Radio Society of Great Britain

Mytchett 12 Dec 2009

144MHz long course 7 TXs + beacon. 7 starters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	TXs	TX total
1.	David Williams	M3WDD	1.22.31	M40	6327451	7/7
2.	Vlad Boev	2E0VLB	1.41.22	M50	6327145	7/7
3.	David Heale	G6HGE	2.02.20	M40	6325471	7/7
4.	John Marriott	LEI	2.37.25	M60	6234715	7/7
5.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	2.50.18	M40	6324175	7/7
6.	Steve Stone	RS193217	2.36.11	M50	627145	6/7
7.	Jillian Ullersperger	M6JIL	2.49.23	W35	65423	5/7

144MHz short course 5 TXs + beacon. 6 starters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	TXs	TX total
1.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	1.38.19	M60	63541	5/5
2.	Ken Jones	M0AET	2.00.58	M60	36541	5/5
3.	John Little	M1SHE	2.04.14	M60	63541	5/5
4.	David Deane	G3ZOI	2.31.01	M60	63145	5/5
5.	Evan Duffield	2E0TJU	2.23.11	M21	3641	4/5
6.	Rod Mansel	G6AWO	2.29.05	M50	3541	4/5

Notes:
1. What a fantastic event on a fantastic area. Many thanks and congratulations to Michael Dunbar for such a challenging competition. Only one of the short course competitors (Ken Jones) got the order of the transmitters correct. Rod Mansel and Evan Duffield started correctly by taking TX #3 first.
On the long course, TX 2 was the best choice of first transmitter but I defy the world's best ARDF competitors to make that call within 80 seconds of leaving the start having not heard TXs 3 to 7. The tunnel under the railway just 120m from the start was the optimum route for the 7 TX course.
2. Optimum short course sequence was 36541. The realistic choice for the long course was 3265471. As can be seen from the results, 10 of the 13 entrants went for TX 6 first and many of them passed within 200m of TX 3 on their way up to 6.
3. The area was quite excellent and the many valleys and re-entrants provided a challenge. None of the transmitters were located on the flat top of the highest ground. The two key techniques were to always try to take bearings from the high ground and second to always move about by a few tens of metres while deciding on the correct direction of a bearing.
4. Click here for a map of all the transmitter locations.
5. Short course winner's blog and GPS track
6. Long course winner's detailed analysis .

Hay Wood 15 Nov 2009
Click here for all 144 MHz split times in a single table.

144MHz long course 5 TXs + beacon. 13 starters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	TXs	TX total
1.	Michael Dunbar	M6MDD	29.06	M40	132546	6/6
2.	David Williams	M3WDD	32.54	M40	132546	6/6
3.	Vlad Boev	2E0VLB	40.58	M50	132546	6/6
4.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	55.44	M60	452316	6/6
5.	Andrew Soltysik	G4KWQ	57.27	M40	134256	6/6
6.	David Heale	G6HGE	60.41	M40	452316	6/6
7.	Steve Stone	RS193217	62.04	M50	132546	6/6
8.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	70.09	M40	132546	6/6
9.	Jim Smith	G4DZL	77.13	M60	524316	6/6
10.	David Deane	G3ZOI	81.46	M60	452316	6/6
11.	John Marriott	LEI	90.47	M60	135246	6/6
12.	Rod Mansel	G6AWO	111.56	M50	5236	4/6
13.	Peter Asquith	G4ENA	122.09 OT	M50	14326	5/6

144MHz short course 4 TXs + beacon. 6 starters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	TXs	TX total
1.	Ion Dinca	YO9AYN	56.04	M50?	13456	5/5
2.	Dave Page	M0BKH	64.30	M21	13456	5/5
3.	Peter Langmaid	HOC	69.43	M40	13456	5/5
4.	Dave Cossar	GM3WIL	82.51	M60	13456	5/5 assisted
5.	Ken Jones	M0AET	83.01	M60	13456	5/5
6.	Peter Black	M1TNT	89.10	M21	13456	5/5

Notes:
1. Looking at the area before the event and seeing that there were hardly any contour lines and it was only about 1km x 1km indicated a winning time a little over 50 minutes. Come the day, when the first starter Dave Williams came flying back in 32.54 with all the TXs in the bag, that seemed unbeatable. Michael Dunbar then disproved that with a storming 29.06 - just unbelievable! It certainly reinforces the notion that M40 is the most competitive class in the UK.
2. Click here for the GPS track of Vlad 2E0VLB. The red track is for his third place run round the long 144MHz course and the green one is for the Foxoring.
Click here for the GPS track of long course winner Michael M6MDD, superimposed on the Google Earth image and the map. He intends to add data to show where he was when each transmitter was sending. Please check back after the weekend to see this.
Click here for the GPS tracks for Peter M1TNT as he found 144 MHz TXs 1,3,4,5,6 and FoxOring TXs A,B,C,D,E,F.
3. It was good to welcome Dave Page, Peter Black, Peter Langmaid and Peter Asquith for the first time. We hope you all enjoyed your day of radio in the open air on such a pleasant November day.
4. 132546 seemed to be the preferred long course sequence (or 452316 of course) and everyone on the short course opted for 13456.

3.5MHz FoxOring 10 TXs with variable tariff. 45 min time limit. 20 starters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Pts scored	Penalties	Total points
1=.	David Williams	M3WDD	27.49	150	0	150
1=.	Andrew Soltysik	G4KWQ	31.53	150	0	150
1=.	David Heale	G6HGE	37.53	150	0	150
1=.	Michael Dunbar	M6MDD	37.58	150	0	150
1=.	Steve Stone	RS193217	40.22	150	0	150
1=.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	44.15	150	0	150
7.	Vlad Boev	2E0VLB	42.17	140	0	140
8.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	37.38	110	0	110
9.	Peter Langmaid	HOC	46.25	120	20	100
10=.	Peter Black	M1TNT	42.45	80	0	80
10=.	Dave Page	M0BKH	42.45	80	0	80
10=.	Ion Dinca	YO9AYN	42.45	80	0	80
13.	Mike Dugmore	HOC	43.42	70	0	70
14=.	David Deane	G3ZOI	37.06	60	0	60
14=.	Dave Cossar	GM3WIL	37.37	60	0	60
14=.	Ken Jones	M0AET	38.56	60	0	60
14=.	Rod Mansell	G6AWO	45.31	70	10	60
18=.	Peter Asquith	G4ENA	40.24	50	0	50
18=.	Jim Smith	G4DZL	44.42	50	0	50
20.	John Marriott	LEI	DNF	-	-	-

Notes:
1. The variable tariff brought a little novelty to the Foxoring competition. Six competitiors got all the transmitters and returned to the finish inside the time. Others adopted a more cautious approach and some ended up with an embarrassingly large amount of time in hand. The 'trick' is to take an overall view of the disposition of the transmitters before starting and to choose a sequence which gives time efficient options near to the end to either continue or cut and run for home.
2. Thanks to all of you who turned out to make what seemed to be a very successful and enjoyable day of Radio Orienteering or ARDF.

Stockgrove Country Park 4 Oct 2009
Click here for the SI box timings at the 144 MHz transmitters. Split times are also available.
Michael Dunbar did not punch the start

144 and 3.5 combined 12 starters, 13 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	2m TX	80m Foxes
1.	Michael Dunbar	M6MDD	71.17	M40	5	8
2.	David Williams	M3WDD	82.55	M40	5	8
3.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	104.18	M60	5	8
4.	Steve Stone	RS193217	105.06	M50	5	8
5.	Vlad & Katia Boev	2E0VLD	127.38	M50	5	8
6.	John Marriot	LEI	136.14	M60	4	8
7.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	145.56	M60	4	8
8.	David Deane	G3ZOI	137.29	M60	4	7
9.	Ken Jones	M0AET	147.51	M60	4	7
10.	David Heale	G6HGE	74.52	M40	3	6
11.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	99.32	M40	3	6

3.5 only; 2 starters, 8 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	80m Foxes
1.	Jillian Ullersperger	M6JIL	89.00	W35	8
2.	Ion Dinca	YO9AYN	91.00	M50?	8

144 only; 1 starter, 8 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	2m TXs
1.	Jillian Ullersperger	M6JIL	139.57	W35	5

Notes:
1. John Little came up with a very novel way of making good use of a small area with his 'two bands at once' format. The only problem was carrying all the stuff and the duck tape was in demand as competitors taped things together.
2. Michael Dunbar came home a worthy winner after no penalty was imposed following his failure to punch the start. The time difference to second placed M3WDD showed that Michael had found all the transmitters faster than anyone else.
3. It was good to welcome Ion Dinca YO9AYN and Katia Boev to an event for the first time. We hope to see them both again soon.
4. Four competitors did not write their names on their control cards. This did not make it any easier to produce the results. Please ensure you complete your control card in future events.
5. Several competitors carried the Ventus G730 GPS logger. Click here to see Ken Jones's track superimposed on the Google Earth image of the area. The logger also records the total distance covered. Ken got round with a very economical 8.1 km whereas Vlad covered 12.6km when he was forced to go all the way back to pick up TX4.
6. The thanks of all the competitors go to John Little for providing an excellent day of radio sport.

Hermitage Woods 13 Sep 2009
144 MHz Long

4 starters, 5 Transmitters,.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	David Williams	M3WDD	49.50	M40	5
2.	Michael Dunbar	M6MDD	1.18.00	M40	5
3.	David Heale	G6HGE	1.22.52	M40	5
4.	Jillian Ullersperger	M6JIL	1.55.05	W35	4

144 MHz Short

2 starters, 4 Transmitters,.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	David Deane	G3ZOI	1.53.25	M60	4
2.	Ken Jones	M0AET	1.32.48	M60	2

3.5 MHz Long

6 starters, 5 Transmitters,.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	David Williams	M3WDD	40.38	M40	5
2.	Michael Dunbar	M6MDD	45.46	M40	5
3.	David Heale	G6HGE	1.01.10	M40	5
4.	John Little	M1SHE	1.30.00	M60	3
5.	Ken Jones	M0AET	29.02	M60	1
6.	Jillian Ullersperger	M6JIL	1.43.00	W35	5 OT

Notes:
1. Organiser's comments
The 2m event was kept reasonably short with TX 5 closest to the start in an attempt to give competitiors a route choice once they realised it was nearer the start. The TXs were not obvious with the flags not being visible until you were fairly close.

For the 80m event I decided to try a conventional style event but using the low power FoxO transmitters. I wanted to use these TXs as they are so much easier to deploy. I fitted these with 2m of wire and a counterpoise to try to boost the output. I was hoping that they would all be audible at the start. However it was not to be. I could hear them all clearly with my receiver (Bob's design) but nothing at all using a PJ80. To cater for this occurrence I provided help at each control in the form of compass bearings to two other adjacent controls. So, once you got to No 1 you had clues to two others and so on. With the 1 minute in 5 cycle it should hopefully provided a challenge.

A 7 competitor turnout is disappointing since a lot of work goes into the organisation of the events. Also a lot more people now seem reluctant to tackle two events in one day, so the group needs to discuss this before next year. Possibilities as I see it are:

a. two normal events of reasonable difficulty (length mainly dependent on the terrain),
b. two normal events with one of reasonable difficulty and one much simpler,
c. one event of reasonable difficulty perhaps using 7 or more TXs.

Personally I would think twice about travelling teo hours each way to a remote event for one short course. So, I'm in favour of two events a day. I must stress that this is my personal opinion. I'm already thinking about next year and considering the possibilities of a 10 trnsmitter event on 80m.

Steve Stone.

Benyon's Inclosure 22 Aug 2009
144 MHz

8 starters, 7 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Michael Dunbar	M6MDD	1.36.22	M40	7
2.	David Heale	G6HGE	1.55.00	M40	7
3.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	2.05.25	M60	7
4.	Steve Stone	RS193217	2.13.00	M50	7
5.	David Williams	M3WDD	2.13.19	M40	7
6.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	2.00.00	M60	5
7.	Ken Jones	M0AET	2.29.52	M60	5
8.	Frank Heritage	M0AEU	2.37.28 (OT)	M40	7

Notes:
1. Seven transmitters in a five minute cycle made an interesting and challenging change. Stronger signals from the transmitters caused a lot of difficulties close to the transmitters when receivers were tested for their ability to accurately sense direction under these conditions.
2. Michael Dunbar coped well with all these difficulties to romp home a worthy winner. He is also to be congratulated on acquiring his licence as M6MDD.
3. The aerials were a new design from Ken Jones with an aim to 'cover the whole of the area'. Reports later suggested they were covering the whole of Berkshire!
4. The RSGB received a complaint from a Scottish amateur about interference from a full set of TXs (MOE thru MO5) on 7.159MHz. It was explained to him that it was not the event at Benyon's Inclosure that was responsible (we did not have 5 TXs on 3.5MHz and the call G3ZOI was being radiated which he did not copy) and that the source was second harmonic radiation from an event on the Continent.

Crompton Moor 19 July 2009
144 MHz

8 starters, 4 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	David Williams	M3WDD	42.00	M40	4/4
2.	Vlad Boev	RS202179	55.00	M50	4/4
3.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	62.00	M60	4/4
4.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	71.00	M40	4/4
5.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	76.00	M60	4/4
6.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	88.00	M60	4/4
7.	John Marriott	LEI	90.00	M60	4/4
8.	John Martin	G8JGM	135.00	M50	4/4

3.5 MHz

9 starters, 5 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	David Williams	M3WDD	53.00	M40	5/5
2.	Vlad Boev	RS202179	55.00	M50	5/5
3.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	57.00	M60	5/5
4.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	58.00	M40	5/5
5.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	69.00	M60	5/5
6.	Tom Mitchell	G0JHF	75.00	M60	5/5
7.	John Marriott	LEI	79.00	M60	5/5
8.	John Martin	G8JGM	97.00	M50	5/5
9.	Stuart Cartlidge	G0MJG	99.00	M60	5/5

Notes:
1. Crompton Moor turned out to be a place where full 'foul weather' techniques were needed. It was out with the chinagraph pencils and leave the spirit pens behind. Water proofing the map was essential.
2. All the competitors are enormously grateful to the Oldham Club and Plil Ellis in particular, for staging the event with their usual efficiency.
3. It was a tight finish in the 80m competition but it has to be pointed out that David Williams had to leg it back to the car park from the vicinity of TX 4 to get a spare battery.

Outwood Loughborough 30 June 2009
3.5 MHz Foxoring

12 starters, up to 10 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Club	Time	Foxes
1.	John Marriott	LEI	40.13	8/10
2.	Stuart Tyler	LADARS	44.18	8/10
3.	Dave Toach	LEI	40.44	4/10
4.	Peter Hornsby	LEI	41.08	3/10
5.	Alan Davidson	VE6	42.57	3/10
6.	Felicity Manning	LEI	44.00	3/10
7.	Jeff Edwards	LEI	47.24	4/10
8.	Jim Smith	LADARS	57.35	6/10
9.	Ursula & Roger Williamson	LEI	62.27	4/10
10.	Roger Kelly	LEI	63.35	6/10
11.	Chris Boseley	LEI	88.00	7/10

Notes:
1. This was the first time that the ARDF Committee 'demonstration' kit of equipment has been used.
2. With hindsight, ten transmitters were too many for even a small area like the Outwood. Seven would be more appropriate.
3. The time limit was 45 minutes. Those inside the time have been placed in order of transmitters found and then by time. Those who took more than 45 minutes have been listed in time order alone.

Mugdock Country Park 14 June 2009
3.5 MHz

12 starters, up to 5 Transmitters. 4.0km,
Place	Name	Call	Name	Call	Foxes
1.	Jack Hood	GM4COX	Anne Hood	GM4UXX	5/5
2.	Ross Fielden	GM7WED	Campbell & David Duncan	MM3LKV	4/5
3.	Bob Lynch	MM1AWV	Eunice Lynch	MM3UVL	2/3
4.	Stephanie McCann	MM3YGE			2/3
5.	Steve McNeill	MM1EHO			1/3
6.	Ken Hodge	GM3JIG	Patricia Johnson		0/3
7.	Dave Cossar	GM3WIL			0/3

Notes:
1. Tom Mitchell GM0JHF and Dave Cossar GM3WIL pooled resources to stage this event. They are to be congratulated on taking the initiative to stage the first ARDF event using the IARU rules to be held in Scotland.
2. Mugdock Park was a lot dryer than it had been at the Seminar in April. Coupled with some sunny spells, this made for a great day out.
3. Tom planned the course and tried to set one that was realistic compared to other events held in the UK without being too difficult.
4. The question now is 'Who is up for organising the next Scottish ARDF event......?'

Coombe Hill 14 June 2009
144 MHz

10 starters, up to 5 Transmitters. 4.0km,
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Vlad Boev	RS202179	42.00	M50	4/4
2.	Ken Jones	M0AET	52.59	M60	3/3
3.	John Little	M1SHE	53.35	M60	3/3
4.	David Williams	M3WDD	54.05	M40	5/5
5.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	63.55	M40	5/5
6.	David Deane	G3ZOI	86.48	M60	5/3
7.	Simon Beck	SN	99.10	M40	5/5
8.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	107.52	M40	5/5
9.	Jillian Ullersperger	M6JIL	110.56	W35	4/4
10.	Evan Duffield	2E0TJU	117.58	M21	3/5

Notes:
1. David Heale ran his first event at Coombe Hill and 'rescued' this event at a time when it seemed it might have to be cancelled. Special thanks to David for all his efforts.
2. The layout of the transmitters meant that those on the shorter courses had the edge. Those who usually head the results had to accept a placing in the lower order.

3.5 MHz

Long - 6 starters, 5 Transmitters. 3.1km,
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	31.58	M40	5/5
2.	David Williams	M3WDD	35.36	M40	5/5
3.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	41.56	M40	5/5
4.	Jillian Ullersperger	M6JIL	52.57	W35	5/5
5.	Simon Beck	SN	114.15	M40	5/5
6.	Evan Duffield	2E0TJU	95.00	M21	4/5

Short - 3 starters, 4 Transmitters. 2.0km,
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Vlad Boev	RS202179	40.57	M50	4/4
2.	Ken Jones	G0AET	51.43	M60	4/4
3.	David Deane	G3ZOI	51.50	M60	4/4

Notes:
1. The 'usual suspects' raced round the Long course. Note the result for Jillian which was really impressive and a tribute to her perseverance.

ARDF Festival 23-25 May 2009
Day 1 - 144 MHz

Results and splits

Notes:
1. Transmitter codes were TX1 201, TX2 202, TX3 203, TX4 204, TX5 205, Beacon 206.
The number across the top of the tables is a sequence number which will be the same as the TX number if all transmitters are being hunted.
2. Optimum routes were:
M21 and M40 35124
M50 3124
M60 352
W35 3524
W50 354
3. Most competitors opted to leg it straight up the road towards the top of the hill from the start and follow this round to the ruined winding house. This had the advantage of getting to the area east of the big lake from where some superb bearings could be taken on all the transmitters being hunted. The disadvantage was, of course, the extra climb involved. The fastest competitors to reach TX3 were those who turned off the road earlier.
4. The near/far trick was never going to work on the relatively smooth hillside of Brown Clee but it was possible that the planner was trying a high/low problem. TX3 was loud at the start and could it be so far down the slope towards where TX 2 was actually located, that it was better to visit TX3 on the way back to the finish after visiting TX5 and TX1? In the event this was not the case but there were a couple of 'high profile' competitors who ran past TX3 and paid the price later when they had to climb back up to it.

Day 2 - 3.5 MHz

Results and splits

Notes:
1. Transmitter codes were the same as Day1
2. Optimum routes were:
M21 and M40 23451
M50 2341
M60 341
W35 3451
W50 341
3. TX 2 was the loudest at the start and despite it being down the hill, all but one of the competitors who were hunting it, wisely chose to find it first. Nearly all the competitors chose to seek their transmitters in the optimum sequence.
4. W50 and M60 hunted the same three hidden transmitters. Ingrid Pomplun (W50) would have placed third in M60. Think about it 'boys'!

Day 3 - FoxOring

Results and splits

Notes:
1. Transmitter codes were as follows A=201, B=202, C=203, D=204, E=205, F=206, G=207, H=208, I=209, J=210.
The sequence numbers in the results align with the transmitter numbers for M21 and M40 only.
2. Optimum routes were:
M21 and M40 A,B,D,E,G,H,I,J,F,C
M50 B,D,E,G,H,I,F,C
M60 B,D,G,H,I,F,C
W35 A,D,E,G,H,F,I,J
W50 A,C,F,G,H,I,J
3. This competition was all about height gain and loss. Interestingly, both M40 and M50 were won by choices that required more height gain than the optimum sequence. The variety of the order in which the transmitters were found showed that there were alternative sequences which were almost as good.
4. Steve Stone opted to find additional transmitters but the software only records times at the ones he was supposed to be finding.

Lickey Hills 26 April 2009
144 MHz

Long - 5 starters, 5 Transmitters. 4.2km, 21354 optimum
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	83.08	M40	21453
2.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	89.05	M60	12354
3.	Steve Stone	RS193217	97.31	M50	12354
4.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	97.40	M60	21354
5.	John Marriott	IND	114.28	M60	5341

Medium - 9 starters, 4 Transmitters. 3.3km, 2134 optimum
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	68.05	M60	2134
2.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	95.50	M60	143
3.	David Deane	G3ZOI	102.30	M60	134
4.	John Little	M1SHE	104.55	M60	213
5.	Ken Jones	M0AET	108.31	M60	13
6.	Rod Mansel	G6AWO	111.10	M50	2
7.	Vlad Boev	RS202179	121.30	M60	123
8.	Helen Bennett	M0YHB	125.45	W35	134
9.	Dave Cossar	GM3WIL	103.00	M60

Short - 1 starter, 3 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Steve Burrows		101.21	M?	134

Notes:
1. It was good to welcome Helen Bennett and Steve Burrows to their first event and both did amazingly well.
2. The Lickey Hills were always going to present a real challenge on 144 MHz with the many hills, valleys and re-entrants providing ample multi-path propagation.
3. A look at the map at the start showed steep downward slopes in the direction of all the tranmitters with many re-entrants. It was ideal terrain in which to pull the 'near/far' trick. The difficult bit was deciding which transmitters were which. Only four competitors made the right call. Michael Dunbar, Stuart Tyler, Bob Titterington and John Little all visited the nearer but weaker TX2 before visiting the louder and further distant TX1. With a split start/finish, anyone who went to TX1 was forced to back track to get TX2 or take the decision to leave it out altogether. Congratulations to Dave the planner and organiser for testing us so well. A good ploy would have been to leave the start and leg it back up the road towards the finish; checking to see which bearings turned as you ran up the road. No one actually did this but it would have led to you being above TX2 when you detected it was the 'near' TX and therefore in a good position to locate it.
4. The planner recorded the bearing to TX2 from many sites around the area. Click here to see the wide variety of directions that the signals appeared to be coming from. Considerable skill and reference to the topography depicted by the map is needed to sort out all these bearings. In contrast he also noted the bearings to the hill-top TX1. Click here to se the bearings recorded. The only multi-path signals received from this transmitter were down on the road between Cofton Hill (where TX1 was located) and the hill to the north. In this location there was no direct path to the transmitter due to the convex slope of Cofton Hill and the strongest signals arrived from reflections off the very steep side of the hill to the north.

3.5 MHz

Long - 9 starters, 5 Transmitters. 2.45km, 12345 optimum
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	32.22	M40	12345
2.	Steve Stone	RS193217	38.42	M50	12345
3.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	38.45	M40	12345
4.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	44.10	M60	12345
5.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	44.27	M60	12345
6.	Vlad Boev	RS202179	51.48	M50	all 5
7=.	Helen Bennett	M0YHB	63.45	W35	all 5
7=.	Steve Burrows		63.45	M?	all 5
9.	John Marriott	IND	65.45	M60	all 5

Medium - 6 starters, 4 Transmitters. 1.9km, 1234 optimum
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Ken Jones	G0AET	53.50	M60	1234
2.	David Deane	G3ZOI	54.07	M60	1234
3.	Rod Mansel	G6AWO	59.48	M50	1234
4.	John Little	M1SHE	66.26	M60	all 4
5.	Dave Cossar	GM3WIL	66.50	M60	all 4
6.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	67.15	M60	all 4

Notes:
1. What a difference 3.5 MHz makes. Gone were the multi-path signals and in came accurate, repeatable surface wave bearings. Everyone found all the transmitters they were seeking and everyone got round inside the time.
2. The chocolates went to Michael Dunbar for his 144 MHz win and to Dave Cossar for being the most improved competitor during the course of the day.
3. The thanks of all the competitors go to David M3WDD for a really challenging day in which he made the most of the terrain. We must visit the Lickey Hills again!

Pamber 29 March 2009
3.5 MHz

Long - 5 starters, 7 Transmitters. 5.64km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	David Williams	M3WDD	79.57	M40	7/7
2.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	84.12	M40	7/7
3.	Steve Stone	RS193217	102.36	M50	7/7
4.	Evan Duffield	2E0TJV	144.02	M21	4/7
5.	Jillian Ullersperger	M6JIL	149.11	W35	2/7

Medium - 5 starters, 5 Transmitters. 4.50km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	77.01	M60	5/5
2.	Vlad Boev	RS202179	87.07	M50	5/5
3.	John Little	M1SHE	136.39	M60	5/5
4.	Ken Jones	M0AET	137.09	M60	5/5
5.	Tim Raven	G4ARI	146.27	M50	5/5

Short - 5 starters, 3 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Steve Seabrook + 2	M0ECS	132.49	M50	0/3
2.	Terry & Mo Chipperfield	G3VFC	OT	M60	2/3

Notes:
1. It is always interesting to try out a different format even though it might not be in line with the IARU rules. A 7 transmitter format is used in Sweden and it does give the planner much better scope to accommodate the needs of different age groups. The downside is that there is less time to 'run down' the transmitters while they are sending. It probably takes 10 seconds to get the null and check the sense on 80m, leaving 30 odd seconds for a mad dash down the bearing towards the transmitter.
2. Dave Williams came in ahead of Michael Dundar to win the long course while Bob Titterington held off Vlad Boev to win the medium course. It was particularly good to see that all five starters on this course found all the transmitters inside the time.
3 Click here for the splits and other stats in a text file. Check back later for winners' routes and blogs.
4. Thanks to David Dean and Dave Burleigh for running the event.

Swinley 7 March 2009
144 MHz

Long - 4 starters, 5 Transmitters. 5.68km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	David Williams	M3WDD	0.53.33	M40	5/5
2.	Steve Stone	RS193217	1.22.53	M50	5/5
3.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	1.58.39	M40	5/5
4.	Rod Mansel	G6AWO	1.55.10	M50	4/5

Short - 16 starters, 4 Transmitters. 4.37km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	0.58.47	M60	4/4
2.	Vlad Boev	RS202179	0.59.33	M50	4/4
3.	Dave Deane	G3ZOI	1.18.05	M60	4/4
4.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	1.22.07	M60	4/4
5.	John Marriott	LEI	1.25.38	M60	4/4
6.	John Little	M1SHE	1.44.55	M60	4/4
7.	Ken Jones	M0AET	1.53.39	M60	4/4
8.	Robert & Richard Chipperfield	M0VFC & 2E1EVK	1.57.07	M21 & M21	4/4
9.	Evan Duffield	2E0TJU	1.56.45	M21	2/4
10.	Alan Davidson	VE6DE	2.00.20	M60	3/4
11.	Steve & Phil Seabrook	M0ECS & M3PZX	2.14.43	M40 & M19	3/4
12.	Jillian Ullersperger	M6JIL	2.05.04	W35	2/4
13.	Terry & Mo Chipperfield	G3VFC	3.05.00	M60 & W50	1/4

Notes:
1. What a contrast to three weeks ago at Silverstone. A pleasant sunny early spring morning and an excellent area.
2. Michael Dunbar put on an excellent event that drew competitors from as far away as Canada!
3. Dave Williams was well ahead of the field on the long course to win convincingly whilst Bob Titterington tottered round the short course to scrape home ahead of Vlad Boev.
4. A winner's blog and the winner's route for the 2m short course have been posted this time to try to help all those who attempted the short course.
5. The winner's route for the 2m long course has been posted.

3.5 MHz FoxOring

Long - 5 starters, 9 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	David Williams	M3WDD	1.08.27	M40	9/9
2.	Steve Stone	RS193217	1.18.27	M50	9/9
3.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	1.22.41	M60	9/9
4.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	1.24.15	M40	9/9
5.	John Marriott	LEI	1.27.25	M60	9/9

Short - 6 starters, 7 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Ken Jones	M0AET	55.11	M60	7/7
2.	Vlad Boev	RS202179	1.03.47	M50	7/7
3.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	1.22.26	M60	7/7
4.	Alan Davidson	VE6DE	1.27.27	M60	5/7
5.	John Little	M1SHE	0.46.24	M60	3/7
6.	Jillian Ullersperger	M6JIL	1.31.33	W35	3/7

Notes:
1. Steve Stone got a bit closer to David Williams on the long course whilst Ken Jones continued his winning streak on the short course.
2. Apologies to competitors for the failure of TX #7. It transpired to be a flat battery that caused the problem.
3. Blogs and routes will be posted later.
4. The thanks of all the participants go to Michael Dunbar for his single handed effort in staging the event.

Silverstone 15 Feb 2009
144 MHz

Long - 10 starters, 5 Transmitters. 3.68km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	49.17	M40	514236
2.	David Williams	M3WDD	69.38	M40	514236
3.	Steve Stone	RS193217	73.43	M50	514236
4.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	93.16	M60	132456
5.	Vlad Boev	IND	118.21	M50	514236
6.	David Heale	G6HGE	112.38	M40	51436
7.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	115.48	M40	42316
8.	Jim Smith	G4DZL	131.45	M60	324156
9.	Jillian Ullersperger	M6JIL	124.23	W35	126
10.	Evan Duffield	2E0TJU	137.41	M21	146

Short - 3 starters, 4 Transmitters. 2.96km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Ken Jones	M0AET	91.05	M60	14236
4.	Dave Deane	G3ZOI	113.17	M60	3246
5.	Rod Mansel		106.54	M?	146

Notes:
1.It doesn't get much tougher than that! If you could cope with the 3 - 6 inches of snow in the woods at Silverstone, then you could cope with any ardf event in the UK. What a contrast to the Feb 2008 event when we sat on that grassy bank at the Chiltern Challenge basking in the May like sunshine.
2. Michael Dunbar put on a stunning display to storm home well ahead of the field on the long course and Ken Jones's 'straight line' approach to the short course brought him a win there. Michael's time to his first TX (No 5 in 6min 29sec) was simply amazing and shows significant 'second guessing' the planner.
3. Optimum sequence for the transmitters was Long: 51423 and then the beacon 6. Short 1423 and then the beacon. Obviously it is just as good to go round in the reverse order.
4. Split times long course and short course .
5. Click here for the 2m winner's blog. The winner's route for the 144MHz course is to follow. Please check back in a day or so.
6. The only 'trap' set by the planner for long course runners (in the absence of any significant contour detail) was to use the antenna with the longest length of coax for TX1 and this antenna was higher in the trees than the others. This made it strong at the start and the idea was to tempt you to go for this transmitter instead of either 3 or 5 as your initial choice. Once TX 1 was reached, it was then impossible to visit all five in a nice loop.
7. Evan 2E0TJU wrote an amusing blog for his Club newsletter, about his experience at an ARDF event for the first time. He had a copy of the newsletter at Swinley but not everyone had the opportunity to read it. Click here to read his account.

3.5 MHz FoxO 'web' - 10 starters, 9 TXs, 60 minute score.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Dave Williams	M3WDD	34.34	M40	9
2.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	35.04	M40	9
3.	Steve Stone	RS193217	41.10	M50	9
4.	David Heale	G6HGE	53.36	M40	9
5.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	56.18	M40	9
6.	Vlad Boev	IND	59.07	M60	8
7.	Ken Jones	M0AET	53.35	M60	5
8.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	63.40	M60	9
9.	Tim Raven	G4ARI	70.54	M50	5
10.	Jillian Ullersperger	M6JIL	64.34	W35	4

Notes:
1.The 'star point' in Bucknell Woods where 7 forest roads, tracks and rides radiate outwards, seemed the ideal place to repeat the idea that Ken and Dave had last year,
2. David Williams managed to get in 30seconds ahead of Michael Dunbar to reverse the morning result.
3. The antennas on the micropower transmitters were half the length that has been used previously. How was your experience of the reduced range of the transmitters? Please let Bob have your views. The idea was to place a little more emphasis on successfully navigating from one map circle to the next.
4. Many apologies for the malfunctioning TX B (now fixed). This was the first outing for this set of transmitters and a couple of problems were found.
5. Finally, your support for the day was much appreciated as was all the help to pull in the transmitters and pack away the equipment afterwards. As ever, you all could not have been more helpful.

Bagworth Heath 9 Nov
144 MHz

Long - 7 starters, 5 Transmitters. 3.85km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	David Williams	M3WDD	41.19	M40	25341
2.	Steve Stone	RS193217	57.27	M50	25341
3.	Vlad Boev	IND	82.44	M50	25341
4.	David Heale	G6HGE	87.28	M40	43521
5.	Jillian Ullersperger	M6JIL	98.51	W35	14352
6.	Andrew Soltysik	G4KWQ	71.12	M40	2541
7.	John Marriott	LEI	103.20	M60	5421

Short - 11 starters, 4 Transmitters. 3.30km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	86.45	M60	1432
2.	Chris & Sylvia Keeling	IND	112.40	M21/W21	4321
3.	Ken Jones	M0AET	76.27	M60	142
4.	Dave Deane	G3ZOI	84.44	M60	142
5.	Tim Raven	G4ARI	92.35	M50/W21	432
6.	Phil Ellis	M0GIE	99.15	M50	241
7.	Lubo Mishkovsky	IND	111.51	M21	4
8.	Hui-I Hung	IND	121.17 OT	M21	24
9.	Roger Kelly + 1	LEI	NR	M60	-

Notes:
1.It was good to welcome Andrew Soltysik, Jillian Ullersperger, Chris and Sylvia Keeling for the first time. Andrew had an unbelievable debut performance to win the 80m long course and to get four of the 2m transmitters in a cracking good time.
2. Optimum sequences: Long 25431, Short 2341. The majority of competitors were not taken in by the strength of TX 4 at the start; deliberately sited as it was, high up on the old spoilt tip, in a bid to make competitors think it was a lot closer to the start than it really was.
3. 23 people crossed the start line to give the biggest turnout of the year. The Horne Family of five did rather flatter the figures when they competed as a group, bravely going forth in the worst of the afternoon rain.
4. David Williams showed his class by scooping up all five transmitters in just over 40 minutes - that is only 9 transmit sequences. On the short course Tom Mitchell showed all the signs of an experienced competitor to take the win.
5. Many apologies for the malfunctioning TX 3. When it was 'on the blink' the noise signal it radiated was quite strong at the start and peaked in the correct direction.
6. Click here for the 2m winner's route and bearings.
7. Split times long course and short course .
8. Blogs will be posted later.

3.5 MHz

Long - 7 starters, 5 Transmitters. 2.33km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Andrew Soltysik	G4KWQ	47.26	M40	42351
2.	Vlad Boev	IND	48.26	M50	42351
3.	Steve Stone	RS193217	49.57	M50	15324
4.	David Williams	M3WDD	53.49	M40	23514
5.	David Heale	G6HGE	62.50	M40	23514
6.	John Marriott	LEI	74.06	M60	354
7.	Jillian Ullersperger	IND	64.12	W35	2

Short - 14 starters, 4 Transmitters. 2.11km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Dave Deane	G3ZOI	54.01	M60	1324
2.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	59.53	M60	4132
3.	Phil Ellis	M0GIE	79.54	M50	4132
4.	Ken Jones	M0AET	58.51	M60	421
5.	Chris, Sylvia & Lubo	IND	86.33	M21/W21	132
6.	Tim Raven	G4ARI	87.45	M50	432
7.	Horne Family (5)	IND	56.58	M21	54
8.	Hui-I Hung	IND	NR	M21	-

Notes:
1. Optimum sequences: Long 42351, Short 4231 and back to the finish via Thornton Lane in both cases
2. Interestingly the top three long course runners all managed to get the sequence right and came in with closely matched times.
3. Split times long course and short course .
4. Thanks to those who helped to pull in the transmitters at the end (often in the worst of the weather) - Steve Stone, Danid Heale, Tim Raven, John Marriott and Jim Smith.
5. This was the last event of 2008. Thank you for your support in 2008 and we hope to see you enjoying radio in the open air next year. Keep an eye on this website for the details of the 2009 programme which is likely to commence in February.

Sutton Park 19 Oct
144 MHz

M40 - 7 starters, 5 Transmitters. 5.22km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Foxes
1.	Simon Beck	SN	59.13	34152
2.	Steve Stone	RS193217	71.17	41532
3.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	76.57	41523
4.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	81.38	34152
5.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	84.52	32415
6.	Adrian Bailey	HOC	76.57	32
7.	Hiu-I Hung	IND	76.14	1

M50 - 3 starters, 4 Transmitters. 5.18km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Foxes
1.	Vlad Boev + Lubo	IND	90.13	2435
2.	Jim Smith	G4DZL	97.20	4523
3.	Phil Ellis	M0GIE	115.44	234

M60 - 8 starters, 4 Transmitters. 4.77km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Foxes
1.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	59.19	4123
2.	David Deane	G3ZOI	78.17	3214
3.	Ken Jones	M0AET	102.41	4123
4.	Russ Fawcett	?	104.14	324
5.	Dave Cossar	GM3WIL	105.37	412
6.	John Marriott	LEI	114.45	41
7.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	123.49	412
8.	Dennis Mews	HOC	?	3

Notes:
1. Split times M40 and M50 and M60 .
2. Optimum sequences: M40 34152 (41523 was 5.40km), M50 3452 (4523 was 5.39km) and M60 3412 (4123 was 5.00km).
3. Click here for the 2m winner's blog.
4. Click here for the 2m winner's route.

3.5 MHz

M40 - 6 starters, 5 Transmitters. 3.29km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Foxes
1.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	36.33	42531
2.	Simon Beck	SN	37.57	13524
3.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	40.10	13542
4.	Steve Stone	RS193217	48.14	13524
5.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	67.32	13542
6.	Hui-I Hung	IND	89.09	25

M50 - 3 starters, 4 Transmitters. 3.19km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Foxes
1.	Vlad Boev + Lubo	IND	50.38	1324
2.	Jim Smith	G4DZL	55.04	1324
3.	Phil Ellis	M0GIE	77.53	423

M60 - 6 starters, 4 Transmitters. 3.19km
Place	Name	Call	Time	Foxes
1.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	45.15	1542
2.	John Marriott	LEI	63.36	1542
3.	Ken Jones	M0AET	73.48	4251
4.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	80.01	1524
5.	David Deane	G3ZOI	42.01	1
6.	Dave Cossar	GM3WIL	76.50

Notes:
1. Split times M40 and M50 and M60
2. Optimum sequence M40 13524, M50 1324, M60 1524
3. Click here for the 80m winner's blog.
4. Click here for the 80m winner's route.

Whitmoor Common 6 Sep
'Not the World Champs'

144MHz - 9 starters, Long 5 TXs, Short 4 TXs
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	1.11.01	M60	5/5
2.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	1.20.10	M40	5/5
3.	David Heale	G6HGE	1.26.18	M40	5/5
4.	Frank Heritage	M0AEU	1.26.41	M40	4/5
	Short Course
1.	David Deane	G3ZOI	1.38.00	M60	4/4
2.	Ken Jones	M0AET	1.40.56	M60	4/4
3.	John Marriott	LEI	1.32.55	M60	2/4
4.	Terry & Mo Chipperfield	G3VFC	3.00.00	M60	2/4

3.5MHz FoxOring- 10 starters, Long 10 TXs, Short 8 TXs
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	David Heale	G6HGE	1.13.05	M40	10/10
2.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	1.31.06	M40	10/10
3.	John Marriott	LEI	1.31.12	M60	10/10
4.	Frank Heritage	M0AEU	1.26.34	M40	9/10
5.	Roger Howell	G0ROG	1.36.10	M40	9/10
6.	John Little	M1SHE	1.34.07	M60	7/10
	Short Course
1.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	1.05.37	M60	8/8
2.	David Deane	G3ZOI	1.18.11	M60	6/8
3.	Ken Jones	M0AET	1.37.56	M60
4.	Brian Cooke	M3CEB	2.10.07	M60?

Notes:
1. The thanks of all the competitors go to Michael for organising the event single handedly and giving us all the enjoyment of a competition.
2. Organisers comments will be posted later.
3. It was good to welcome Brian Cooke to the event and nice to see Terry Chipperfield (and his XYL Mo) coming to his second event. Unfortunately the weather was not is the same class as it was back in July.
4. Click here for the 2m winner's blog.
5. Click here for the 2m winner's route.
6. Click here for the TX sites overlaid on the google earth image.

Hermitage Woods 20 July

144MHz - 16 starters, Long 5 TXs approx 4.3k, Short 4 TXs approx 3.6k
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Phil Smith	GW1XBG	1.01.35	M40	5/5
2.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	1.05.00	M40	5/5
3.	David Williams	M3WDD	1.19.10	M40	5/5
4.	David Heale	G6HGE	1.37.00	M40	5/5
5.	Frank Heritage	M0AEU	1.38.30	M40	5/5
6.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	1.39.45	M60	5/5
7.	Jim Smith	G4DZL	1.46.45	M50	5/5
	Short Course
1.	David Deane	G3ZOI	1.37.48	M60	4/4
2.	John Marriott	LEI	1.47.04	M60	4/4
3.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	1.49.08	M60	4/4
4=.	Terry Chipperfield	G3VFC	1.51.05	M60	4/4
4=.	Rich Chipperfield	2E1EVK	1.51.05	M21	4/4
6.	Ken Jones	M0AET	1.54.05	M60	4/4
7.	Tony Green	GW4JGU	1.59.59	M60	4/4
8.	Rob Chipperfield	2E1EVJ	1.51.55	M21	3/4
9.	Adrian Bailey	HOC	2.01.04	M21?	4/4

3.5MHz FoxOring- 13 starters, Long 10 TXs 5.4K, Short 8 TXs 4.2k
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	57.27	M40	10/10
2.	David Williams	M3WDD	1.04.38	M40	10/10
3.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	1.15.05	M60	10/10
4.	Phil Smith	GW1XBG	1.20.25	M40	10/10
5.	David Heale	G6HGE	1.50.22	M40	10/10
6.	Frank Heritage	M0AEU	1.51.02	M40	10/10
7.	Jim Smith	G4DZL	1.53.24	M50	10/10
8.	John Marriott	LEI	1.53.47	M60	10/10
9.	John Little	M1SHE	2.00.05	M60	9/10
10.	Tony Green	GW4JGU	2.03.48	M60	6/10
	Short Course
1.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	59.08	M60	8/8
2.	Adrian Bailey	HOC	1.26.30	M21?	8/8
3.	Ken Jones	M0AET	1.13.20	M60	4/8

Notes:
1. A good turnout for the event organised by Steve. No rain and quite a lot of sunshine made it a good day and Hermitage Woods were as delightful as ever.
2. It was good to welcome newcomers Terry, Rich and Rob Chipperfield and Adrian Bailey. We hope you enjoyed your first experience of Radio O / ARDF and that you found us friendly and welcoming.
3. The thanks of all the competitors go to Steve for organising the event single handedly and giving us all the enjoyment of a competition in July.
4. Click here for the 2m winner's blog and click here for a map of the route he followed.
5. Click here for the organiser's comments.
6. Finally, click here to see what newcomer Adrian Bailey thought of his day out trying Radio O for the first time.

Stockgrove Park, Leighton Buzzard 29 June

Dual Band - 12 starters, 8 TXs (5 on 144MHz, 3 on 3.5MHz)
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	David Williams	M3WDD	81.42	M40	8/8
2.	Jim Smith	G4DZL	105.53	M50	8/7
3.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	105.56	M60	7/7
4.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	108.22	M40	8/8
5.	Steve Stone	RS193217	109.04	M50	8/7
6.	David Heale	G6HGE	117.49	M40	8/8
7.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	122.43	M40	8/8
8.	Ken Jones	M0AET	134.50	M60	7/7
9.	David Deane	G3ZOI	136.33	M60	7/7
10.	Robert Dove	SMOC	148.46	M60	7/8
11.	John Marriott	LEI	141.04	M60	2/7
12.	Martin Ricketts	TVOC	191.07	M60	5/7

Notes:
1. John Little opted for a combined 144MHz and 3.5MHz course with a total of eight transmitters deployed. This made for an interesting variation to the usual format, in a very nice but small area on an sunny summers day. All the participants were more than grateful to John for the effort he had put in to organising such a good event.
2. Dave Williams powered round for a most impressive win, well clear of the opposition. It was Jim Smith G4DZL who had a tremendous run to place second. Jim is a stalwart supporter of ARDF but this is the first time he has really got it all together to leap up the results table.
3. Newcomer Martin Ricketts took over 90 minutes to find his first transmitter as he struggled to master the receiver he had been loaned. He then found another four TXs in the next 90 minutes. Not many of the folk competing at Stockgrove Park did that well on their first outing. The rules dictated that as he was over the 150 minute time limit he is placed below all those who came in inside the time limit. That seems pretty harsh really.
4. Click here for the winner's blog and Click here for his route.
5. John planned a good course and a lot of very experienced DFers managed to run past TX1 on 144MHz without realising they were so close to it.
6. Apologies for the non-availability of the split times on the day. The times have now been recovered from the SI control stations and can be seen by clicking here . Note that the table is in start order and all times are GMT.

British Championships 2008
Day 1 - 3.5 MHz 10 May

M40 - 4 starters, 5 Transmitters. 4.12km + 150m climb
Place	Name	Call	Time	Foxes
1.	David Williams	M3WDD	51.56	41235
2.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	59.37	14235
3.	David Heale	G6HGE	75.00	14235
4.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	91.48	12354

M50 - 4 starters, 4 Transmitters. 3.98km + 150m climb
Place	Name	Call	Time	Foxes
1.	Steve Stone	RS193217	54.35	4135
2.	Phil Ellis	M0GIE	107.34	4135
3.	John Martin	G8JGM	98.32	135
4.	Tim Raven	G4ARI	154.11	143

M60 - 4 starters, 4 Transmitters. 3.57km + 90m climb
Place	Name	Call	Time	Foxes
1.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	60.31	4132
2.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	82.00	4123
3.	David Deane	G3ZOI	101.30	1423
4.	Ken Jones	M0AET	125.59	1423

Notes:
1. Overall Champion was David Williams (M40), Runner Up was Steve Stone (M50)
2. Optimum sequence of transmitters M40: 41235; M50: 4135; M60: 4123
3. The 'trap' set early on the course was to visit 4 then 1 then the others. Choosing 1 first
and then 4 meant having to climb 40m (equivalent to 0.5km on the flat) back up from 1 to 4
having lost this amount of height from the start. Transmitter 4 was at the same height as the start.
4. Split times M40 and M50 and M60
5. Click here for the winner's blog and here for his route.
6. Michael Dunbar has used the spilt times to analyse the punching patterns of the competitors. This shows which transmitters were punched while they were sending and those which were punched after they stopped. He also analysed the times for each 'leg' of the competition. Read his analysis here and view his spread sheet of the splits here .

Day 2 - 144 MHz 11 May

M40 - 3 starters, 5 Transmitters. 4.49km + 225m climb
Place	Name	Call	Time	Foxes
1.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	96.13	42351
2.	David Heale	G6HGE	115.22	423
3.	David Williams	M3WDD	123.20	23451

M50 - 1 starter, 4 Transmitters. 4.40km + 180m climb
Place	Name	Call	Time	Foxes
1.	Steve Stone	RS193217	77.55	4235

M60 - 6 starters, 4 Transmitters. 4.29km + 150m climb
Place	Name	Call	Time	Foxes
1.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	75.07	4231
2.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	112.35	423
3.	John Little	M1SHE	103.11	23
4.	David Deane	G3ZOI	111.35	23
5.	Tony Green	GW4JGU	115.56	42
6.	Ken Jones	M0AET	129.31	4231

Notes:
1. Overall Champion was Robert Vickers (M60), Runner Up (again!) was Steve Stone (M50)
2. Optimum sequence of transmitters M40: 42351; M50: 4235; M60: 4231
3. Transmitter 1 was on a forward slope on the high ground to the north of the start. It was a cracking signal at the start and sounded as if it was 300m away in flat forest. In fact it was 3km away with a line of sight and near first Fresnel zone clearance path.
This tempted some competitors to believe it was south of the road whereas the much weaker TX 4, sited the other side of a spoil tip and in a slightly thicker clump of trees was the TX south of the road.
4. Transmitter 5 was sited to maximise the multi path propagation it produced.
5. Split times M40 and M50 and M60 . Remember that the BOK SI units were set to BST whereas the ARDF units used GMT. Hence the road crossing control (140) and the finish have 60 minutes added to the split times.
6. Click here for the winner's blog and here for his route.
7. Michael Dunbar has used the spilt times to analyse the punching patterns of the competitors. This shows which transmitters were punched while they were sending and those which were punched after they stopped. He also analysed the times for each 'leg' of the competition. Read his analysis here and view his spread sheet of the splits here .

Witton Park Blackburn 26 April

3.5 MHz - 17 starters, 5 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	0.50	M40	12345
2.	Dave Williams	M3WDD	1.13	M40	12345
3.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	0.55	M40	1245
4.	Tim Raven & Sarah	G4ARI	1.59	M50	2345
5.	John Martin	G8JGM	2.12	M50	2345
6.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	1.11	M60	345
7.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	1.24	M60	345
8.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	1.36	M60	345
9.	Les Fuller	M3CDU	2.19	M??	234
10.	Neil Jones	M0NBJ	1.22	M50	25
11.	Keith Mahood	G0OXV	1.32	M40	25
12.	Tom Read & Jimmy	M1EYP	0.57	M21	2
13.	April Jones	GX8WSR	1.20	W35	3
14.	S Cartlidge	G0MJG	1.29	M60	5
15.	Dave Cossar	GM3WIL	1.30	M60	3

Notes:
1. The results are listed in order of the number of transmitters found and the time taken.
2. Phil M0GIE and the Oldham Club put on a first rate event at Witton Park. They were rewarded with excellent support.
3. In spite of the expanses of out of bounds fields in the middle of the map, the courses transpired to be interesting and challenging.
4. The 'prize' for the furthest travelled competitor went to Michael Dunbar from Frimley who was a little bit ahead of Dave Cossar from Prestwick.

144 MHz - 13 starters, 5 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Dave Williams	M3WDD	1.04	M40	12345
2.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	1.18	M40	12345
3.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	1.29	M40	1245
4.	John Martin	G8JGM	1.30	M50	2345
6.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	0.54	M60	345
7.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	1.15	M60	345
8.	April Jones	GX8WSR	1.26	W35	235
9.	Dave Cossar	GM3WIL	1.22	M60	35
10.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	1.29	M60	35
11.	Keith Mahood	G0OXV	1.33	M40	14
12.	S Cartlidge	G0MJG	1.20	M60	4
13.	Neil Jones	M0NBJ	1.26	M50	4
14.	Tim Raven	G4ARI	1.53	M50

Notes:
1. With multi-path propagation strongly in evidence by reflections from the hill to the north, competitors coped well with the conditions.
2. Please let the organiser know if there are any errors or omissions in these results.

Butterwood 6 April

144 MHz - 11 starters, 5 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	60.35	M40	5/4
2.	Dave Williams	M3WDD	62.10	M40	5/4
3.	Steve Stone	RS193217	95.24	M50	5/5
4.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	95.38	M60	3/3
5.	David Heale	G6HGE	103.58	M40	4/4
6.	Frank Heritage	M0AEU	109.10	M50	4/4
7.	Dave Deane	G3ZOI	130.45	M50	4/3
8.	Justin & Peter		141.45	M??	3/4
9.	Alan & Martin		144.40	M??	4/5

Notes:
1. Heavy snow on the morning of the event caused the cancellation of the parallel Orienteering competition when helpers were unable to get to the area.
ARDF enthusiasts, however, trickled in from across southern England for this two bamd competition.
2. Organisers Dave G4WIZ and Ken M0AET staged a conventional 2m competition and a very novel variant of FoxOring after lunch.
3. Winner Michael Dunbar wore a GPS watch and his blog shows his exact track superimposed on the Google Earth image of the woods.

3.5 MHz - 7 starters, 10 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Dave Williams	M3WDD	37.15	M40	10
2.	Steve Stone	RS193217	49.12	M50	10
3.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	55.05	M40	10
4.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	63.35	M60	9
5.	David Heale	G6HGE	78.32	M40	9
6.	Frank Heritage	M0AEU	80.30	M50	9
7.	David Deane	G3ZOI	77.59	M50	6

Notes:
1.The novel form of a FoxOring competition deployed ten transmitters which each sent for 30 sec in every minute with a different identifying letter in morse.
At the start the competitors were given a plan or 'constellation' of the transmitters (in addition to the map from the 2m event in the morning). Eight of the transmitters were within a 150m radius circle centred 300m from the start and lying on one of the eight compass points N, NE, E, SE etc. The transmitter was audible at the centre of each of these circles but its identifying morse letter was not disclosed.
Each competitor was assigned a compass point along which he was required to leave the mass start (this avoided following).
A ninth control circle was positioned between the circle of eight and the start and a transmitter was placed here after the competitors had left the start area. Finally, a tenth transmitter was sited within a 150m radius circle around the finish.

Dudmaston 16 March

144 MHz - 11 starters, 5 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Phil Smith	GW1XBG	48.44	M40	5/5
2.	Dave Williams	M3WDD	58.00	M40	5/5
3.	Ken Jones	M0AET	62.24	M60	3/3
4.	Tim Raven	G4ARI	101.20	M50	3/3
5.	David Deane	G3ZOI	106.44	M50	4/4
6.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	117.46	M40	5/5
7.	Steve Stone	RS193217	81.10	M60	4/5
8.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	107.20	M60	3/4
9.	Dave Cossar	GM3WIL	97.28	M50	1/3
10.	Tony Green	GW4JGU	127.15	M60	2/5
11.	Dave Livsey	G4BQH		M60	0/5

Notes:
1. Click here for the 144MHz split times. Note that the splits are ordered in simplistic time and number of controls found and do not take into account the choice of course by the competitor.
2. Dudmaston, with its deceptive undulating terrain, produced far more multi path propagation than expected. Some very experienced competitors had a 'bad hair day' as a result.
3. Congratulations to winner Phil Smith who overcame all these problems to notch a convincing win. M40 is definitely our strongest class in GB and if we ever got our best team out it would be interesting to see how close we could get to a podium place in international competition.
4. It was good to welcome Dave Cossar and Dave Livsey to their first competition. Hope to see you both again.
5. Click here for the 2m winner's blog and here for a map of his route.

3.5 MHz - 10 starters, 3 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Dave Williams	M3WDD	23.20	M40	3/3
2.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	24.04	M40	3/3
3.	Steve Stone	RS193217	28.38	M50	3/3
4.	Phil Smith	GW1XBG	29.13	M40	3/3
5.	David Deane	G3ZOI	39.55	M50	2/2
6.	Tim Raven	G4ARI	44.01	M40	2/2
7.	Ken Jones	M0AET	73.04	M60	3/3
8.	Tom Mitchell	GM0JHF	79.21	M60	3/3
9.	Tony Green	GW4JGU	92.47	M60	2/3
10.	Dave Cossar	GM3WIL	97.44	M60	0/2

Notes:
1. Click here for the 3.5MHz split times. Again, these are not ordered as the actual results.
2. Steve Stone, having mispunched at a 3.5 MHz transmitter in the morning, had a compensating advantage with one of the TXs after lunch! With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, the two #5 transmitters were too close together and should have been more clearly marked with the band of operation.
3. The top four competitors had an extremely close race of it and the optimum sequence was 3 - 1 - 5
4. Click here for the 80m winner's blog and here for a map of his route.

High Wycombe 10 Feb

144 MHz - 13 starters, 5 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	59.50	M60	4/4
2*.	Martin Whittaker	M0NXP	67.21	M21	4/4
3.	Ken Jones	M0AET	68.10	M60	3/3
4.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	82.15	M40	5/5
5.	Dave Skye	G3PLR	95.53	M60	3/3
6.	David Deane	G3ZOI	97.23	M50	4/4
7.	John Little	M1SHE	102.52	M60	3/3
8.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	104.20	M40	5/5
9.	Jim Smith	G4DZL	118.50	M50	5/5
10.	Tim & Sarah Raven	G4ARI	156.55	M50	3/3
11.	David Heale	G6HGE	111.13	M40	3/5
12.	Dawn Skye	YL	115.00	W50	1/3

* denotes assisted

Notes:
1. The 2008 ARDF season opened with wonderful weather and superb terrain at High Wycombe. Steve Stone put on an excellent event single handedly and did it very very well. His efforts were greatly appreciated by everyone who participated.
2. At this event competitors were free to choose which course they attempted (5 TXs, 4 TXs or 3 TXs) rather than being constrained by their age group.
3.Organiser's comments: The location of the main orienteering car park restricted me to what areas I could use without involving a long walk to a start. I thought the Southern area was a bit small for an event but being hilly it wouldn't make it to easy. Even so I wasn't anticipating anybody having major problems. My first indication that it wasn't going to be that easy was at 10am when the TXs fired up. Number 1 was showing almost West instead of South East. This caused much confusion to the competitors with almost everyone taking non optimum routes. I don't know why number 3 caused so much grief to some. Anyway, thanks to all for coming and I hope you enjoyed you run on a gorgeous day.
Thanks to Dave Deane for the loan of the equipment, and to all those who collected controls at the end.
4. The event attracted two newcomers in Dawn Skye and Martin Whittaker. Click for Martin's blog. How others see us!
5. Click for the winner's blog and here for the winner's route.

Lever Park, Bolton 25 Nov

3.5 MHz - 15 starters, 5 Transmitters.
Place	Name	Call	Time	Class	Foxes
1.	Bob Titterington	G3ORY	41.0	M60	3/3
2.	Michael Dunbar	RS195082	45.0	M40	5/4
3.	Robert Vickers	G3ORI	50.0	M60	5/3
4.	David Heale	G6HGE	52.0	M40	4/4
5.	Stuart Tyler	G1ZAR	56.0	M40	4/4
6.	David Williams	M3WDD	1.08.0	M40	5/4
7.	John Martin	MDOC	1.10.0	M50	4/4
8.	Tom Mitchell	GM4JHF	1.17.0	M50	4/4
9.	Jim Smith	G4DZL	1.27.0	M50	5/4
10.	Keith Mahood	G0OXV	1.18.00	M40	3/4
11.	Stuart Cartlidge	G0MJG	1.28.0	M50	3/4
12.	Richard Newstead + 2	G3CWI	1.07.0	M40	2/4
13.	April Jones	Wirral	1.19.0	W35	2/4
14.	Neil Jones	Wirral	1.36.0 OT	M50	0/4