WA6RJN's Story
About the February 24th 2018
Mini All Day Transmitter Hunt

From the starting point I had a couple of different bearings. Some fluttered, likely because the signal was bouncing off planes. The next stop was the usually place at I-15 at the summit. The signal was amazing, even with the attenuation punched in on the radio. I also heard another T (T12) pointing to the north.

Up to this point everything was going great. Then my brain kicked in. The main T pointed in the direction where I had hid last month sooooo I assumed the T was out that way off I-40. I had also hid a T between Victorville and Barstow. My brain then assumed the same for T12.

Off I went up I-15 toward Barstow. T12 kept pointing that way. Getting off at Dale Evens Parkway, T7 (the main T) was weak and to the east but T12 was still head. Little did I know at the time that I had determined the bearing off the back of the beam.

Continuing north, T12 disappeared by Hodge Rd. Now heading south, T12 picked up and between Dale Evens and Stoddard Wells Rd it was very strong and pointed west toward some power lines. From Stoddard Wells I worked my way up to the power lines and over to T12.

From there I triangulated the main T, T7, over at White Horse Mt. I took Stoddard Wells to Johnson Rd and then south on Central. Around Standing Rock Rd T7 became strong. I worked my way east on Cahuilla Rd then north into the Fairview Valley portion of Apple Valley. There I fount T13.

The brain kicked in again. Because T13 was there I assumed that T7 must be in the same area. This is exactly what the hider wanted to happen. After roaming around for a while trying to get up to the ridge that runs along the north east part of the valley, I worked my way north back to Johnson Rd.

Johnson road goes behind the ridge. I was looking for a road that would work its way through the ridge and reveal a view to the south. I tried a couple of roads but did not get there.

Because I had planned to pass through Barstow (and get gas) I had not filled the tank. I had about a quarter of a tank. The brain kicked in and I decided not to goes further. I should have calculated how far I could have gone on the gas I had but did not. Little did I know that if I had gone another mile or less I would have found the road I was looking for along with T7 and T8. No, instead I back tracked all the way back down Central to find gas at Hwy 18. Sadly, I was about a mile from this station earlier when I was going south on Central and turned around to go to the Fairview Valley. One factor contributing to my decision not to continue on Johnson Rd was that Google maps did not show any roads going through the ridge where I thought T7 was. This was because there was no service for my phone and the satellite map had not been updated. Later I looked while having pizza on my way home and there was the road.

After getting gas I returned to Fairview Valley where I came across N6MI. It was starting to get dark and I started home.

Having a second brain in the passenger seat would have very beneficial as I would not have been distracted by T12, then T13, then lack of gas, then returning to Fairfield Valley instead of Johnson Rd where I left off. Next time I’ll leave the brain at home and just find the Ts.

WA6RJN
Doug