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 Previous: The K7RA Solar Update |  Next: Beating the Skip |
By Joe Moell, K0OV
Contributing Editor
May 5, 2006
Is nothing finer than ARDF in Carolina? More than two dozen fans of Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) traveled there to find out, and they went home smiling.
The urge for contesting seems to be natural among ham radio operators. Who can QSO the most states, countries or zones in a weekend? Who can amass the most counties worked?
From DXing to microwave operation, nearly every facet of our hobby has its competitions. But there are no more ardent contesters than the ones who take to the fields and forests to see who can locate the greatest number of radio transmitters in the shortest time. They call themselves foxhunters, radio-orienteers and ARDFers. Every year, they come from around the country to see who is best. Every two years, the best from each country gather to see who is tops in the world.
The Sixth USA National ARDF Championships took place April 7-9 near Raleigh, North Carolina. Later this year, the 13th World Championships will get under way on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. A compact weekend schedule was arranged for the USA Championships to minimize time away from work and school--especially important for those who'd like to attend both events.
Tar Heel Transmitter Tracking
"Piedmont" is a French word meaning "foot of the mountain." Raleigh is in the North Carolina Piedmont, at the foot of the Appalachians, with beautiful forests that are ideal for running, walking and finding radio transmitters. No place in the Piedmont is better than the 5300 acres of William B. Umstead State Park, where the 2006 USA Championships were held.
This year's USA Championships organizers were Charles, NZ0I, and Nadia Scharlau of Cary, North Carolina. Both have been consistent medal winners at previous USA Championships. Charles discovered ARDF in the Puget Sound area of Washington and competed in the USA Championships for the first time in 2001. Nadia learned ARDF as a youth in the Soviet Union and won her first gold medal by competing for USSR at the European Championships in 1984.
Both of them represented USA at the World ARDF Championships in 2002 and 2004, where Nadia was among the top six finishers in her category on one band each time. Charles and Nadia partnered with the Backwoods Orienteering Klub, which supplied full-color orienteering maps and medals for the events.
 Charles Scharlau, NZ0I, programs his soon-to-be hidden transmitters prior to the practice session on Friday. [Joe Moell, K0OV, Photo] |
 Besides designing the championship courses, Nadia Scharlau organized a shishkebab cookout after the practice session. [Joe Moell, K0OV, Photo] |
 Jay Hennigan, WB6RDV, leaves the starting line and speeds down the corridor on the 2-meter hunt. [Joe Moell, K0OV, Photo] |
 At the 2-meter finish line, George Neal, KF6YKN, "punches in" on his way to a silver medal. [April Moell, WA6OPS, Photo] |
 Bob Titterington, G3ORY, studies his map and strains his ears to get a bearing as he leaves the 80-meter starting point. [Joe Moell, K0OV, Photo] |
 On his way to a silver medal, Matthew Robbins, AA9YH, runs up the 80-meter finish corridor. [Joe Moell, K0OV, Photo] |
 Robert Vickers, G3ORI, accepts his silver medal for 80 meters and bronze medal for 2 meters from Charles Scharlau, NZ0I. [Joe Moell, K0OV, Photo] |
 Emily DeYoung, K4MLE, youngest competitor at this year's USA Championships, displays her two gold medals. [April Moell, WA6OPS, Photo] |
As in many European countries, the US holds an open national championship, meaning that visitors from other countries are welcome. They compete on an even basis for the gold, silver and bronze medals that are awarded in each age/gender category (five for men and four for women). Visitors this year included three men from England and a couple from Germany. Stateside radio-orienteers enjoyed comparing notes on ARDF equipment and techniques with them.
As in other ham contests, there are "big guns" and "little pistols." All are welcome. California was the best-represented state at this year's national championships. ARDF events have taken place there since 1995, so hams in the Golden State had a head start. California led this year's medal count, but not by much.
An ARDF course isn't challenging if you can't leave the trails. Having hundreds of acres of navigable forest in hilly country gives competitors the opportunity to make route choices and "run the contours" in hopes of minimizing their running distance and their time. Umstead Park is ideal for that. There's lots of room for running and walking among the tall trees, though some care was required to avoid tripping over trees downed by hurricanes or falling into holes left by rotted tree stumps.
Every orienteering venue has its perils. In some places, it's bears or mountain lions. In others, it's snakes. Nobody encountered any of those in Umstead Park, but eyes and tweezers were busy afterwards detecting and removing ticks. Poison ivy also abounds in the park, but no one had an adverse encounter with it.
Quest for the Medals
Activities began Friday, April 7, at noon with a practice and equipment checking session, followed by a cookout and a briefing on safety and other important information about the hunts to come. The 2-meter competition took place Saturday and the 80-meter event on Sunday. Thanks to electronic scoring, it was possible to hold the medal awards ceremony immediately following the 80-meter hunt to accommodate participants who had flights home that evening.
Forecast thunderstorms failed to materialize Saturday during the 2-meter event. Skies were mostly cloudy with occasional light rain, making for good running conditions. Twenty-eight radio-orienteers took to this course beginning shortly after 10 AM. It was intended to be difficult, on par with courses at world championships. However, due to a possible technical problem with transmitter #4, it was announced that competitors would not have to find that "fox."
The best overall time on Saturday (2:00:36) was posted in M21 category by Vadim Afonkin of New York. His performance was remarkable because he found all five transmitters in spite of the fact that he didn't have to get #4. He was almost seven minutes faster than second place M21 finisher Jay Thompson, W6JAY, from southern California. In the hotly contested M40 category, Matthew Robbins, AA9YH, of Indiana won gold by punching the required three transmitters in 2:08:47.
Overall 2-meter gold medal winner in M50 category was Nick Roethe, DF1FO, of Germany. Bob Frey, WA6EZV, took second overall and first for the US in that category. The M60 category was led by Bob Cooley, KF6VSE, of northern California with three foxes in just 2:05:19. In categories for women, the gold medal winners were Emily DeYoung, K4MLE, of Kentucky in D19, Jennifer Harker, W5JEN, of Texas in D21 and Brigitte Roethe of Germany in D35.
The passing cold front brought refrigerator conditions to the Piedmont area Saturday night. The temperature was just 36 degrees with completely clear skies as competitors entered the park for the 80-meter event Sunday morning. Would that be an incentive to run faster? It's normal for ARDF competitors to do better on 80 than on 2, and this time was no exception. Whereas 2-meter times were almost all between two and three hours, the majority of 80-meter times were under two hours.
Once again, Vadim Afonkin took gold in M21 category with 1:31:09, seven minutes ahead of Csaba Tiszttarto of New York in second place. George Neal, KF6YKN, of New York won M40 category in 1:29:59, especially remarkable because he went out of his way to punch the fifth transmitter, which was not required for his category. "For practice," he explained.
It was a very tight race in M50 category. Steve Stone of England was overall winner, followed one minute later by Nick Roethe, DF1FO, of Germany and one minute after that by Jay Hennigan, WB6RDV, of southern California. Gold medal winners of categories M60, D19, D21, and D35 were the same as on 2 meters. In D50, Karla Leach, KC7BLA, of Montana took home the gold.
Other medal recipients (in alphabetical order) were Dick Arnett, WB4SUV, of Kentucky (M60 bronze on 80), Dave D'Epagnier, K0QE, of Colorado (M40 silver on 80 and bronze on 2), Ken Harker, WM5R, of Texas (M21 bronze on 2), Harley Leach, KI7XF, of Montana (M60 silver on 2) and Robert Vickers, G3ORI, of England (M60 silver on 80 and bronze on 2).
Ready for the World
These results, as well as those of last year's USA Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico, determine who receives an invitation to take on radio-orienteers from about two dozen countries later this year. Team USA will travel to Primorsko, Bulgaria, for the 13th ARDF World Championships September 12-17. A maximum of three competitors in each age-gender category may be on a nation's team.
The three categories for males age 20 and above (as of December 31, 2006) already have a full slate of candidates from the championships. The categories for males under 20 and for all females presently have uncontested openings, so it is possible for inexperienced radio-orienteers in these ranges to join the team. It is also possible to attend as a non-competing visitor, but all visitors must be listed as such on the national team roster.
If you are interested in traveling to the 2006 ARDF WCs as a member of Team USA or as a US visitor, contact me now via e-mail (do not contact the Bulgarian organizers directly). If you have not been on Team USA before, include your full name, call sign, mailing address, home phone number, and date of birth.
If you wish to participate as a citizen of another North or South American country (non-US), e-mail IARU Region 2 ARDF Coordinator Dale Hunt, WB6BYU. Canadians should also contact RAC ARDF Coordinator Joe Young, VE7BFK.
For more information about the 2006 World Championships, including location, transportation, housing, meals, special events station and tours, download Bulletin #1 and Bulletin #2 from the organizers.
Complete results of the 2006 USA Championships are available online at the 2006 USA ARDF Championships Web site. Lots of photos were taken and are being published on the Web. Go to my Homing In Web site for links to these photo pages as they appear, as well as much more about the growing sport of ARDF.
Where and when will next year's national championships be held? Several sites are under consideration and a decision will be made later this year. If you think your locality has suitable sites and the other resources necessary for a top notch ARDF event, please contact me.
If you haven't experienced on-foot foxhunting yourself, why not give it a try? You don't have to be an Olympic athlete to have a great time. It's a wonderful way to get the whole family involved in an outdoor ham radio activity. A good time to experience ARDF for the first time (or the 100th) would be the National Foxhunting Weekend (NFW), sponsored by CQ Magazine. This year's NFW will be May 13-14.
See you in the park!
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