Not a large crowd struggled out of bed this morning, especially the night after a foxhunt, but for those that did the day turned out to be very helpful and instructive. Even the weather wasn’t too bad with only occasional drizzle, and even some sun.

First exercise was to stand in the carpark and carefully try to identify which direction each of the 5 2m foxes were. This is normally a task that has to be done after starting an event under hight pressure, but the intent of today’s exercise was to illustrate how important this is. How to recognise when a bearing seems good, and when it’s doubtful and not to be trusted. The hills around the area, even though the transmitters weren’t that far from the start, made this quite a tricky exercise. No-one got TX 5 direction right, including myself (and I knew where it was !). Most of the other bearings, if not perfect bearings, would probably be enough to get you going vaguely the right way.

Since a couple of expected participants hadn’t arrived at that stage, we decided to head out and get some of the ARDF TXs now as the second exercise. Each trainee was accompanied by a trainer/shadow to give reassurance and helpful hints. Some of the TX’s were straighforward, but others were great examples of the vagaries of 2m transmission in a hilly area. Again noone attempted to wayward TX#5 (which was surprisingly vague considering it was on a high point of the course), but bagged all other foxes.

The next exercise was for each competitor to take a 2m FoxOr out and hide it somewhere in the woody (and wet) park surrounding the start. The FoxOrs were all programmed on different frquencies, Mt Gambier style, so we wouldn’t get interference problems between them should they end up too close to each other. The others had arrived by this stage so they did this exercise first. The idea was to find all 5 in the minimum time by attempting to do them in the right order. This is s simpler form of the sort of decisions that need to be made at the start of a real ARDF event. This event was won by Peter Collins (with some hints from his shadow), second Grant Geoffrey (no shadow), 3rd Ewen Templeton (he did this after his street-O run so is excused) and 4th Nick Collins. Others also found some of the FoxOrs in order to pick them up afterwards. I don;t know if Greg did this event as I didn’t see him return.

The Collins boys found one of the closer ARDF controls as a first time attempt (and brought it back). Di & Henk happened across one on their street-O run so also brought that one back. Others were picked up one each so packup was done in very short order.

Thanks to all those who turned up, and I hope you found it valuable assistance for your future ARDF endeavours.

Sunday 4th April, set by Marta and Pierre

Sunday 4th April dawned chilly and drizzly; the only thing making it worthwhile getting out of bed, really, was the fact that Daylight Savings had just ended, meaning we had an extra hour’s sleep in! Pierre and I had intended to meet in the parking lot of Emerald Lake Park, and put out a couple of controls before the paid parking kicked in, but when I got there, one half of the gate was closed, so I waited just outside. Upon Pierre’s arrival, we hurriedly exchanged transmitters and worked out a plan of attack, then turned on all the 80ms ARDF Txs. Oops, I knew I forgot something; we were supposed to start these at an even 5-minute mark! Oh well, no-one minded so much starting at 2m 07s past a 5-minute interval 🙂

Pierre headed off to do the easterly controls, while I tackled the ones inside the park. I decided that it was early enough that the rangers probably wouldn’t nab me if I squeezed my car past the closed gate and parked inside for the first two controls. So I snuck in, parked, grabbed the Fox-Or and ARDF Tx which we’d planned to put out at the far end of the lake, and briskly jogged to the appropriate locations. There were a few early morning walkers out, and for some reason, they all averted their eyes as I ambled past, squid pole in hand. Can’t imagine why! I got the ARDF out without too much trouble, and was secreting the Fox-Or when disaster struck – I’d forgotten the little Fox-Or flag! And were coming up to ranger time! Luckily the map scale is small, so I rushed back, acquired the flag and drove back out hurriedly without any trouble. The other controls were far less eventful, and both Pierre and I were back at the start by 9:30, ready to set up and work out how to use the new ARDF software.

People started arriving by 10am, and we had a nice little crowd ready to go. Despite some worries, the ARDF software behaved admirably and after handing out a few spare SI sticks, we soon had everyone entered and ready to go. The only excitement before we started was a pair of dog walkers – for some reason, they took exception to our presence, and backed their car out with a loud squeal of tyres, mumbling something about us being “inconsiderate” under their breaths. Still not sure what that was about – the ruckus they made as they left was far more inconsiderate than our little gathering!

It was nice to see a few newcomers showing up – both Greg and Stewart tried their first-ever ARDF event, both doing extremely well – Greg even  managed to find 3 Txs even though the antenna broke off his 80m sniffer! Great work. Peter M and Bruce went out together, allowing Peter to find five controls for the first time. Hopefully this makes you a little happier for next time, Peter – it can be quite dispiriting doing ARDF if you don’t find many controls each time! Pam came along and happily found all five, as did Clifford, and both Di and Hamish had a great event, getting all except the most eastern control. It’s worth mentioning that Di headed out after already having found all 8 Fox-Ors, so she certainly  got her money’s worth! Ry and Henk also braved the cool conditions and picked up three controls each. The clear winner today was Gary, who blitzed the course in just over an hour. We won’t mention the fact that he was also the first to come back thigh-deep in mud; apparently, despite the rather large lettering on the map pointing out that a bridge was out, people decided to try to leap across the creek anyway, rather than heading back up the path 100m or so and going around :). All in all, the ARDF seemed quite popular, and looks like it was a good introductory event for people to practice their skills on.

The Fox-Or was not quite as much of a success. Unfortunately, one of the Txs had been left on high power so tended to swamp all the others. By the time we realised and sent Gary off to turn it down, most of the people had completed or were most of the way through their course. Oops! Sorry. Note to all future course setters – double check the power levels!! As well, Emerald Lake presents some rather thick bushland, and we may have been a little nasty in how we hid our Fox-Ors. People certainly struggled a bit to find them. Nonetheless, our newcomers seemed to enjoy themselves (more or less!) Matt and his kids headed out and found three controls, while Josie and her kids got 6 – well done. Suzanne perservered despite the tough control placement and came back with 5, while Henk and Darian nabbed four. Georgie did best in the canine department – she found 6 (along with some mud and a few puddles), with Bryan following on behind carrying her sniffer! Crowning glory goes to Dianne, however, who stuck it out and found all 8, and also came back knee deep in mud. Congratulations, Di!

The post-event BBQ allowed everyone to debrief and warm up, and then a number of us headed off to pick up controls and pick up a multi-leg geocache within the park.

Here are the final results:

80m ARDF

Competitor	#Txs	Time
Gary Panter	5	63’14
Ewen Templeton	5	110’19
Stuart Elliot	5	114’08
Peter Maloney & Bruce	5	120’37
Clifford Heath	5	132’53
Pam King	5	138’45
Darian Panter	4	42’22
Ian Stirling	4	69’27
Dianne Shalders	4	112’15
Hamish McDonald	4	201’16
Ryordan Panter	3	77’06
Henk DeJong	3	82’23
Greg Tamblyn	3	101’44

2m Fox-Or

Competitor	#Txs	Time
Dianne Shalders	8	2h02
Greg Tamblyn	6	1h18
Georgie Giles (& Bryan with sniffer)	6	1h39
Josie Yeatman & kids	6	??
Suzanne O’Callaghan	5	2h10
Darian Panter	4	1h2’20
Henk DeJong	4	2h14
Matt Manning & kids	3	1h34

ARDF Club Training Day:                        Emerald, Sunday 3^rd April, 2011

Close of Daylight Savings allowed for an extra 60 minutes in bed: a coolish morning, not frosty, not raining but I still struggled to get mobile.

Finally under way; decided not to detour to Templestowe Village for takeaway  Cappucinno and took my chances at East Doncaster ‘Maccas’ instead; coffee passable.

Approximately 09.40 am (est):  arrived Emerald, turned right at the first roundabout but the street layout did not look familiar (things not looking good for navigation today).

Checked Melways, retraced route back to roundabout, drove on to second roundabout and turned right, found Crichton Road and “O” sign.  Yay!

Finally arrived at picturesque Nobelius Heritage Gardens and the welcoming sight of familiar vehicles, a few members erecting the ARDF shelter and Bruce sorting the portable BBQ.

After the obligatory welcomes and chit-chat, I decided to attempt the (simpler) 2m Fox-Or Course first. The thinking was I would go out and locate a few Fox-Ors and return to attempt the more complex ARDF Course a bit later when some of the faster runners had completed their course and the demand for 80m sniffers had lessened.

Sniffer in hand, I headed off in the direction of F8, past the Packing Shed and through the gate into Emerald Lake Park … but which way to go?  The path divided and (in true Radi-O course-setting fashion) Marta and Pierre had deviously drawn the Fox-Or circle to encompass both tracks. Decision time … do I take the high track running parallel with  Puffing Billy rail or plunge down into the park along the lower track.

I decided on the Nobelius Track which runs anticlockwise along the perimeter of the park.  That turned out to be a good choice … I walked/ jogged (mostly walked) another 200 – 250 metres until the signal ‘swung’ then left the track and fought my way in through the greenery, stepping over and finding my way around fallen tree branches and fighting off some very (un)friendly grasses (the genus that adheres relentlessly to clothing).  Was thankful I had worn long pants and a long sleeved ARDF top.

Not all that far off the track was F8 hiding in the scrub.  I also found a (muttering) Suzanne in the vicinity – I suspect she may have approached from the lower track and had to fight her way uphill through the undergrowth.

Off again … plodding on in an anti-clockwise direction, progress easy, following the contours for another 800 metres then diverged down a narrow, greasy dirt track to the signal from F7.  Stuffed about for a bit (fought my way through more of that over-friendly grass) and eventually located the punch.  Also encountered another 3 ‘Hounds’ (adult + 2 pups) close to the Fox-Or.  Left dad instructing his two sons in the art of ‘Df-ing’ and was off back up to the main track in search of F6.

I was starting to relax and enjoy myself … another 700 metres on to Lake Nobelius where  F6 was beckoning from up the hill behind one of the many amphitheatres in this picturesque park … so onwards and upwards, fighting my way around annoying tree branches and logs and eventually locating the hidden punch, then back to the track.

Where to next … around the lake and on towards F3 … but why didn’t I look at the map more closely?   Lulled on in a false sense of security, I continued on to the creek to discover the sign … “bridge closed” and the track barricaded.  Only then did I decide to take a good look at the map to discover (marked very clearly) “Bridge broken, Don’t cross”.  Stuff it!   As if I was going to go retrace my steps now (sheer pig-headedness).

Down across the creek didn’t look all that bad and there was tell-tale evidence of others having crossed. Choosing a track that wasn’t too steep, I carefully picked my way down the slippery bank and spotted a largish branch lying in the mud. Carefully stepped out onto it with my left foot … good, reasonably stable, but I still needed another stride to get to the other side.  Choosing a spot devoid of earlier human foot prints I gingerly stepped out … and down I went, down into the squelchy mud!  I hadn’t exactly planned on a mud bath that day but my right foot, ankle and calf slowly disappeared down into the ooze!   Yuck!   Managed to extract my foot with O-shoe still attached and scramble up the East bank on all-fours (most dignified – but then that’s not really what Orienteering is all about).  Several other club members approached the bridge around then and they decided to make a jump for it.  Both landed safely on the opposite side and continued on their way.

Much muddied, but not disheartened, I passed over the next (unbroken) bridge, crossed the rail tracks South of Puffing Billy Station, climbed around the end of the fence and bush-bashed through the blackberries and rubbish and across to the road near the model railway building.  Successfully avoiding massive fox/ wombat (?) holes in the process. 200 metres then to an intersection and another choice to be made … which route?   I decided on the more Southerly track and continued on in quest of the next control.   More bush-bashing through the vegetation to success.  F3 found!

Come this far now, really can’t go back without finishing the lot!

Eastwards through the walkway between properties to Bellbird Crescent, turned right then on, gradually uphill to Wombat Crescent, downhill to Boundary Road then headed North downhill into Wright Forest.  Located F5 successfully, not that far in off the track!

It was now (only) about 1200 metres around the track to the next Fox-Or!

A nice downhill jog out of Wright Forest to the level crossing at Wright Road and on to the Emerald-Cockatoo Trail.  Wait for the signal to swing and downhill into the sparsely vegetated gully to F4 … 5 Fox-Ors down and only 3 more to go!

It was still some substantial distance to where F2 beckoned from South West of the Ornamental and Conifer Tree Lawn.  I was about to head off along a track into the scrub when I met up with Josie and Suzanne. “Don’t go in that way, it’s really hard, it’s actually closer from the road” they advised … so headed a few metres further North West then into the scrub.  Sound advice … F2 located and control card punched without too much effort!  (thanks ladies).  Almost on the home straight now.

Headed off along Emerald Lake Road, then took the short cut across to Durban Road, a 90° turn to the North then on to the “T” intersection and left into Old Gembrook Road.

Arrived at the intersection of Sherrif Road and headed into Worrell Reserve.

F1 found secreted in pine tree along Northern edge of the reserve.

About 600 metres to home!

Retraced steps back to Sheriff Road, headed South across Emerald Lake Road across the open park and the Finish.  Muddy but happy and it only took 2 hours!

and the 80 metre ARDF is another story …

If a 62 year old with a wonky ankle can do it  … so can you!

Why not get out there and try it … it’s all good, (clean ?) fun.

 

Dianne  (ARDF).

20th November, 2010

After many successive weekends of heavy rain, we were a little bit worried… But the weekend of 20th/21st November turned out to be dry and warm, perfect for a night ARDF. We ran our event in conjunction with the Night Orienteering Championships, on the Mia Mia map near Maldon. The open bushland and extensive track network made the area ideal for night radio orienteering, and although a number of people did fall over, this did not deter anyone from finishing their course.   David set the course with the aid of Google Earth; a lot of thought went into ensuring that signal propagation would be adequate. It was so adequate, in fact, that it was picked up by a couple of hounds in Maldon, 7km away! The entire course was set to be about 6.5km, straight line distance.   Bruce stormed home first in just over 1.25 hours, despite having to waste ten minutes changing the batteries on his sniffer. Next in were Gary and Darian, half an hour later, who had ended up chasing each other the whole way after meeting up near the first control. Gary managed to pip Darian at the finish by 15 seconds. Arnneka and Adam came in next, having walked the whole course. Since they started fifteen minutes late, this actually meant that they completed the event in less time than Gary and Darian, to their consternation! Kristian, competing in his first ARDF after trying a couple of Fox-Oring events, came in next, having enjoyed himself and, moreover, having located all five transmitters! Well done, Kristian! Ewen came in afer him, and Suzanne a couple of minutes later. She went around with Geoff to pick up some tips on successfully completing ARDF courses, and found 4 Txs, so was quite happy. Geoff came in a bit later, since he wanted to finish off the course by grabbing nearby Tx 3, which was just outside the exclusion circle. The Henk, Pierre and Ryordan team came in 20 minutes later, having succesfully found 3 transmitters. Next came Mark, just before midnight, and then Peter M, who had started just as Bruce came in.   Results are below:  

	Competitor	Time	# TXs
	Bruce	1:18:00	5
	Adam and Arnneka	1:42:40	5
	Gary	1:48:15	5
	Darian	1:48:30	5
	Kristian	2:22:05	5
	Ewen	2:25:40	5
	Geoff	2:41:40	5
	Suzanne	2:27:40	4
	Mark B	2:50:00	4
	Henk, Pierre and Ryordan	2:48:30	3
	Peter M	1:40:00	1

Sunday 25th July, 2010

80m ARDF

Name	No of Tx	Time
Tim Hatley	5	0:43
Clifford Heath	5	0:51
Jack Bramham	5	0:54
Gary Panter	5	0:54
Ian Stirling	5	0:57
Greg Williams	5	1:00
Peter Maloney	5	1:12
Doug Canning	5	1:25
Pam King	5	1:44
Keith Anker	5	2:00
Martin Boland	5	2:25
Diana Mittag	5	2:25
Suzanne O’Callaghan	5	2:28
Pierre Brokner	2	0:36
Pano and Darian	1	0:25
Kristian and Greg	1	???

2m Fox-Or

Name	No of Tx	Time
Gary Panter	8	0:32
Clifford Heath	8	0:35
Kristian Ruuska	8	0:40
Stephen Cimpoern	8	0:50
Ian Stirling	8	0:53
Darian Panter	8	0:57
Pano Mitropoulos	8	0:57
Jeff Hughes	8	1:00
Katherine Turner	8	1:01
Martin Boland	8	1:10
Diana Mittag	8	1:10
Pierre Brokner	8	1:17
Ryordan Panter	8	1:18
Christine Ryan	8	1:20
Sarah Eriksson	8	1:20
Keith Anker	8	1:20
Miles Glaspole	8	1:24
Ambrose Glaspole	8	1:25
Middleton Family	8	1:56
Chris and Denise McLaughlin	8	2:04
Mike Hubbert	8	2:09
Chris (Newbury Navigators)