Five teams met on a balmy Friday evening at Quambee Reserve for the January 2003 Melbourne foxhunt.

Hopefully, everyone would have noted the fine print on the instruction sheet: Bonus points were to be awarded for unbogging the fox’s vehicle. Alert teams would have noted the police car, armed with speed camera, that entered the car park and turned to perch itself on the entry on Oban Rd — only to reveal that one of its taillights would fail the roadworthy test!  

The location for the first hunt was a raised wooden walkway adjacent to a small lake in McAlpine Reserve, Ringwood North (MAP 50A1). Signal appeared to radiate all along the walk-way but where was the fox? The gaffer special transmitter was hiding in the end of a rotten log, home to an ants nest only a few minutes before. To make life entertaining for the fox, and frustrating for hounds, the famous BLN leaky coax-antenna was deployed. The coax was installed underneath the walkway, connected to the fox via a length of normal non-radiating coax run under the ant log.  Hounds venturing under the walkway had to content with spider webs and creepy crawlies above, and the soggy marsh underneath. Hounds choosing the walkway were simply baffled with a conflicting set of bearings.  

Hunt two was staged on a fire escape at the east side of the Eastland shopping complex in Ringwood (49H8). Entry could be gained from the stairs on the northeast corner car park but we imagined hounds crashing through shoppers and cinema-goers. Surely, we thought, someone will call 1800 1234 00 and report “Terrorists with funny antennas”. No such luck, the hunt went without a hitch. Bruce was first in and all the rest soon after. The asphalt had just been newly sprayed with gray paint, and now sports a fancy array of footprints traversing the upper and lower decks.

At the meeting spot, departure was somewhat delayed by some panic stricken phone calls to Brian Ackerly from David (XAJ) because the scoring box was unable to download to our laptop.  This was punctuated with phone calls to/from YQN asking if the hunt had started — they had chosen to park 30 metres away from the meeting spot (within eyesight) but were incommunicado because our comms rig seemed to lose audio at this stage.  

The third hunt was a three-legged fox O-ring affair using Ackerly Laboratories multi-purpose phallic-O-tron low-power (or no-power) transmitters. Approximate locations of the transmitters are revealed to enable teams DF the weaker than normal signals all sharing the same frequency. The use of automatic scoring allowed the transmitters to be placed in locations that would not otherwise be feasible, as normally a person accompanies the fox.   The nano-power output of the first two transmitters made these legs extra challenging.   Geoff, ‘3VR discovered the first transmitter in a lane way between buildings located South off Molan St, Ringwood (MAP 49E10), apparently after eliminating all other laneways. After running to the end of the lane, searching for a way through or over the impassable fence, VR found the fox in a louver window halfway along the lane on the return journey. VK3KIR was also successful on this leg.  

The second leg was hidden in a tree on an overgrown path running along the West side of the Ringwood Powernet terminal station (MAP 49D10). Entry was off Heatherdale Rd. Given the proliferation of blackberries, it seems fitting that the one team to locate this transmitter was YNG of lets-hide-the-fox-in-those-thar blackberries fame!  

Lily, Graham and crew met the other half of the fox team on the third leg to provide some moral support. David was in a lather, John was looking at a loss, Alp was trying but did not know how, Graham looked calm and tried to settle David, Guy was also working up a lather… Lily (wandering what all the fuss was about) got out the old clipboard and pen and waited by the fox and checked the runners in manually.  (David was relieved but was somewhat bemused to having to resort to the “old system”).  

Just as the third leg was about to be planted, news reached the fox of the lack of radiating power of the preceding legs — so this transmitter was placed in a more conducive location, up a tree at the end of Argent Place (49E12). It is ironic that this was the one transmitter that decided it would radiate at full power. No excuses for this leg. 🙂  

Hunt four was held in a new development near the southwest corner of Dorset Rd & Canterbury Rd (64K1).. The fox was hidden in the scrub, where there were blackberries… lots of them. Bryan would have appreciated it. Everything went without a hitch, except that we lost BQZ.  

The fifth hunt was to be found hanging over the wrong side of a fence behind trees in Jacobus Walk, Ferntree Gully (64H12). After first being very pleased with the choice of location, the fox was a little concerned when VR and YDF managed to locate the transmitter all too easily. The fox was relieved when the next few teams all arrived at once and proceeded to squabble and fall over each other for what seemed like an eternity – phew! BQZ was eventually successful with a little moral support from the fox… “Warmer, cooler, really hot, could it could be vertically polarized!?”  

Hunt six saw us on a bike track in Wantirna South (72B3). Entry was gained via a track off Cathies Lane via the road to the Refuse Disposal Center. After having three men scout out which was the best way in, we drove down the bike track and planted the fox against the fence line.  This hunt went off without a hitch. Everyone clambered in armed with the scoring box keys, a mixture of confusion and relief to find out that we were now operating on manual… no key required. But we seemed to have lost BQZ again… brrrr-brrrr… brrrr-brrrr… Where??? You’re in Dandenong???? And so the hunt was ended.  We proceeded to drive to the meeting spot, trying to retrace our tracks only to get THE-SUB (Go-anywhere Subaru) well and truly bogged, to the amusement of the hounds. THE-SUB also chose this moment to reveal a propensity for not engaging reverse.  With plenty of willing helpers we were soon rolling again.  

The final hunt was located in shrubbery in the middle of an otherwise sparsely vegetated Llewellyn Park in Wantirna South (72E3). Entry was from the south end of Cathies Lane East via a 4WD proving ground, the normal entrance being closed. Although this location was only a few hundred metres from the previous hunt, most hounds ventured as far as Stud Road, which is over a kilometer away! Teams arrived from all directions and converged almost at once on the fox.  

Just in case your eyesight wasn’t up to reading the scoring fine print on the handout, here it is again…   “Hunts will be scored on order with a 2-point penalty for not finding the fox. Multi-legged hunts are weighted with first worth triple the points of the last and the second worth double the points of the last. No correspondence will be entered in to. We are not responsible for anything. Councils are not sue-able, we as an entity or as individuals are not sue-able. John K recommends you take care. All hunts are taken at own risk. If you can’t hear it, it is not our fault. We were covered by HIH. If you break your gearbox it is your fault. Points may be awarded for un-bogging the fox and/or providing slabs of cold VB.”  

Thanks once again to Bryan, ‘YNG and Ewen, ‘OW for lending us gear. Bryan lent us the Gaffer tape special, O-Ring transmitters and for made a valiant effort organising five auto-scoring boxes with minimal notice. Ewen, ‘OW also provided a backup fox just in case ….    

JAN 03 Scores

Hunt/Leg	1	2	3a	3b	3c	4	5	6	7	Bonus Points	Total	Plug number	People
Hound
VR	0	1	0	2	1	0	0	0	2	0	6	7	Geoff, John, Mark
YQN	1	0	3	2	2	3	1	3	0	3	12	10	Peter, Bruce
KIR	4	3	0	2	3	2	2	1	1	0	18	3	Andrew, Dennis, Jarrod, Ron
YDF	2	4	3	0	0	1	3	2	3	0	18	9	Greg, Brian, Adam
BQZ	5	2	3	2	6	6	4	6	6	0	40	4	Dennis
Bonus Points	Awarded for unbogging fox/providing slabs of VB.

  Five teams assembled at the BiLo supermarket in Burnt Bridge for the 2001 Christmas fox hunt.  

While John and Brett were logging entrants, a ratbag in a Holden demonstrated the ancient and complex art of “burn-out”. Encouraged by the noise and smoke generated from rear wheels attempting to gain traction on asphalt, the local car enthusiast endeavoured to spin his car around for more action. With the vehicle leaning at least 10 degrees and the rear differential refusing to allow both wheels to lose grip, understeer prevailed and the lurching automobile headed towards a stationary object. Displaying a reaction time unrivalled by the Schumacher brothers, the driver stepped on the go-slow pedal and locked up all four wheels. Tyres screeched, more smoke was released and the car came quickly to a halt – aided during the last milliseconds by a “no standing” sign that stood in our way of a greater appreciation of supermarket motor sport. We should note that no fox hunters were involved in any way in this fine exhibition of vehicular control.  

Team hand-outs included instructions that hunts would be scored using an order-based system using numbered tickets attached to the fox. This method allows difficult hunts to be run longer if necessary so that teams have a greater chance of finding the fox without penalty. This is more encouraging for novice teams.  

Meanwhile, David and Sophie tore off in the Landcrab (as much as you can tear off in an Austin 1800) to give the impression that the fox was being planted some distance away.  

Some hounds took nearly 10 minutes to discover that the fox was actually in an alley way behind the supermarket, only metres away! No need to drive at all… the microfox was planted in the top of one of a number of bales of waste cardboard. All senses were working overtime included olfactory — the smell was reminiscent of dead alley cats and discarded fish bones!  

The order was TXO, YQN, VR followed a while later by OW and VT. The location seemed to totally throw some teams whilst others took it in stride, tracking straight to the trasmitter. Perhaps they were expecting the classical fox — especially because the carrier was modulated by one of those annoying “music on hold” tunes. How could it possibly be that small?  

The second hunt brought out that leaky coax thingy. Once untangled, it was strung up, over, around and through shrubbery in Warrien Reserve in Croydon. Powering the coax was Bryan’s “gaffer-tape-special” to ensure sufficient radiated signal.  

If the near-field radiation pattern of 30m of leaky coax wasn’t enough, the damn antenna connection parted company with the rig, further increasing frustration. YQN first, followed closely by VR, OW, TXO and VT, the later teams incurring two breaks in signal. Luckily for them, hunt scoring was order based.  

Hunt three required hounds to enter Currawong Bush Park in Warrandyte, map 34 G3, preferably from the north through an easily accessible gate. The fox was planted at the base of a tree amongst tall grass, near Mullum Creek, beneath transmission lines. After a long wait, VR arrived and found the fox quickly. YQN was second, running (as always) from a different direction. OW was third, and with time almost up, VT came forth.  

Bryan entered Currawong Park from the south and became totally lost, with seemingly little guidance from his team. After the hunt he struggled onward  until the fox was turned back on. Eventually he was reported found, accompanied by the usual impatient cries of “Is this the supper hunt?”  

To maintain our outstanding record of controversy, the fourth hunt took advantage of a new bridge construction near Deep Creek Road in Ringwood. The gaffer-tape-special just happened to fit a cavity behind the NE end of a truss beneath one side of the bridge. Entry was via an undiscovered nature walk starting at an entrance on the south of the east side of the bridge. The walk led down to a location where one could choose either to crawl under the bridge (hard) or travel a little further down the hill and walk in (easy).  

Signal strength (or lack of it) added to the challenge due to the unforeseen attenuation characteristics of the hidden cavity, steel and concrete, cyclone fencing above and the general topographic depression of the area. Bursts of signal from the car were needed to assist the hounds’ plight.  

This was a turning point for VT, who was not unhappy with the location and finished first. VT was closely followed by the VRs, with lack of first apparently causing them some upset, then TXO, YQN and after some wait OW.  

Just after the fox was hidden for hunt 5 in a devious but yet-to-be-revealed location, a hound requested that supper commence no later than 11:30. In the interests of world peace and hunger, the accommodating BLN team arranged a plan B.  

The fox was quickly driven to Mahon Reserve in Ringwood and hidden amongst a thick group of trees. Anticipating that the fox might be hidden at the pre-arranged supper location, the hounds took off towards Ringwood’s McAlpine Reserve and waited.  

Just as the last clump of dead bark was being gathered to conceal the fox’s bright LED, the park shook with the roar of 4WD vehicles and the smell of half-burnt diesel. Three teams entered the park from three different directions, leaped out of their possum-squashers and converged within the cluster of trees. In the midst of the dust haze, a scuffle broke out between Bruce and Geoff — these two hounds, who are normally quietly spoken and the model of politeness, engaged in what could best be described as a tug-of-war over the ticket booklet!  

* Note for next BLN hunt: Remind hounds that their score is not proportional to the number of raffle tickets torn from the ticket booklet or the volume of foliage severed from the surrounding trees.  

Fortunately for the remaining hounds, Bruce replaced a few tickets. After a confusing examination of the torn ticket remnants that were handed in and over threats of disqualification, VT was awarded first place followed by OW, YQN, VR, and (with only a few oddly-numbered tickets to choose from), TXO.  

A BBQ supper was held at McAlpine Reserve in Ringwood, map 50 A2, where it was proven that you can’t cook meat if the gas bottle is empty. Thanks again to Sophie and Jodi-Ann for catering, Graham ‘3ZKM for assistance locating locations, and Brett for helping hide the fox.  

Scores:
        <- Hunt Number ->
Team    1   2   3   4   5   Total  Place

TXO     0   3   5   2   4    14      4

OW      3   2   2   4   1    12      3
VT      4   4   3   0   0    11      2
YQN     1   0   1   3   2     7     =1
VR      2   1   0   1   3     7     =1  

Locations:  

1. BiLo, Burnt Bridge, MAP 50 D3
2. Warrien Reserve, Croydon, MAP 36 K11
3. Currawong Bush Park, Warrandyte, MAP 34 G3
4. Bridge NE, Deep Creek Rd MAP 49 D7
5. Mahon Reserve, Ringwood, MAP 49 K1-K2  

‘3BLN team  

I’ve finally found a hypothetical hour to take off from watching TV so here is Decembers foxhunt report.

The December hunt was based on a Christmas theme although the hounds didn’t know what the theme was until they found the fox on the first hunt which was appropriately hidden in Christmas St Northcote. (30H7). The first team to find Henk was 3VR followed at about 5 second intervals by 3BLN,2^nd and 3TXO,3^rd. The order for the rest of the hounds was 3YDF, 3KIR, 3BQZ, 3YQN, 3VT.

The remainder of the hunts were 2 legged with the first leg being a conventional find the fox hunt and the second being a find the fox team member in a street with a name representing the Christmas theme.

The second hunt was run by Stephen and Adam with the fox located in a park in Carlton North (29J11) for the first leg and in Mary St for the second leg. The finishing order for the first leg was, VK3’s YNG, BLN, VR=YQN, BQZ, TXO, KIR. For the second leg, VT, YNG, TXO, KIR, VR, BQZ, BLN, YQN

The third hunt moved to Preston with the fox hidden near the creek just east of Nicholson St and south of Bell St. The second leg was Ewen who was parked in front of the entrance to the Coburg Cemetry in Bell St. This must have been too obvious because although several hounds drove past this spot on the way to Henk on the first leg it was some time before Ewen was found. It transpired that people were very creative when it came to finding streets with Christmasy names and investigated these before deciding Bell was worth a try. The finishing order for the first leg was, VK3’s TXO, VT, VR, KIR, BLN, YNG, YQN, BQZ. For the second leg,, YNG, VT, TXO, VR, BQZ, BLN, YQN, KIR

For the forth hunt Adam moved to a small park off Fordson St in Campbellfield (7G6) with Stephen in, appropriately, Holly crt, (7H6) a few hundred meters to the West. The finishing order for the first leg was, VK3’s YNG, TXO, BQZ, YQN, BLN, VT, VR, KIR. For the second leg, the order was, YQN, BLN, VR, KIR, VT, BQZ=YNG, TXO.

The fifth hunt was held in Epping where Ewen hid the transmitter close to Darebin creek in a small park off Dalton Rd (182C9). It was very amusing to hear one or two hounds cursing the somewhat tall undergrowth in the area. Some simply cursed and didn’t do much else, the less inhibited crashed their way through and were rewarded with the higher points. For those who came from the wrong side of the creek, once again the more adventurious were rewarded, both with finding the fox and also dry feet as the creek was dry. Geoff, I think we need to educate the young generation about crossing creeeks and other wet obstacles on foxhunts, they seem to be averse to getting their feet wet!!. First on this leg was VK3VR, follwed by YQN, YNG, BLN, VT and TXO, with BQZ having headed home and KIR sorting out some equipment problems. Henk was positioned reasonably close in Nicolas St. First on this leg was again VK3VR, followed by YQN, YNG, BLN, and TXO. We’re not sure where Greg and team got to and Andrew was still sorting out equipment.

The last hunt of the evening was run by Adam and Stephen with the transmitter hidden in a small park off Hillview crt in Bundoora (9G12). VK3BLN was fisrt in on this leg, followed by YQN, VT, VR, KIR, YNG and TXO. The second leg was in Joseph St a few hundred meters to the East. First in was VK3VR folowed by VK3YQN, YNG, VT, BLN, KIR and VK3TXO.

The scoring was based on placing with points being awarded for each placing. The first leg of each hunt had about twice the points of the second leg, as per the table below:

Position	Points First Leg	Points Second Leg
1st	10	5
2nd	8	4
3rd	6	2
4th	4	1
5th	2	1
Other	1	1

The overall scores were as follows:

Team	Points	Place
VK3VR	51	1
VK3YNG	46	2
VK3YQN	43	3
VK3BLN	42	4
VK3TXO	34	5
VK3VT	30	6
VK3BQZ	13	=7
VK3KIR	13	=7

Maximum possible points 85

The November foxhunt was hosted by Ron, Dennis, Jarrod, Courtney and Andrew, and consisted of five multi-legged hunts.

This was the first time in ages that we’d organised a foxhunt, and a few difficulties were experienced at the start of the evening. Amateur ingenuity did prevail however, and regular programming was restored after some technical hiccups. Eight teams gathered in Brice Avenue Mooroolbark at 8.00 pm.

Hunt 1 was a three-legged affair, but owing to a transmitter failure on legs 2 & 3, only the first leg was ultimately scored. Most teams found Hunt 1 Leg 1, which was a high-powered transmitter strapped to a tree in Castle Hill Park, Melway 37 H6. First in here was the TVB/JMD team, followed by VT and YDF. For those of you who found either Leg 2 or Leg 3, congratulations because you would have been hunting the radios’ local oscillators. In any case, these legs were hidden in Brushy Park and Griff Hunt Reserve in North Croydon.

Hunt 2 was a two-legged affair and all hounds found the transmitters within 10 minutes. Both legs were within 100 metres of each other, in the football ground at Ringwood North Reserve, Melway 49 K3. First team in was BLN on Leg 1, and TVB/JMD on Leg 2.

Hunt 3 for the evening consisted of two transmitters, hidden beneath the new Deep Creek Road Bridge (Melway 49 D7) and in Antonio Park Mitcham (Melway 49 C8). Geoff VK3VR decided to join the evening at this point; glad you could make it Geoffrey! First in on these two legs were YDF and YQN respectively.

The fox struck westward and went to ground in Slater Reserve, Blackburn North (Melway 48 C5). Another two-legged ordeal left many teams approaching from the north, trying to negotiate freeways, stormwater drains and pine plantations amongst other things. Well done to the BQZ team who found both transmitters on this hunt ahead of everyone else.

The fifth and final hunt for the evening was in Surrey Hills. One transmitter was hidden in a car park off Windsor Lane near the intersection of Canterbury Road and Union Road, while another transmitter was located slightly to the north near Surrey Hills Railway Station, Melway 46 H11. The YDF and TXO teams came first on these two legs.

Supper was held at the QTHR of Ron VK3EHF: a great feast was consumed and scores were concocted. Teams were marked on order of arrival at each leg. This means that the first team on each leg got zero and the clock was started at this time. The second team got 1 point, the third team got 2 points, etc.. The clock was turned off 10 minutes after the first team got in on each leg, and any outstanding teams were awarded equal next place. Using this system, the best possible score for the night was 0 and the worst possible score was 72 (9 legs scored x 8 teams participating).

1st:   YDF         23
2nd:   TVB et al   24
3rd:   BLN         25
4th:   YQN         26
5th:   TXO         35
6th:   VT          37
7th:   BQZ         38
8th:   OW          39

Thankyou to everyone for participating, we hope you enjoyed the evening; and thankyou especially to Elaine and Linda for their help in the preparation of a lovely supper.
Cheers, Ron VK3EHF

The scores for the october hunt as as follows:

Hunt / Team	1a	1b	2	3a	3b	4	5	total	place
VR/MZ	0	4	0	0	0	0	9	13	1
YQN	0	0	1	0	6	10	10	27	2
BLN	0	10	1	0	18	1	0	30	3
KIR	0	20	10	0	20	10	10	70	4
TXO	0	20	10	10	20	10	10	80	5
max points	15	20	10	15	20	10	10	100

Hunts 1a, and 3a consisted of three fox-or transmitters each worth 5 points.
Hunts 1b and 3b were time scored out of 20 minutes.
Hunts 2, 4 and 5 were scored by the standard 10 minute rule.

A report will hopefully be published sometime soon.

regards,
Bryan VK3YNG

The October foxhunt was hosted by the YDF team. Clear weather conditions prevailed and 5 teams assembled at the Knox city carpark here hounds were briefed about the format of the nights hunts.

This time we decided to try something completely different for the major event of the night. Instead of having one or two individuals complaining about trying to figure out a “cacophony” of multiple foxes on the same frequency, we decided we would tell them all the locations of the foxes instead! Three small transmitters were built into small length of PVC pipe about 25cm long. The melways grid references of each were given at the start of the hunt and each team had to work out the best order to do them in to be ready for the final leg which was on a different frequency and at an undisclosed location. The format turned out to be more challenging and interesting than was first thought. Several teams commented that they quite liked the format.

63 G12: Tree beside creek, pretty straight forward, quite a few ways in, most of these hampered by the winding creek.

64 E11: Bushy area behind Gym carpark, adjacent to bike track.

73 C2: Knoxfield lake reserve, beside the lake, the creek beside transmitter also provided added challenge.

The final leg of this hunt was near the Caribbean Gardens market by Dandenong creek. Melways 72 H10.

First on the scene was Bruce VK3TJN who true to form found one of the more difficult access routes. A few minutes later the VR/MZ team turned up. It turns out that you could get a vehicle in there. They pulled up within about 10 metres of the fox location, crossed the creek (on foot) and found the transmitter hidden in foliage nearby. Some minutes later, the BLN team turned up in their vehicle but for some reason did not elect to drive across the creek. Teams KIR and TXO were not seen in the 20 minute time limit.

The second hunt was a 10 minute drive off type. The fox was located in a park area to the north of roadworks on High street road. Melways 72 A1. The actual hunt location was not the intended one but seemed to work out OK. The fox was placed up a tree barely seconds before the VR/MZ team turned up. It was found without too much difficulty. The BLN and YQN teams came in seconds later to tie for second place. KIR and TXO teams did not get to the fox in the 10 minute time limit.

The third hunt was another fox-or-ing event.

63 J4: Easement adjacent to horse padocks. (BLN had fun in here)

64 H11: Bushy area beside bike track. pity the swamp had evaporated

72 E2: Creek, scrub, bike track and just enough black berries to keep TJN interested.

The fox for the final leg was hidden in a shopping trolley parked near the entrance of an upper level of the new Knox District centre development that had opened only days before. Although the location was fairly simple as far as accessibility was concerned, the intention was to add a bit of confusion for people who turned up at the lower level because of the amount of things for the signal to reflect off. This idea seemed to pay off as a lot of teams spent a considerable amount of time running around the lower level. First to work out what was going on was Geoff from the VR/MZ team. The YQN team came in about 6 minutes later and BLN turned up just before the time limit had expired. TXO forfeited due to a temporarily damaged human.

The next hunt was a 10 minute drive off. The fox had to change plans last minute as the intended location ended up being blocked by a locked gate! It was discovered that there was a small (2m wide) laneway that led behind a small set of factories nearby. This location turned out to be more of a challenge than expected. Most teams appeared to be convinced that the fox was hidden in thick scrub near the Manhattan Hotel. Melways 63D10. A lot of cursing could be heard in the distance. Several people started making their way down the lane and one ended up jumping the fence convinced that the signal had to be in the bush area while others turned back to find another way. One of the members of the KIR team who was first on the scene got to within 2 metres of the fox (from the scrub side) several times but for some reason never found the transmitter that was just hanging on the fence. The VR/MZ team were first to work out what was going on closely followed by John from the BLN team who had finally made their way down the full length of the laneway.

The supper fox could be found off Glenfern Rd, Melways 74 F10. The low signal strengths from Glenfern Rd indicated to the hounds that the fox must have been further away. Most hounds were dropped from the opposite ends of the reserve. Those dropped in Upwey found a gully in the way. Those from the football oval found a long run ahead of them. The VR team discovered an I beam that took offence to their vechicle tire pressure.

All hounds soon retired to the QTHR of VK3YLE for food, stories, slideshow and scores. Appologies again for the very late posting of this report.

Cheers, VK3YDF Team, Steve, Bryan, Adam, Tarron, Luke, Judy, Alice, Georgie and Muffy.

Six teams and some onlookers assembled at the Yarraville and Seddon Bowling Club car park on a cold but clear and dry winter’s evening. All hunts were two-legged except for the supper hunt, and in total nine transmitters were active during the evening, all on 2m.

The first hunt commenced with the YQN Pajero hiding in boggy ground off Jamieson Way west of Sanctuary Lakes Point Cook, 207G6. Lots of watts – I could hear the fox on the hand-held from the meeting spot, but only three teams got in – VK3s VR, YDF and BLN. VK3s OW, BQZ and TXO did not reach the first fox within ten minutes.

The second leg was Graham VK3KOA and Douglas operating the good old WIA fox, hidden in a short laneway between a service station and McDonalds at Lunn Crt Altona Meadows, 53B11. On leg time, YDF was in first, followed by BLN, OW, VR, BQZ and TXO.

The second hunt started with Roger VK3HRL transmitting while mobile near Galvin Park Werribee. While motoring around the neighbourhood, power levels were varied from 3 to 30 Watts (at times it might have seemed like more) at random. Eventually Roger went to ground in Galvin Park itself, still transmitting from the car. All successful hounds got in on foot (surprisingly). VK3YDF preceded VR and BLN by two minutes, with OW two minutes later again. VK3s BQZ and TXO got in after ten minutes .

The second leg involved Peter and Matt walking along a bike path with Bryan’s gaffer tape special. To speed things along a bit the location was amended to the streets near Wattamolla Ave Werribee, 205G6. On leg time VK3BQZ equalled VK3VR, beating YDF by one minute. BLN and OW took several minutes longer while TXO missed the deadline.

The third hunt started with the WIA fox buried in the playground at Tyrone St Werribee 206C6. The north boundary of the playground fronts the railway reservation, and as hoped some teams assumed the fox was adjacent to the main line. Don’t know why. Anyway, several hounds had to climb the boundary fence to gain access to the fox. VK3YDF was first again, followed by VR and then all at once BQZ, TXO and BLN. VK3OW failed to locate this fox.

The second leg was Roger HRL on the handheld directly adjacent to the Geelong main line just north of Cottrell St Werribee 205H8. By coincidence this location was only 200m from the end of the second leg of the second hunt. This was intended to be a bit obvious but the field was spread nonetheless. On leg time VR was in first, followed by BQZ and YDF. Due partly to a failure by Roger to activate the handheld’s keylock and partly to a veritable plummet down an embankment, the fox was operated 25 kHz low for about 6 minutes. Subsequent teams were given a six-minute credit – allowing BLN and TXO to both score 8. VK3OW missed the time limit. Roger was supremely happy to have found a great train-spotting location, but for some unknown reason no-one else showed any interest…

The fourth hunt started with Graham VK3KOA and Douglas poorly concealed at the north end of a lane off Hoppers Lane Werribee South 206J8. VK3OW was in first, followed by BLN, YDF and TXO, VR and BQZ.

The second leg was the Peter and Matt with the gaffer tape fox in the new development west of Conquest Drive Werribee 205K6. This area was once the CSIRO’s animal research centre and is now a haven for Werribee’s moccasin set. On leg time VK3VR was in first, followed by BLN, YDF, TXO, OW and later on BQZ.

The supper hunt was (at last!) a single leg event, and all hounds had been given written details of the supper location. It was no surprise then that the field was a little bit bunched, but spread out enough to suggest that this was challenging for some. The fox was the WIA fox simply placed on playground equipment in the park adjacent to Roger’s QTHR (aka Supper location), 202B8. VK3BLN was in first, followed by YDF and BQZ, then VR, OW and TXO.

All hounds then walked over to supper, which commenced 15 minutes later than promised. However, scores had been calculated, checked and announced by 2350 to the delight of the more weary of the travellers. Everyone seemed reasonably content, although there was an apparent shortage of hot food. The mystery was resolved two hours later when the lost tray of party pies was discovered on the top shelf of the oven… D’Oh! Matt and Bob the dog were most pleased.

Scores, from a maximum possible 60 points:

Team	Hunt		Hunt		Hunt		Hunt        Hunt  Total	Place
	1		2		3		4           5

VK3OW	10+4		4+5		10+10		0+4	    3     50	4
VK3BLN	9+3		2+4		5+8		1+1	    0     33	3
VK3YDF	5+0		0+1		0+3		3+2	    1     15	1
VK3VR...0+5		2+0		1+0		8+0         2	  18	2
VK3BQZ	10+8		10+0		5+3		8+8	    1     53	5
VK3TXO	10+9		10+10		5+8		3+3	    4     62	6

Apologies for the lateness of this report; such behavior is not to be tolerated and had better not happen again.

Regards,
Roger Lewis

Here are the score from the last hunt.

Scoring was place based with 0 for first 1 for second etc. If a team did not find the fox then they scored 2 more points than the last place getter to get in within the time limit.  

Team    1    2    3    4    5    6    Tot  

3YDF    0    1    0    2    0    3    6

30W     3    2    1    1    3    1    11

3YQN    2    4    2    0    1    3    12

3BLN    1    0    5    5    2    0    13

3VT     5    3    3    3    4    2    20  

Mark.      

VK3BLN Fox Hunt Report – June 2002

As usual, the BLN team was still developing equipment and software at 6:30pm on the night of the hunt. Not content to use stopwatches or raffle tickets, David XAJ was at Brian’s place creating a second “FoxScore” system. For those of you who are not regular Melbourne foxhunters, FoxScore is a black box with a 6.5mm hole and a red LED on the outside. The black box is hidden with the transmitter (fox). Each team receives two 6.5mm plugs containing a coded circuit at its tail that is unique to the team (size does matter – the plugs are equal in length and girth to ensure a satisfactory outcome). When the fox is found, the hunter simply inserts his plug into FoxScore’s hole. Once is usually enough, although some hounds who lacked technique required multiple attempts. Upon successful penetration, the tricky gadgetry within the box sucks in the hound’s identity, registers the time of insertion, and the red light glows warmly to acknowledge a successful mating and to advertise readiness for a subsequent coupling. A second hole in the black box is used to evacuate the valuable data after each hunt to the serial port of a laptop. The new “lil sister” system now enables two-legged hunts to be scored auto-magically. Rumors that FoxScore was inspired by Brian’s black canine bitch, “Roxanne”, are simply untrue (apologies to fans of Sting and The Police).

The first fox was laying in wait near the south end of Bellbird Lane, North Warrandyte (23 D5). The unmade streets in this area had recently been changed for new subdivisions. Even the latest maps are slightly inaccurate. Mark JMD entered first, arriving from the south – presumably from the other side of the creek from the old Danita Drive. YDF was second, with YQN a very close third followed by Ewen VK3OW. Many unnecessary kilometers were covered both on foot and by car.

Hunt 2 found the fox hidden along the southwest side of the creek near The Parkway (34 E2) by the old Templestowe electricity station. Many hounds would have approached from the wrong side of the creek. The creek is too wide and deep to be crossed and, without a map in hand, hounds may have had trouble locating the footbridge. VK3YDF won the hunt from 3JMD, with YQN appearing more than 14 minutes later.

Continuing the “water” theme, hunt 3 (the two-legged hunt) was staged along the disused Maroondah pipeline and aqueduct in Research. Leg 1 (22 K2) required entry from Bells Hill Road (a.k.a. Mount Pleasant Road) along a hidden track and through a gate. Even though the fox was placed along the narrow strip of public land that used to carry the pipeline, permission had been obtained from the neighboring farmer to mitigate untimely death by shotgun. All 4 hounds arrived within 3 minutes of each other, with JMD first followed by YQN, OW and YDF. David and Graham hid the leg 2 fox deep within a tunnel of the aqueduct (22 H1). The steep-sided, concrete-lined channel is hard to get into and harder to get out of. Once inside, the hounds had to contend with mud & blackberries. Most teams were struggling to hear the fox so Lily accommodated by emitting a few long bursts of signal from the Landcrab. VK3JMD was narrowly beaten by YQN (by less than 20 seconds). YDF arrived a few minutes later.

A week earlier it had been raining heavily. Andersons Creek, by Gold Memorial Road (35 E2), could not be crossed without wading through running water. The fourth fox was hidden along the steep north bank of this creek. It was hoped that hounds would either brave the water or enter from the north through 400 metres of difficult and steep bush land. Fortunately for the hounds, there had been little rain and the creek was easily traversed. Just 10 minutes after planting the transmitter, the roar of four-wheel drives was heard; all four teams arrived within minutes. Bruce YQN ran straight towards the creek, eyes up, and crashed straight into a low wooden sign. Ouch, bruised legs! Tripping over the sign, Bruce landed in the mud (head down, tail up) and mimicked a bicycle rack. Several hounds chose the most direct path across the creek and scrambled with athletic ability up a 50-degree embankment, clinging onto rocks and tree stumps with sniffers snagging on shrubs and torches dragging. Bruce YQN arrived first but could not get his connector out. (Is this a frequent problem, Bruce?) Worried by a rival hound hot on his heals, Bruce cleverly blocked the FoxScore socket with his free hand whilst he fumbled around inside his pants. Our records show that YQN plugged the hole only 3 seconds before JMD, followed by OW and YDF about 5 minutes later.

The supper hunt ended at The 100 Acres Flora and Fauna Reserve, Park Orchards (35 F10). The four bodies of water at the reserve are named “Yabbie Dam”, “Tadpole Dam”, “Brown Dam” and “Austin Dam”. Those of you who know David (XAJ) would be familiar with his affinity to Austin automobiles and may have been guided towards his namesake pond – but you would have been wrong. This time, JMD pipped YQN by less than 40 seconds, followed by OW then YDF.

Much appreciation was expressed to Laurel, Lily and Graham for providing supper. There was more food provided than just the 75 cheesy-poofs that had been promised to Roger for his insolence. We could not find flaw in the scoring system’s behavior. Thanks, Brian! Following all the wet and dirty situations in which FoxScore was placed, I hope that David and Graham remembered to wipe “Roxanne” clean.

Teams	4	JMD	YQN	YDF	OW	
Raw times for each hunt (H:MM:SS)

Hunt1		0:41:21	0:47:30	0:47:11	0:55:10	
Hunt2		0:22:25	0:36:42	0:20:34		
Hunt3		0:18:59	0:20:16	0:21:51	0:20:23	
Hunt 3b cumulative      0:26:11 0:25:54	0:30:57		
Hunt 3b leg		0:07:12	0:05:38	0:09:06		
Hunt4		0:14:12	0:14:09	0:20:17	0:19:03	
Hunt5		0:04:20	0:04:58	0:11:54	0:09:32	
						
Results based on order						
"No-find" penalty	1					
Hunt1		0	2	1	3	
Hunt2		1	2	0	4	
Hunt3		0	1	3	2	
						
Hunt 3b leg	1	0	2	4	
Hunt4		1	0	3	2	
Hunt5		0	1	3	2	
Total points	3	6	12	17	
Placing		1	2	3	4	
						
Results based on time (traditional scoring)
	Max					
Hunt1	10	0	7	6	10	
Hunt2	10	2	10	0	10	
Hunt3	10	0	2	3	2	
						
Hunt 3b leg 10	2	0	4	10	
Hunt4	10	1	0	7	5	
Hunt5	10	0	1	8	6	
Total points 60	5	20	28	43	
Placing		1	2	3	4	

Cheers,
John ‘BLN and team.

Foxhunt report, Victorian Foxhunting Championships, 11 May 2002

On Saturday 11 May 2002, six teams gathered at the church hall at the south end of Army Road Pakenham for the 17th Annual WIA Victorian Foxhunting Championships. The weather was a fantastic sunny autumn day, about 22 degrees, perfect foxhunting weather.

Bruce VK3TJN set the first hunt on 2m, a single legged event intended as a warm-up. At this stage the VK3BLN and VK3BQZ teams had not arrived, so four teams set out to find the YQN Pajero, hidden on the north side of railway tracks (where else?) in trees, 800m west of McGregor Rd Pakenham, Melway ref 317C8. First in was Adam VK3YDF, followed by Ewen VK3OW and Greg VK3VT. VK3MZ also found the fox but missed out on points.

The second hunt was a three legged hunt-in-order event, with points going to the hounds completing all three legs (ie not on leg time). First leg: Bruce VK3TJN set the 70cm fox on Watson Rd west, near the west bank of Toomuc Creek. The road is poorly mapped, and the intent was to keep hounds guessing as to which side of the creek to head to. Teams were closely spaced into this fox, OW just beating the others. Jack VK3WWW and Roger VK3HRL ran the second leg, a 6m fox in Jack’s 2WD van hidden on the south side of the railway line 500m east of Mt Ararat Road Pakenham 318K9. There’s that railway line again… OW was in first, followed two minutes later by YDF (who had to wait for the down Morwell Superfreighter with an X and a P up front, ho ho ho, before they could run across the tracks and get in) and MZ five minutes after that. 2m comms indicated that Greg VT and John VK3BLN could not gain vehicle access to the 6m location, so the fox was moved closer to Mt Ararat Road to give them a chance. Greg VT got in 29 minutes after OW, and BLN ran out of time.

The third leg was a 10m transmitter in the YQN Pajero, being operated by Graham VK3KOA, and hidden on the south side of a new housing estate between a dirt mound and the ubiquitous railway line. Due to antenna problems, the signal was very weak and most teams had trouble on this leg. OW was in first, followed by YDF and MZ. VT found the fox but missed out on a point, and BLN was still looking for the second leg when the hunt was called off. Due to the difficulties experienced in getting in to the 6m fox, subsequent hunts were rearranged to ensure that foxes located away from trafficable roads could be found with sniffers. This was a significant lesson of the day:- even if the fox is in a two-wheel-drive vehicle, don’t assume the hounds can drive in!

Teams repaired to the church hall for afternoon tea and exchanges of stories, while the fox team prepared for the logisitically intensive third hunt.

The third hunt required teams to find five foxes in any order, the foxes being on 80m, 23cm, 70cm, 2m and 2m. The second 2m leg was in lieu of 10m (out of commission pending decent antenna!). All teams found Graham VK3KOA on 70cm, hidden in his car off Norris Rd 316D12. They all found Peter in the YQN Pajero in a paddock north of Grices Rd 131J8 transmitting on 2m. This spot was a personal favourite amongst the fox team because of the unmapped turns required to get in. The BLN land crab demonstrated its genuine lack of off-road abilities, to the delight and amazement of onlookers.

Four teams found Jack WWW (80m), whose van was loosely concealed on Bladens Drain Road, way to the south-east of Pakenham.

Four found Bruce VK3TJN on 2m on the grassy hill west of Ahern Rd Pakenham 317E2.

One team (Ewen VK3OW) found Roger VK3HRL (23cm) whose 2WD Falcon was perched on a hill to the west of Pakenham (212B12, west of O’Neill Rd). The YDF team nearly found this fox in the dying minutes but lost signal when the narrow Yagi was inadvertently changed from horizontal to vertical polarisation for a few minutes before the hunt was called off.

*** Dinner time *** This is where Bruce VK3TJN takes up the report… After the delicious spit roast (now becoming a semi-regular YQN occurance at Vic championships) and the assorted cheesecakes & ice cream & all sorts of other evil delights (I would have said chocolate cake here but Peter would start salivating, and that makes a terrible mess of the keyboard), the teams prepared for the sniffer hunt.

At last everyone was ready, and after a bit of a false start (which if I didn’t know Roger better was potentially pre-planned) hounds quickly closed in on the pile of pinetree cuttings in the yard. With echos of a Mt Gambier sniffer hunt it was the first person to find the way in who won, and that happened to be Adam YDF. The hunt was over before some even realised it had started !

Now teams gathered for the serious part of the championship. The multi-leg night hunt is always designed to test the hounds and this one was to be no exception! The hunts were to be hunted in fixed order 2m, 70cm, 6m, 10m, 2m (again). We switched around the 6 & 10 legs to allow the VT to hunt effectively since they lacked a 6m sniffer (anything to make people happy).

Graham ran the 1st 2m leg and he was to be found in Pakenham Upper (Hoyles Rd 313H12). Most teams found Graham within a spread of five minutes, with BQZ bringing up the rear 14 minutes after YDF.

Roger manned the 70cm transmitter, and as we all know Roger is happiest near a railway line. Toot toot, keep the anorak dry and notebook handy! In this case he was in trees west of Beaconsfield Station (131H1). Much amusement when the MZ team decided to disassemble their foxhunting gear before proceeding under the very low clearance nearby railway bridge. A much higher bridge was about 30 seconds’ drive to the east, but the navigator must have been asleep. Pity they only had to drive another 100m before having to get out and sniff anyway.

Peter struggled to put out a good 6m signal with a small duck antenna from beyond the end of Bourke Road (South of Pakenham Keymap14). Sorry about the low signal on this leg people. Only the VT team didn’t find this leg. BLN took an award-winning 20 minutes, but BQZ took a record 98 minutes attempting to DF using only a WWII army relic and a completely non functional 6m sniffer (courtesy me…ooops sorry about that Steve….but at least I’ve fixed it now).

I spent my time putting out about 40W of 10m from deep into some bush near Gordon Rd (316B7). I had managed to use the ATU to load up some wire draped in a tree, but the tuning was still a bit unexciting. Still enough signal for all teams to eventually find me, but there was a long wait for some of you (a whole CD’s worth in one case). BLN had trouble with the SSB signal on this leg having traversed Gordons road about 3 times before requesting hints from the fox. First team through was YDF (and you still want me to forgive you Steve ?), last was BQZ after their lengthy 6m sojourn. VT didn’t bother with 10m for some undefined reason (too cold ? too many mosquitoes ?).

The final leg was a ‘traditional’ crater hunt, on 2m. Luckily Pakenham had a handy crater 317B8 right near the middle of town. VK3YDF got in first, suitably distracted by the fox team members sitting on the park bench at the bottom of the crater (the fox was in scrub half-way up the crater wall – see, we do learn stuff at Mt Gambier). The VK3MZ team, after finding 10m, proceeded to track down a local repeater atop Mt Dandenong by setting their rig incorrectly. They in fact drove so far in the wrong direction they elected to carry on driving home instead of returning for supper. It’s ok Ian . We just won’t mention 1MHz ever again. ever. Actually they had a change of heart and got into the crater 13 minutes behind YDF, closely pursued by VK3OW. VT dropped in 17 minutes later. The fox was moved to the church hall and found by BLN and (much later) BQZ.

Teams returned to the hall and enjoyed pecan pie, left-overs from dinner, plus fresh hot food and drinks. Meanwhile the array of prizes was unveiled and scores quickly tallied, checked, subjected to VK3YNG/VK3YDF “scoring system is screwed” hypothesis testing, and announced.

A word on scoring. Points were awarded Mt Gambier-style, 3 for first, 2 for second, 1 for third, none for everyone else. For multi-leg fixed-order hunts, only the final order counted. The multi-leg any-order event was scored like ARDF – number of transmitters, then time taken. Prizes were awarded to winners and place-getters, and “encouragement awards” given for noteworthy achievements.

Team		Hunt                                    Total    Place
		1	2	3	(Sniffer)
  
VK3YDF	        3	2	2	3		10        1st
VK3OW	        2	3	3	1		9         2nd
VK3VT		1		1	                2         4th
VK3MZ		1			2		3         3rd
VK3BLN                                                          = 5th
VK3BQZ                                                          = 5th

The sniffer hunt was won by Adam VK3YDF. Second was Geoff VK3VR,followed by John VK3BLN.

Congratulations to VK3YDF. In a break with tradition, YDF declined to run the 2003 Championships, and Ewen VK3OW has agreed to host them instead.

Thank you to all teams for their participation and comments. Particular thanks to Sue Christian and the spit roast crew for the catering. It’s hard work and mostly thankless, particularly while the
boys are out playing.

See you all at Mt Gambier.

73s
Roger VK3HRL

2M foxhunt report – March 2002

The hunt this month was organised by the VK3VT team of Doug VK3JDO, Chris VK3CHR, Ian, Tom and Greg VK3VT. Five teams rolled up for a start at the Doncaster swimming pool.

The first hunt was a quick run across to Banksia Park in Heidelberg. VK3YDF was first to find the fox with VK3YQN and VK3VR not far behind, then there was a bit of delay until VK3TXO made the run into the park and VK3BLN was just a bit too late. There were some complaints as the transmitter was off for some time at a crucial point in the hunt – my apologies to those who were more affected than others.

Hunt two saw the fox beside the Darebin Creek and hounds had a short run to find this transmitter YQN was first with YDF and VR some way behind TXO was just in time but BLN had still not troubled the scorer.

Latrobe University saw the hounds next with the fox walking around the buildings – some good visual scouting saw Geoff (VK3VR) just pip Bruce (VK3YQN) in announcing callsigns BLN was next on the scene and YDF and TXO dead heated to be last to find the fox.

Tom used some of his local knowledge to lead the hounds into a new estate near Parade College in Bundoora there were numerous piles of dirt around and the fox was on one of these – unfortunately the handheld being used as the fox was left on high power and overheated thus causing protection circuits to come into play in turn it off. This did cause concern for some teams. The person responsible has been flogged and has promised not to do this again! VR was first, YQN, BLN, and TXO all in a rush and then YDF just in time.

Hunt five was the most difficult of the evening with the fox being located in a Yellow Gum park close to (but on the other side of the river to) a spot previously used. There was a fair walk into the park and the transmitter was located near the Blue Lake. Due to the difficulty of this spot time was doubled and the scores halved. First to find us was Adam (VK3YDF) Roger (VK3YQN) was next BLN and VR both arrived via a river crossing and just made the dead line. TXO was unlucky and did not find the fox.

The final hunt was held on a new estate near the end of the Metropolitan Ring Road and YQN and VR had a race to the fox with YQN winning. YDF was next and BLN and TXO were more interested in supper and failed to find the transmitter.

Results:

Hunt|Team	VK3YQN	VK3VR	VK3YDF	VK3BLN	VK3TXO
1	2	2	0	10	9
2	0	5	4	10	8
3	1	0	9	2	9
4	6	0	10	6	6
5	6	9	0	9	10
6	0	1	3	10	10
Total	15	17	26	47	52
Place	1	2	3	4	5

Report from Greg VK3VT

On the mild evening of Friday 15/2, six teams turned up at the car park of the Yarraville and Seddon Bowling Club Yarraville. It was good to see Dennis VK3BQZ from Geelong, in addition to regulars VK3s YDF, VT, OW, TVB and, eventually, BLN. All hunts were on 2m.

The first hunt was a two-legged affair. The first leg was in the Truganina salt marshes of Altona, Melway 54B10. The intended site was fenced off, so Bruce VK3TJN and Ian VK3YQN hiked further north to find a spot amongst the reeds. VK3TVB (or is it JMD, VR or MZ? Please decide before the hunts fellas) was in first, followed two minutes later by VT and YDF. OW was five minutes later, while BLN and BQZ didn’t get in at all.

The second leg took the hounds to an industrial area near to Mobil refinery’s tank farm (Techno Park Dve Williamstown, 55D8). Based on leg time (not finding order!), YDF was first, followed by VT, TVB and OW. BLN found the fox, but their leg time was more than ten minutes slower than YDF so max points sorry. BQZ was still having trouble and were talked in to the meeting spot.

The second hunt was also a two-legged event. Roger VK3HRL had the WIA fox in plain view beside a tree beside the Gem Pier in Williamstown (a hive of activity on a warm Friday night). Hounds took only a short time to reach the fox from the start point, YDF (0), BQZ, VT and BLN (1), TVB (3) and OW (4).

The second leg was a mobile 2m fox on 145.300 MHz, around the Grand Prix circuit at Albert Park. With most of the usual access points closed off in preparation for the up-coming race, the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) conveniently had both ends of the car park open. TVB, BLN and YDF intercepted Douglas, VT found him but scored 10 on leg time, while OW and BQZ were unable to find him at all. Hunt 3 was a single leg hunt, with Bruce and Ian concealed in the parkland on 2FK6 east of Flinders St Railway Station. There was no need to go on the tollway! VK3BLN was followed by VT, TVB and YDF. BQZ and OW didn’t find the fox at all.

Hunt 4 was another two-legged event. Roger was strolling around in the rain in the laneways behind Bridge St Richmond, 2GK6, transmitting on a hand-held. The lanes and alleys are a maze in there, with some great nooks to hide in. Occasionally the fox operator would wander out into Bridge St for something different. On one of these ventures, he was surprised to see the white Prado of the TVB team glide past. Finger off mike, Roger headed back into the laneways, then recommenced transmissions. Eventually TVB (0) and OW (1) found Roger within 10 minutes. Of the others, BLN failed to find Roger, while YDF, BQZ and VT were outside 10 minutes. VT would not have found HRL at all if Roger hadn’t knocked on Greg’s window and asked for his call-sign. “F**king f**k f**ker…”, explained Greg.

The second (supper) leg was in a coax-strewn Phoenix Park East Malvern, 69D2, where Ian and Douglas had set up more than a few decoys. On leg time, TVB was a clear winner, followed by ! BLN and VT. YDF and OW found the fox but too late, while BQZ failed again.

Supper was at Bruce’s place in Ashwood. The evening really spread the teams out (as hoped), and there were few gripes at supper.

Scores. Scores! Scores!! SCORES!!!

Team    Hunt 1	 Hunt 2	Hunt 3	Hunt 4       Total (/70) Place

VK3YDF	2+0=2	 0+8=8	 9	10+10=20     39		 3
VK3BQZ	10+10=20 1+10=11 10	10+10=20     61          6
VK3VT	2+1=3	 1+10=11 5	10+7=17	     36          2
VK3OW	7+8=15	 4+10=14 10	1+10=11	     50          5
VK3TVB	0+2=2	 3+0=3	 8	0+0=0        13		 1
VK3BLN	6+10=16	 1+7=8	 0	10+7=17	     41          4

Congratulations to the VK3TVB team, clear and certain winners. Thanks again to BQZ for making the long trip up from Geelong, hopefully you’ll have better luck next time.

Regards, Roger Lewis

It would seem that many people are still on annual leave as only four
teams
turned up to take part in the January Fox Hunt. The hunt was organised by
the VK3TVB/3MZ/3JMD/3VR fox hunting team (when will those guys settle on
just one callsign?).

The new start location in the Safeway carpark proved to be much more
convenient than the old K-Mart carpark. Top of a hill, not too many other
cars and safe exits in two directions - who could ask for more?

The first hunt was a very short hop - a low-power fox had been concealed
inside the hollow support pole of a cyclone fence. The antenna was a tin
piece of hookup wire concealed in the crack between two logs. Only 2-3
metres away, there was an inviting hole in the fence that provided entry
to
the old Burwood brickyards - those that took part in the BLN hunt 2-3
months
ago will remember this site. First in the area was the VT team, followed
shortly by YDF and YQN team members. As hoped for, all teams got
distracted
by the plethora of nasty fox hunting spots in the bushes on the other side
of the fence. First to move back and find the well concealed transmitter
was
the VT team - with YDF and YQN less than a minute later.

A friend of Geoff's (3VR) had agreed to help with the second hunt. With a
well concealed handheld in his pocket and the extension microphone
concealed
up his shirt sleeve he just looked like any of the other 1,000-2,000
people
wandering around the Glen Waverley carpark and shops. Once again the VT
team
got in the area very quickly and soon realised that the fox was mobile in
some way. After tracking in the car for a while they realised that the
speed
at which it was moving indicated that it was on a person. They dropped off
two runners that decided to work together - as Doug picked one direction,
Glenn would race ahead and triangulate to determine the area/person. They
were immediately suspicious of a guy standing around making a very long
mobile phone call and as Glenn stepped up to challenge him - the real fox
who was only 1-2 metres away must have sniggered as he moved out of the
area. Realising they had made a mistake, they raced after the other guy,
but
he got out his car keys and they thought that he was just a motorist
returning to his car. Unfortunately, for the fox he didn't realise they
were
still watching from a distance and as he popped his keys back in his
opocket
and went mobile again they both raced up and challenged him. 11-12 minutes
later the YDF team found him and 5 minutes after that YQN.  BLN runners
were
seen running up and down alleyways and did find the scorekeepers...but
were
unable to locate the real fox.

Hunt 3 was another miniature fox - this time concealed in a waterproof
container and shoved into a hole in a rock in the middle of a creek in
Mount
Waverley. Hounds got into the area fairly easily, but were challenged by
the
difficult terrain. The VK3YDF team were first in, with YQN and VT taking
the
minor placings.

Hunt 4 was a mobile hunt. We called in the hounds from the Wellington Road
entrance to the freeway. As expected, most hounds dropped onto the freeway
immediately and headed straight towards us. We gave them about 4 minutes
and
then dropped onto the freeway...heading back in the direction from which
they had come. As the signal level rose (we were transmitting 70 Watts),
several teams dropped off the freeway and/or dropped runners. The YDF team
quickly realised what had happened and headed back towards us. In the
meantime we had driven into an industrial estate and hid the car
underneath
a tarpaulin in a narrow alleyway. We could hear cars moving around the
industrial estate and reduced transmissions from 30 seconds ON/OFF to blip
mode (hee hee hee). First in the area was the YDF team - by now well ahead
of the others; they got in quite quickly, followed by the BLN team about
8-9
minutes later.

Hunt 5 was a transmitter suspended in a balloon about 50-70m above the
trees
in an area of native forest called Shepherd's Bush.  All teams took some
time to finally work out that the signal was up and then
to stop looking up each tree. At one stage there were 6 hounds sniffing up
6
different trees. Without a torch the Balloon could just be made out in the
moonlight and when the Tx was on the LED could be seen 50m below on the
ground.  First in was YFD with the other teams following 6-8 minutes
later.
For the record a 3ft Balloon can lift 200grams and a 5ft balloon inflated
to
4ft lifts 300grams nicely

The final hunt for the evening was concealed in a hollow post at the edge
of
a garden bed. Unfortunately for us, the YDF team had spotted the pole in
our
car earlier in the evening and was on the lookout for this. (Damn- if I'd
thought of it at the time, we should have double-crossed them and hid it
in
in the dense undergrowth nearby). Results - YDF, VT, YQN and finally BLN.

A relatively early supper was held at the home of Geoff (VK3VR). Scores
were
:

Hunt	YDF	VT	YQN	BLN
1	1	0	1	2
2	1	0	2	3
3	0	1	2	3
4	0	2	2	1
5	0	3	2	1
7	0	1	2	3
=====================================
Total	2	7	11	13

Place	1	2	3	4

TXO was the fox for november nad it was our first time running a hunt on
our 
own.  The Night started off from knoxfield shopping center on ferntree
gully 
road,

The First hunt was a single leg hunt down near the dandenong creek off 
illiwarra avenue.  The fox had been dilebritely placed on a peninsula on
the 
other side of dandenong creek(impassable as a few found out) a crossing to

the other side was approix 100m upstream.  The standard ten minute rule
was 
used.  How hard can it be? well, first on the scene was OW. OW had a major

advantage as they were on the scene at least ten minutes before everyone 
else.  they promptly got out of their car and proceeded directly toward
the 
fox, bugger, dandenong creek was in their way, they went round and round
in 
circles until all the rest of the teams arrived. BLN were the first to get

in 30mins after the first hound arrived on the site.  one other team got
in, 
OW.  I was suprised to see that not many people had a look at their
melways 
to see where there was a crossing.  all in all this leg ran for approx 1
1/4 
hours. Note blackberries were not part of our plan, these were not 
intentional.


The second hunt was a fairly simple one, again single leg.  The fox was 
situated in a park on the south side of the school on whaley drive.  First

in was YQN followed closely by OW, VT, YDF and finally HBD

The third hunt was the two legger.  The first hunt was situated in a park 
off whaley drive, in boronia.  unfortunately for most of the hounds, this 
park was not on most melways, however those who were lucky enough to have 
the 2001 edition, it was marked. To add to the confusion it was switched
to 
intermittent.  First in was YQN followed closely by YDF and HBD.  7
minutes 
later OW and VT decicded to rock up. The second leg was situated near a 
carpark in the boronia telephone exchange, First in was YDF followed
closely 
by YQN, eventually HDB, OW and finally VT got in.

The fourth hunt was located down an alleyway and in a pit behind scoresby 
shopping center.  First in was YQN followed closely by VT and YDF,
followed 
seven minutes later by OW and then HBD.

The fifth hunt sent the guys on a hike up to chruchill national park.  the

fox was once again, located on a section of park not marked in all but the

2001 edition of the melways, we decicded to make this an easy leg so i put

it approximately 5m in from the track, unfortunately for quite a few
people 
they couldnt see this track and decicded to bushbash.  First in was YQN 
followed 2 minutes later by OW, then YDF,abd HBD, VT failed to get in

The sixth hunt was situated near a creek behind some houses near the park
on 
Allora Av in ferntree gully.  First in was YDF, followed four minutes
later 
by YQN, and OW. VT and HBD did not get in.

The last hunt (supper) was situated ontop of a shelterin benedikt reserve
in 
scoresby, we located it here due to the massive reflections that caught 
quite a few people out.  First in was YDF followed closely by VT,YQN,HDB
and 
finally OW.

All and all, it was a good nite, which as far as we (TXO) are concerned
ran 
extremly well. Could next months fox please contact me on the number belwo

so that we can arrange for the WIA fox to be picked up from garys place.

These are the results of the October foxhunt for those that are interested.  Looking at the scores I wonder if you can deside anything about the hunts?   ie hunt 1    too hard    hunt 2     too easy    hunt 3     too easy    hunt 4     about right    hunt 5     too hard    hunt 6     too easy   who knows, perhaps who cares!  

Foxhunt October 2001
TEAM	Hunt 1	Hunt 2	Hunt 3	Hunt 4	Hunt 5	Hunt 6	Total	Place
VR	0	2	2	0	2	0	6	1
YQN	10	0	10	2	0	1	23	2
HBD	6	3	2	6	10	1	28	3
BLN	10	2	0	10	10	1	33	4
YDF	10	6	3	2	10	10	41	5
PW	10	10	9	4	9	6	48	6

  The VK3TXO team has offered to be fox for next months hunt so I guess we will hear from them in due course.   Regards, Ewen Henk, Stephen