W9LAN 6.67 16.67
Alex 6.67 14.67
KB9DOS 1 15
KB9DOT 1 16
KC9MUT 3 33.25
KC9UHU 3 31.25
KC9EZP 4 (first to find) 22.25
KC9UOQ 0 9.5
KK4QXC 0 7.5

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