All Night
Transmitter Hunt
Hider: Paul WB6HPW and Peter
While browsing maps in February 2019 looking for a T-hide location that month, Peter (GrandFAT) and I came across an interesting-looking spot we code-named Blind Faith. We used one of Scott N6MI’s amps driven by a “transmitter with an attitude” built by brother Martin WB6YMI. As it turned out the transmitter couldn’t be heard at the starting point but I instructed people to “head east.” Eventually in the Moreno Valley, Idyllwild or Palm Desert area it could be heard and it kept hunters searching around Hwy 74 / Pinyon Pines area for hours but Blind Faith was never found.
Fast forward to July 29, when of course we hid there again with the “T with an attitude.” We added a T at Box Springs Mountain Reserve from which we were easily heard at Pathfinder, and we thought for sure from there Blind Faith would be heard because I had heard Blind Faith from Norco in February. Well that didn’t turn out to be the case and again we instructed hunters to “head east” after finding the Box Springs T. Still no one found Blind Faith.
Fast forward again to April 2020 where we had another opportunity to hide. This time we took no chances and put a 30W ammo can T in Idyllwild area (IDing as N6MI) with a log-periodic antenna at a high spot on Forest Road 5S21 east of town with an excellent view toward Pathfinder. (It turns out I forgot to turn on the amp in the ammo can T so we were transmitting only 1 watt, not 30, but hearing the T wasn’t a problem anyway.) Blind Faith could be heard from there also; in this case, Blind Faith was a 30W T transmitting into a 4-element yagi, IDing as N6MI T22, with no attitude. There were 4 hunters; N6MI, WA6RJN, WA6CYY, and KA6UDZ (UDZ relayed to me his own story which he can post if he wishes). From aprs.fi, I could follow N6MI, RJN and CYY.
Scott N6MI had a bearing of 91˚ true from Pathfinder on the N6MI T, which, surprisingly, is 14 degrees too far north considering there’s no reflector close to 91˚ and there’s a straight shot from the N6MI T to Pathfinder. Scott had bearings of 140˚ from the end of Double View Road in Idyllwild to both the N6MI and T22/Blind Faith Ts, whereas the correct values are 95˚ and XXX˚, respectively. Anyway both N6MI and WA6RJN found the N6MI T around 1:05 pm. UDZ got very close to this T but didn’t quite find it. Not sure about CYY.
N6MI T map, detail and photo
Just to make this third hide even “easier,” a “helper T” (T3) housed in a CD-ROM case was added along Highway 371 just west of the 371/74 junction, at a spot where Blind Faith could be heard reasonably well; reported headings were generally south. N6MI found this T around 3:45 pm and RJN sometime later. CYY was very close to this T, not sure if he found it or not.
CD-ROM T3 map, detail and photo
From aprs.fi I followed N6MI and WA6RJN, apparently looking for Blind Faith, all over the Terwilliger Valley / Aguanga area. RJN continued down to Warner Springs and beyond, but again Blind Faith was not found.
I didn’t receive any reports of mileage from any hunters, but since N6MI and WA6RJN found two Ts, and because N6MI instructed me to declare RJN the winner, I am officially doing so.
Next time the starting point will be at the Paradise Valley Café near T3. If (of course, it’s a big if) I enter and win the May ADTH, the hide would be on October 24 according to my math.
Other possibly useful information:
Bob and Kathy Miller were not on the hunt but reported a strong signal on T22 at Chiriaco Summit, pointing towards Santa Rosa Mountain.
N6MI Pictures
While browsing maps in February 2019 looking for a T-hide location that month, Peter (GrandFAT) and I came across an interesting-looking spot we code-named Blind Faith. We used one of Scott N6MI’s amps driven by a “transmitter with an attitude” built by brother Martin WB6YMI. As it turned out the transmitter couldn’t be heard at the starting point but I instructed people to “head east.” Eventually in the Moreno Valley, Idyllwild or Palm Desert area it could be heard and it kept hunters searching around Hwy 74 / Pinyon Pines area for hours but Blind Faith was never found.
Fast forward to July 29, when of course we hid there again with the “T with an attitude.” We added a T at Box Springs Mountain Reserve from which we were easily heard at Pathfinder, and we thought for sure from there Blind Faith would be heard because I had heard Blind Faith from Norco in February. Well that didn’t turn out to be the case and again we instructed hunters to “head east” after finding the Box Springs T. Still no one found Blind Faith.
Fast forward again to April 2020 where we had another opportunity to hide. This time we took no chances and put a 30W ammo can T in Idyllwild area (IDing as N6MI) with a log-periodic antenna at a high spot on Forest Road 5S21 east of town with an excellent view toward Pathfinder. (It turns out I forgot to turn on the amp in the ammo can T so we were transmitting only 1 watt, not 30, but hearing the T wasn’t a problem anyway.) Blind Faith could be heard from there also; in this case, Blind Faith was a 30W T transmitting into a 4-element yagi, IDing as N6MI T22, with no attitude. There were 4 hunters; N6MI, WA6RJN, WA6CYY, and KA6UDZ (UDZ relayed to me his own story which he can post if he wishes). From aprs.fi, I could follow N6MI, RJN and CYY.
Scott N6MI had a bearing of 91˚ true from Pathfinder on the N6MI T, which, surprisingly, is 14 degrees too far north considering there’s no reflector close to 91˚ and there’s a straight shot from the N6MI T to Pathfinder. Scott had bearings of 140˚ from the end of Double View Road in Idyllwild to both the N6MI and T22/Blind Faith Ts, whereas the correct values are 95˚ and XXX˚, respectively. Anyway both N6MI and WA6RJN found the N6MI T around 1:05 pm. UDZ got very close to this T but didn’t quite find it. Not sure about CYY.
N6MI T map, detail and photo
Just to make this third hide even “easier,” a “helper T” (T3) housed in a CD-ROM case was added along Highway 371 just west of the 371/74 junction, at a spot where Blind Faith could be heard reasonably well; reported headings were generally south. N6MI found this T around 3:45 pm and RJN sometime later. CYY was very close to this T, not sure if he found it or not.
CD-ROM T3 map, detail and photo
From aprs.fi I followed N6MI and WA6RJN, apparently looking for Blind Faith, all over the Terwilliger Valley / Aguanga area. RJN continued down to Warner Springs and beyond, but again Blind Faith was not found.
I didn’t receive any reports of mileage from any hunters, but since N6MI and WA6RJN found two Ts, and because N6MI instructed me to declare RJN the winner, I am officially doing so.
Next time the starting point will be at the Paradise Valley Café near T3. If (of course, it’s a big if) I enter and win the May ADTH, the hide would be on October 24 according to my math.
Other possibly useful information:
Bob and Kathy Miller were not on the hunt but reported a strong signal on T22 at Chiriaco Summit, pointing towards Santa Rosa Mountain.
N6MI Pictures