What is a T-Hunt?

T-Hunting Defined

A transmitter hunt, also know as Radio Direction Finding (RDF) or a "Fox Hunt", takes place when one or more transmitters are activated (by the "fox"), and hunters using radios and directional antennas attempt to locate the hidden transmitters. One hunter when asked by the curious describes T-Hunting as, “Hide and Seek for Grown-Ups”.

What types of T-Hunts are there?

There are several types of T-Hunts. Some are on-foot T-Hunts using multiple transmitters, while others are mobile T-Hunts in which the hunters search from their vehicles. Some T-Hunts cover a relatively small space, like a park, while others can cover extremely large areas, sometimes covering multiple states. CNARC T-Hunts are mobile hunts. Hunters use directional antennas mounted on their vehicles to locate the hidden transmitter. The winner is determined by the vehicle with the lowest mileage. The area covered in CNARC T-Hunts is bound by the 71, 60, and 91 freeways, plus the city of Corona.

What equipment is needed to T-Hunt?

There are only a few items needed.
  1. A directional 2M antenna – our hunters all use 4-element Quad Antennas which have excellent front-to-back gain. These are home-made antennas and so are both inexpensive and easy to build. Mounting is usually on a short mast on the driver’s side window and simply rotated by hand.
  2. An Attenuator which serves to keep the incoming signal mid-scale on the S-meter of the 2M radio all during the hunt. The attenuators have multiple steps from 3db to 20db with upper limits usually in the range of 100db. Attenuators can be found at the local Swap Meets or can be home-brewed.
  3. A 2M FM radio tuned to 146.565 MHz which is the accepted T-Hunting frequency. If other communication is required, the CNARC repeater on 147.060/– MHz, PL-162.2 Hz is used.
  4. Hunters may use other “tools”, e.g. a compass, a map, a note pad, etc.

Who can participate in T-Hunts?

Even though amateur radio frequencies are used in T-Hunting, anyone, whether licensed or not, can participate as a hunter since no transmissions are made by the hunters.