IARU Region II

Amateur Radio Direction Finding

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

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.

How does it work

• Competitors carry portable radio receivers with directional antennas with which they try to find the transmitters.

How does it work

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

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.

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.

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.

RULES IN AMATEUR RADIO DIRECTION FINDING

• PART A – ORGANIZATION

• PART B – COMPETITION– RULES FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

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

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

TOC• 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

• 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

EQUIPMENT

AARC First Annual Fox Hunt

• April 28, 2012Rain date next day or next weekCheck 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

http://terraserverusa.com/