Session:2m Foxoring
| Description | Find small hidden radio transmitters |
|---|---|
| Website(s) | |
| Type | Hands-On |
| Kids session | No |
| Keyword(s) | game, outside |
| Tags | Foxoring, ARDF, Hamradio, ham radio, Amateur Radio Direction Finding, Amateurfunkpeilen, Geofoxing, geocaching, SDR, software defined radio, RTLSDR, RTL-SDR, Fuchsjagd, Amateurfunk |
| Person organizing | User:RealD |
| Language | de - German, en - English |
| Related to | Projects:2m Foxoring |
| Other sessions... ... further results | |
| Starts at | 2019/08/20 18:00 |
|---|---|
| Ends at | 2019/08/25 18:00 |
| Duration | 7200 minutes |
| Location |
| Subtitle | 2m Foxoring - Day 1 |
|---|---|
| Starts at | 2019/08/21 00:00 |
| Ends at | 2019/08/22 00:00 |
| Duration | 1440 minutes |
| Location |
| Subtitle | 2m Foxoring - Day 2 |
|---|---|
| Starts at | 2019/08/22 00:00 |
| Ends at | 2019/08/23 00:00 |
| Duration | 1440 minutes |
| Location |
| Subtitle | 2m Foxoring - Day 3 |
|---|---|
| Starts at | 2019/08/23 00:00 |
| Ends at | 2019/08/24 00:00 |
| Duration | 1440 minutes |
| Location |
| Subtitle | 2m Foxoring - Day 4 |
|---|---|
| Starts at | 2019/08/24 00:00 |
| Ends at | 2019/08/25 00:00 |
| Duration | 1440 minutes |
| Location |
| Subtitle | 2m Foxoring - Day 5 |
|---|---|
| Starts at | 2019/08/25 00:00 |
| Ends at | 2019/08/25 18:00 |
| Duration | 1080 minutes |
| Location |
Find small hidden radio transceivers! They are hidden around the campsite. Play and learn about radio signal propagation, antennas and demodulation. See the area around the camp site. Have a nice walk. And of course, it´s fun, too. :-)
So bring your 2m radio receivers or SDRs. Directional antennas are helpful, too.
Contents
How?
- Find red circle on map (File:2m Foxoring Printkarte v1.pdf). Go there and start your receiver.
- Find transmitter signal between 144.000 and 144.004 Mhz.
- Go to place with strongest signal and find tag (
) with station code. - Log fox online.
- Repeat until you have found all foxes.
Version 1. Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors. DEM data produced using Copernicus data and information funded by the European Union - EU-DEM layers.
Rules
- Be careful! Don´t hurt yourself or somebody else!
- Do NOT open a transmitter! Please. They are old and fragile.
- If something is not working please report to tba .
- Have fun!
- Please tell your friends about this.
Needed Hardware/Software:
- RTL-SDR/Hackrf/Rad1o with OTG capable Android phone with RTL-SDR driver and demodulator app (RF Analyzer seems to work). Directional Antenna recommended. Bring a powerbank to recharge you phone during run. RTL Sticks consume surprisingly much power.
- RTL-SDR/Hackrf/Rad1o with PC and installation of gqrx (Linux, Mac)/SDR# (Windows) or similar. Directional Antenna recommended, second person might be helpful.
- Any receiver for 144Mhz region with SSB (or CW) demodulation mode.
Settings to start with:
- Frequency range is 144.000000 - 144.004000 Mhz
- Set demodulation mode to SSB (USB or LSB). Tune slightly next to the signal to hear a tone. Of course you can use CW mode but then the frequency has to fit exactly.
- Set RF gain to manual mode. Start with a medium or smaller value.
- Disable automatic gain control if possible.
- It might be helpful to zoom into this small frequncy range
Transmitter Status:
| Fox | Transmitter Status |
|---|---|
| 1 | offline |
| 2 | offline |
| 3 | offline |
| 4 | offline |
| 5 | offline |
| 6 | offline |
| 7 | offline |
Results:
| No. | Number of Foxes | Nick/Call |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | DM5AHA |
| 2 | 7 | dl2wag |
| 3 | 7 | kai |
| 4 | 7 | Snoil |
| 5 | 7 | Caddy |
| 6 | 5 | abrain |
| 7 | 5 | PSJ |
| 8 | 2 | jof DO6BGP |
| 9 | 1 | antrares&eri! |
| 10 | 1 | DO7NX |
| 11 | 1 | N1QGQ |
FAQ:
- What is a fox?
- A radio transmitter transmitting different beep codes. Here they will have a very small range (50-150m).
- I see a strong continous signal. Is this a fox?
- Probably no. Might be a harmonic of the local oscillator of your RTL stick. Disconnect your antenna; if the signal is still there it can´t be a fox.
- I want to build my own transmitters. Where can I find instructions?
- Maybe here: http://www.df1fo.de/index.html#2mTX . Please be aware that you probably need an amateur radio license in your country.
- I want to build my own directional antenna. Where can I find instructions?
- Yagis here: https://www.qsl.net/dk7zb/PVC-Yagis/3-Ele-2m.htm
- Measurement Tape antenna: http://www.harc.net/docs/2_meter_tape_antenna-2016.pdf
- ...
- Can I borrow a directional antenna for this event?
- Yes. I can offer one with SMA and MCX connectors and one RTL-SDR dongle. Please contact tba.
