Amateur Radio Direction Finding

1. Amateur Radio Direction Finding IARU Region II

2. The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) • Represents the interests of Amateur Radio operators worldwide • Is the international organizing body for ARDF • IARU Region II is the regional organization for the American continent, the Caribbean, and some islands of the Pacific

3. What is Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) • Sport of finding radio transmitters on foot, using radio receiver, map, and compass in diverse, wooded terrain. • ARDF joins orienteering skills like the proper use of topographic maps, compass skills, and locational awareness, with radio direction finding skills using hand-held portable receivers and antennas.

4. How does it work • Competitors carry portable radio receivers with directional antennas with which they try to find the transmitters.

5. How does it work • Competitors must punch a card they carry with them at each transmitter to prove they have found it.

6. How does it work • A typical ARDF course will be four to ten kilometers long. • Competitors start in five minute intervals, so everyone hears transmitter number one when they first turn on their receivers. • Winners are determined by those who find the most transmitters in the fastest overall time.

7. How does it work • Each transmitter sends a simple Morse code identification for one minute before going silent and the next transmitter, in sequence, sends its identification for one minute. • Each transmitter is therefore silent for four minutes at a time • Locating a hidden transmitter is done by taking bearings and signal strength indications from multiple locations.

8. ARDF competitors are divided into classes based on age and gender • There are nine classes: • D19 (women 19 years old and younger,) • D21 (any women,) • D35 (women 35 years old or older,) • D50 (women 50 years old or older,) • M19 (men 19 years old or younger,) • M21 (any men,) • M40 (men 40 years old or older,) • M50 (men 50 years old or older,) and • M60 (men 60 years old or older.) • Anyone can enter D21 or M21 regardless of age. • The only class that must find all five transmitters is M21. • The D19, D21, D35, M19, M40, and M50 classes must find four transmitters • The D50 and M60 classes must find three transmitters.

9. RULES IN AMATEUR RADIO DIRECTION FINDING • PART A – ORGANIZATION • PART B – COMPETITION • RULES FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

10. Part A Organization • 1. Definitions .......................................................................................................................... 2 • 2. General provisions ............................................................................................................. 2 • 3. Event program .................................................................................................................... 2 • 4. Event preparations ............................................................................................................. 3 • 5. Participation ....................................................................................................................... 3 • 6. Costs .................................................................................................................................. 3 • 7. Event information ............................................................................................................... 3 • 8. Entries ................................................................................................................................ 4 • 9. Jury .................................................................................................................................... 5 • 10. Complaints ......................................................................................................................... 5 • 11. Protests .............................................................................................................................. 5 • 12. Media service ..................................................................................................................... 6 • 13. Event reports ...................................................................................................................... http://www.ardf-r1.org/ardf_rules

11. Part B Competition • Contents: • 14. Categories 2 • 15. Training / model event 2 • 16. Starting order 2 • 17. Team officials’ meeting 3 • 18. Terrain 3 • 19. Courses 3 • 20. Restricted areas and routes 4 • 21. Maps 4 • 22. Equipment used by competitors 4 • 23. Control cards and registering devices 4 • 24. Start 5 • 25. Transmitters 5 • 26. Transmitters arrangement 6 • 27. Finish and time-keeping 6 • 28. Results 7 • 29. Prizes 7 • 30. Fair play 7 • Appendix 1: Technical Specifications for Amateur Radio Direction Finding Equipment 9 • Appendix 2: Principles for course planning 10 • Appendix 3: Approved control cards and registering devices 12 • Appendix 4: IARU ARDF International Class Referees 13 • Appendix 5 : Start list preparation 14 • Appendix 6: Rules for Youth Regional ARDF Championships 16 • Appendix 7: Rules for ARDF Sprint Event • Appendix 8: Rules for ARDF Foxoring Event

14. TOC Direction indicators for masts Search/Rescue agencies Interferometer techniques Airborne hunting techniques Weak signal techniques Close-in sniffing techniques Build the Shrunken Quad for sniffing Build the Sniff-Amp field strength meter for sniffing International-rules on-foot foxhunting Creating rules for mobile hunts Hiding tricks to foil hunters Build tone/ID boxes for hiding Adcock RDFs Fixed site RDFing RDFing from satellites Tracking down cable TV leakage Tracking down power line noise Commercial/military RDF sets Computerized triangulation Dealing with jamming and malicious interference • Using Yagi antennas for RDF • Building and using VHF quad antennas • Reviews of commercial dopplers • Plans for the Roanoke Doppler • Marine RDF equipment • Loops for HF and VHF • External S-meters • Audible S-meters • Review of the Little L-Per RDF • Plans for the Happy Flyers RDF • Review of the BMG SuperDF • Equipment takealong lists • Maps and triangulation • Cooperative hunting • External attenuators, with circuits • Internal attenuators, with circuits • Plans for an automatic attenuator • Vehicle mountings

16. EQUIPMENT

18. AARC First Annual Fox Hunt • April 28, 2012 Rain date next day or next week Check www.w3vpr.org morning of event • Start Time 10:00 AM • Transmit 146.565 • End Time 12:00 PM –meet at club 12:30 PM • Awards – Certificates first, second, third place Fellowship of HAMs

21. http://terraserverusa.com/