All Day Transmitter Hunt
Hider: Tom K6VCR and Joe KE6PHB
Tom's story.
The plans that Scott and I had made for
this hunt were foiled by health issues with Scott so on Thursday evening, I
started making a plan for a hide a little bit closer to home and enlisted the
aid of my San Diego hunting partner Joe, KE6PHB. I looked at several places
using computer modeling and decided on Margarita Peak for the main transmitted
location. I hoped that being from San Diego that the hunters would assume it was
there and take the 5 freeway instead of the 15 freeway. JPI reported that there
was no signal at Green River, it is assumed that the rest of the hunters took my
bait and came down the 5.
T-1 was running 1 watt into an 11 element
beam. The sign in sheet at T-1 proclaimed that everyone on the hunt had hidden
there at least once and that it was a favorite 6.5 mile dirt road that everybody
(especially JPI) loved very much. This T was only heard at the start
point.
T-2 was a squawk box with a rubber duck
hidden 300' from T-1 up the road at the gate. The only one who found this
transmitter was some 4 legged critter, possibly a skunk or a raccoon. It ripped
into the plastic bag that the T was in, opened up the altoid tin and had it's
way with the circuit board. It also ripped into the separate bag that contained
the sign in sheet. Needless to say, none of the official hunters found T-2. At
least it had not hidden or hunted a T in this location before...
T-3 was an AF6O box into a 4 element
beam. It was hidden several miles down Teneja Truck Trail and was filling the
valley with signal. It has been rumored that AIN drove up the De Luz dirt
road/Teneja Truck Trail which he entered in the Fallbrook area. That is one
long, slow, dirt road. He was distracted by something and then realized that the
signal was behind him and elected not to go back for it.
T-4 was 4 watts into a 5/8 wave vertical.
This was the loud, annoying, Picon tones that could be heard just about
everywhere. I don't know what the unusual structure was, may a covert microwave
relay site.
T-5 was another squawk box with a hot rod
antenna. This site was a local lovers lane type of hang out. This T was very
loud in several places.
