The Fullerton Radio Club hunt
September 16 2006


The Fullerton Radio Club hunt of September 16 brought out a good turnout, perhaps because nobody had found us last month and we "might" be in the same location.
Signal was weaker at the start point this time, but it brought everyone to the same general area as last month.  The micropower T was a few feet from Sandra Drive in Yorba Linda,  near a fire hydrant in the front yard of a home.  The beam antenna was over 400 feet away, down a slope and aimed toward the start point across the Yorba Linda Lakebed.  It's a catch basin during winter rains but mostly dry at this time of year, with a trail network behind the houses where our beam was.
Signal was strongest on the west side of the lake, of course, but there was no access there.  Almost everyone drove down Sandra Drive to the end, stopped to get bearings, decided there wasn't enough signal, and drove away.  Everyone except the N6AIN team, that is, who arrived first, found the T with it's little red LED shining, and was writing down mileage when neighbors accosted them, told them it was a private street (no such signage anywhere) and to get out because they were calling police.  Deryl and company did so in a hurry, taking the sign-in sheet with them.
We didn't put the neighbors up to this (honest!), but when our host explained everything to them later, they claimed that the hunters were in their driveway and that they never threatened to call the cops.  I replaced the sign-in sheet and fortunately no other hunters encountered them.

The KE6GQO/KK6KK team walked through the lake bed to the antenna from a distant bridle trail entrance, then followed the coax back to us.  N6ZHZ parked near the T and walked through a neighbor's yard out to the antenna and back, apparently never seeing the coax.
N6ZHZ, WB6JPI and KD6ICZ parked at the end of the street for what seemed like an eternity, talking over the situation, until finally Jason walked over to find the T, and us.
Deryl team was the clear winner, but he thinks we should add his last month's 23 miles to this month's mileage.  However, that assumes we were in the same place both times!  Were we?
Results


Team                               Miles 
N6AIN/WA6PYE/KC6ZMY/WA6WGJ         7.10
KE6GQO/KK6KK                      10.70
N6ZHZ                             72.80
KF6GQ  CHOSE TO NOT SIGN IN, HAD  15.10
WB6JPI CHOSE TO NOT SIGN IN, HAD  70+
Credit my hunt partner Jack Hafner KO6IC for suggesting this interesting location.  Also thanks to Susan KD6YMH, April WA6OPS, and all the hunters for making it a great evening of no-complaints fun.
73,
Joe Moell K0OV