There was a strong showing of eleven beginners, and two intermediate-level radio orienteers, on this warm, humid, July morning. A few Radio Orienteering experts were also on hand.

The beginners worked as a group, walking together, learning the basics of operating an 80m direction-finding receiver. For simplicity, all beginner participants used identical R3500D receivers. With everyone using the same type of receiving device, the instructor was able to provide directions that everyone could follow. The beginner transmitters were continuously on-the-air on different frequencies so that they could be tracked by all participants at all times. They were spaced to create a 1.5 km course with each “fox” transmitter being slightly farther and more challenging to locate. All participants found their way first to the finish beacon, then to the three continuously-operating foxes, and finally back to the start.

While the beginners were busy learning the ropes, two intermediate direction finders got personalized instruction from Nadia Scharlau, KO4ADV. Ian Ware and Tiger Zhao stormed ahead, first warming up with the beginner transmitters, and then moving on to the 3-fox intermediate course. Ian and Tiger had both completed Nadia’s Town of Cary-sponsored youth beginner class the week before, so they were able to make short work of finding all three “cycling” foxes without errors. (Cycling refers to transmitters that all share the same frequency, but transmit in a timed, repeating cycle, such that only one fox is on-the-air at any given time.) Brady Powell made the leap from beginner to intermediate by locating the intermediate-level foxes after having completed the introductory class.

Beginners and intermediate radio orienteering course participants are not competing, so there are no timed results to show. The results of the expert radio orienteers are presented below.

Results

Expert Course