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Document No. 32
Date: July 10, 2004
To:
David Sumner K1ZZ, Executive Vice President
From:
Joe Moell K0OV, ARDF Coordinator
Subject:
Progress Report to ARRL Board of Directors
This report of the ARRL Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) Coordinator to the ARRL Board of Directors covers the period January 16, 2004 to July 9, 2004.
INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE
As defined by the Terms of Reference document of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 ARDF Working Group, "ARDF is a technical, sport activity within the framework of the amateur service. It deals with the taking of radio bearings and finding hidden transmitters, constructing relevant equipment, and the training of amateurs involved in and with the organizing of relevant sport and social events."
The purpose of the national ARDF Coordinator position is to promote the development of this sport within the country and to work with ARDF Coordinators of other IARU countries to organize ARDF events and activities. The focus is on international-rules on-foot foxhunting (also called foxtailing, fox-teering, and radio-orienteering). It is not on vehicular transmitter hunts, search/rescue or volunteer enforcement.
FOURTH USA ARDF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC) collaborated with the Los Angeles Orienteering Club (LAOC) to host the fourth annual USA ARDF Championships in June. Radio-orienteers from as far away as Boston and New York were in attendance.
The events got under way on June 16 as competitors arrived at the headquarters site in Gorman, California. Gorman is an outpost on Interstate Highway 5, seventy miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was chosen because it is between the venues to be used for the two championship hunts. Next day they practiced their skills and aligned their direction-finding equipment using short courses on both the 2m and 80m bands at the nearby Hungry Valley State Recreation Area. Friday brought a bus ride to the full-length 2m competition at Vasquez Rocks County Park, followed on Saturday by an 80m event at Mt. Pinos in the Los Padres National Forest. Closing ceremonies with medal awards took place Saturday evening.
As always, the USA ARDF Championships were open to anyone, at any ARDF skill level. An optional 4-day ARDF training camp took place just prior to the start of the championships.
Funding was by registration fees and local sponsors. There was no direct cost to ARRL. Special thanks are due to SBARC, led by General Chair Marvin Johnston KE6HTS. Thanks also to Director Art Goddard W6XD who made a video record of all the events.
IARU ARDF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2004
The 2004 USA Championships took place just in time for final selection of ARDF Team USA 2004 members, who will travel to Brno in the Czech Republic for the 12th ARDF World Championships from September 7 through 12, representing USA and ARRL.
International rules limit each national society's team size to three persons per age/gender category. USA's team positions were filled based on performances in the 2004 national championships in California and the 2003 national championships in Ohio. Here is a list of the team members, hometowns and categories.
|
NAME AND CALL |
CITY |
CATEGORY |
|
Scharlau, Nadia |
Cary, NC |
D35 |
|
Leach, Karla KC7BLA |
Bozeman, MT |
D50 |
|
Thompson, Jay W6JAY |
Santa Ana, CA |
M19 |
|
Afonkin, Vadim |
Boston, MA |
M21 |
|
Robbins, Matthew AA9YH |
Brookville, IN |
M21 |
|
Tiszttarto, Csaba |
New York, NY |
M21 |
|
Boyd, Jerry WB8WFK |
Albuquerque, NM |
M40 |
|
Nagy, Gyuri KF6YKN |
Melrose, MA |
M40 |
|
Scharlau, Charles NZ0I |
Cary, NC |
M40 |
|
Arnett, Dick WB4SUV |
Erlanger, KY |
M50 |
|
Frey, Robert WA6EZV |
Cincinnati, OH |
M50 |
|
Hennigan, Jay WB6RDV |
Goleta, CA |
M50 |
|
Cooley, Bob KF6VSE |
Pleasanton, CA |
M60 |
|
Leach, Harley KI7XF |
Bozeman, MT |
M60 |
|
Schwendtner, Dennis WB6OBB |
Santa Barbara, CA |
Trainer |
On May 15 I requested that ARRL arrange funding and wire transfer of team member registration fees, as was done in 1998, 2000, and 2002. The first deadline (June 30) has now passed, so the fees will be approximately US$370 per team member if paid by July 31.
In addition to the competitors and visitors, Dale Hunt WB6BYU of Yamhill, OR and Marvin Johnston KE6HTS of Santa Barbara, CA will attend as members of the international jury. Jury member fees will be covered by the organizing society. All competitors and jurors will pay their own travel expenses to and from Czech.
CONCLUSION
Interest and participation in ARDF activities continues to grow. The encouragement and support of the ARRL Board of Directors for activities of ARDF Team USA, the North American ARDF Task Force and the ARRL ARDF Coordinator is greatly appreciated. Thanks also to ARRL Headquarters, especially QST and ARRL Web staff, for publicizing ARDF activities and events.
More information about ARDF in the USA, including details and photos of the 2004 USA Championships, are being posted at <www.homingin.com>. SBARC also has a separate section on the 2004 USA ARDF Championships at its club site <www.sbarc.org>. The Czech ARDF Association site for the 2004 World ARDF Championships is <www.wch2004ardf.com>.
Respectfully submitted,
Joe Moell K0OV
ARRL ARDF Coordinator
homingin@aol.com
http://www.homingin.com/
