View to the fox from Fairmont Dr.	Close-in view of the Fox location
Hunt date: Feb. 18, 2006 Start: 11:00 AM from anywhere in the Bay-Area. One (1) hidden transmitter. 146.565 MHz., 3-Watts. Scoring method: None (First to arrive will hide next month) The hider was, Pete-N6YIF and Don-KC6IPO First to arrive: Jim-KD6DX
Hi all, Your co-fox here. (Don KC6IPO)   Pete (N6YIF) picked me up this morning and we proceeded to the hiding spot for Today's hunt, High atop 371 foot tall Nicholl Knob in the Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline, a park a bit south of the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge toll plaza. This is just north of a marina in Richmond where a transmitter had been hidden before.   There is a residential area at the north border of the park and a street, Crest Avenue, dead ends at the park. Actually it goes into the park and up to the top of Nicholl Knob but there is a gate at the park entrance so you have to walk from there. We parked near the gate and carried the fox box to the top where we placed it at the base of a commercial radio tower, 18 inches west of the solid steel base of the tower. It was not as effective as a dumpster but it worked well enough ;> .   Talk in was on the 145.230 repeater near Palo Alto. Hunters could start where ever they wanted and were encouraged to co-ordinate with each other. All could here Pete and I on the talk in so we turned on the 3 Watt transmitter with a 1/4 wave vertical on 146.565MHz about 11 am and the hunt was on.   Gary started on a hill side south of San Jose and said the signal was too strong to get a bearing with his hand held beam without going to horizontal to attenuate the signal a bit.   Rich started on a hill side above San Leandro where he was joined by the team of Tony and Ray. Also in the hunt were two other one man teams of Bob and Ron. I don't know where they started. Andy DD from his home near Palo Alto (?) and a HAM spending the very cold and wet 3 day weekend camping on Angel Island working DX, assisted by give bearings.   Rich was the only one with a spot on bearing but he said he was afraid we were hiding in Marin County and he wasn't going there. I assured him we were in the east bay and he assured us he would find us.   Once we were certain the hunt was successfully started and after answering questions from a curious passer by, Pete and I went back to the car and drove down the hill to a picnic area where we used the toilet facilities and started eating lunch at table. after perhaps two minutes of lunch, we heard that Rich was exiting I 580 in Richmond and we did not want to be found in the park so back into the car and up the hill near the gate.   Rich entered the park first, via the tunnel, followed in a few minutes by Tony and Ray. both "teams" soon determined that the transmitter was in the park's hills. As I understand it, Tony and Ray struck up a conversation with a local who told them about Crest Avenue. Shortly they arrived at the gate, not noticing Pete and I.   As they unloaded there equipment in preparation for the walk, Rich drove up, also not noticing Pete and I. Then Ron arrived not noticing us. They then entered the park together.   From the gate the paved road at first goes slightly down hill to a bend from which you discover a very steep grade. The four of them stopped there as I watched with my binoculars. Eventually they decided that Tony should go on while the others waited so Tony did and found the transmitter. By this time Pete walked over to join the three waiting for Tony. Upon Tony's return, they all returned to the gate where I joined them.   About then we heard that Gary was stuck in traffic on US 101 north bound in San Mateo.   Eventually Bob arrived, grabbed his gear and RAN up a steep, probably muddy, trail going up the knob. He of coarse found it and returned on the trail to join us.    So it was about 1 o clock and no sign of Gary. It was getting colder and a bit damp. Eventually we heard from him, at 40th and McDonald in Richmond, apparently after exiting I 80 at McDonald. Later we heard him stuck at a railroad crossing apparently near Canal and I 580 by a very slow train.   About 2 pm, when the hunt was to end, and after Bob volunteered to run back up the hill and retrieve the transmitter ( THANK YOU so VERY much Bob) and the hunters had left for Fisherman's Hut in San Lorenzo to chow down and debrief some more, except Ron who had to get a haircut, we heard again from Gary. He was in the park near the picnic area directly below us. We asked him to wait there for us but he didn't hear. With the transmitter still on in the car, we drove down to meet Gary only to find him half way up a trail to the knob and wondering why the signal was now coming from behind him.   We then turned the transmitter off and invited Gary down the hill to join us. After debriefing him and discovering that he was in slow traffic all the way through San Francisco and across the Bay Bridge and that he had driven 90 miles, we awarded him the sticktoittism award. Unfortunately he wasn't able to join us in San Lorenzo.   Pete and I then joined the gang at Fisherman's Hut where we experienced some mediocre fish and chips and some more great conversation. The End, Don-KC6IPO