Elecraft comes out with cool upgrades and accessories for their gear. You just have to wait a bit as they are busy folks. The promised 2 meter module for the KX3 is now available. I started off this long weekend by installing a 2 meter module in the KX3. This of course is just following instructions. A return on this investment is using my KX3 on our local club fox hunts. The KX3 gives me an S meter which none of my HTs have.
Fox hunting also known as hidden transmitter locating is often done on 2 meters. Directional antennas are used to get a bearing and signal strength on the fox. Actually spotting the fox is never as simple as it sounds. It takes some presence of mind to integrate the information you have and make your next move. Our club started out with site hunts and now is going to try vehicle hunts.
I have a small loop and a four element yagi for hunting. I also have an offset attenuator which can reduce the fox signal to help get an accurate bearing. All this gear came from Arrow Antennas. A tape measure yagi however is inexpensive to build yourself.
Sunday, I went out vehicle fox hunting with club members Bob KK4DIV and Phil N4STC. We took turns driving a couple of miles to hide the fox. Our fox is a PicCon from Byonics that generates tones and a Morse callsign ID. The PicCon is hooked to a Baofeng UV-5R and the antenna is a small mobile whip. I used the yagi and KX3 to hunt with. I got good bearings but still took a while as I went the wrong way for one move. Bob has a tape measure yagi and Phil has a awesome multi element quad. Our club is planning a "for the record" vehicle hunt and picnic on September 13th.
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| KX3 with 2 meter module. It is on the left side. |
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| KX3 with offset attenuator and directional loop. |
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| Phil N4STC and 6 element quad. Wow! |
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| Bob KK4DIV and his tape measure yagi |
