ALL-DAY T-HUNT

REPORT BY:

WB6JPI

OCTOBER 25, 2014

 

 

It was a fine day for an all day T-hunt. Since it was a “start anywhere at anytime” hunt I listened at Friday evening and could hear very weak signal Iding as T 7. A I could only hear it on my vertical antenna (10 dB stick at 35 ft) I didn’t get any bearing. I could not hear it in the Prius and my big beam was pointed SW with a broken rotor and couldn’t hear anything. I think I heard T1 but maybe not.

 

At 6:30AM Saturday I left for Summit. I arrived and heard T1, T7 and T5 (sorta) with a bearing of 92 degrees True for all three. I ate breakfast and left at 7:15 taking Bear Valley Road east to 18 and further east to 247 where the signals were gone. I never got a bearing south into the mountains and even if I did I wouldn’t have gone there until I was sure it wasn’t a bounce from up north somewhere.

 

At this point Don/Steve called me and asked if I had a bearing of 95 from Summit and I replied that I was at the other end of 95 degrees and heard nothing.

 

I decided that they must be up in Holcomb Valley just North of Big bears Lake. They went away as I was now too close to the mountains and all of the signals were going over me by 4000 ft.  I decided to go up to Big Bear on Hwy 18.

 

When I arrived there was no signals. So I decided that I must be too far east and went west on 18 toward Fawnskin. I occasionally heard a signal to the South, across the lake but I know better than to be concerned about things in that basin. At Fawnskin I decided to go up to Butler Peak top get a bearing and try to figure out what is going on. I got on dirt, but it was good dirt at 10:15 AM. I ran into a rangeress and I asked if I could get to Butler in the Prius and she said sure, but the road to the peak was closed. She doubted that I could go very far on Coxey truck trail, however. Well, now what does she know.

 

I drove about a mile on Coxey and T7 came to life a bit and indicated to the west. I couldn’t quit now. I drove very slow (5-12 MPH). 3 hours later I found T7. I would have found it in 30 minutes with the 4Runner but with the 5 inches ground clearance and 40+ PSI in the Prius tires I crept around very carefully. I found T9, T5 and VW T on Coxey Truck Trail and T10 not too far off this road.  My antenna came off the mast a couple times but otherwise nothing broke or bent on the Prius or me. I never heard T1 on Coxey TT, It had died. I was first to signin on all five Ts.

 

After finding T7 and noting that it had a 19 inch whip out of a ammo can and sitting on the ground, I have no reason to believe that I could hear it in Fontana. But I ran a Profile in DeLorme Topo and indeed there is a good path from T7 at 5700 ft to me in Fontana (1100ft) 27 miles away. Who'd a thought.

 

Great hunt and much fun stretching the Prius into an off-road?? Vehicle.

 

Bob, WB6JPI