It all began in January 2002 with planning for the next Loudoun Amateur Radio Group Balloon Flight in April but in late March it was clear that more preparation and personnel were necessary and so instead our Balloon Committee elected to practice the Recovery Phase with a Fox Hunt. Our Group enjoys this activity and about a half-dozen teams were quickly identified including some of our newcomers.

The day before, Ghost Rider I cleaned and polished his old red truck, charged his deep-cycle batteries, and loaded two sets of VHF/UHF radios and assorted antennas including his new dual band 2 and 440 5-element yagi. He found his loop antenna, his 12-step attenuator, his compass and his Loudoun County map board. His buddy, Ghost Rider II, got his two handheld radios and his attenuator ready and both figured this would be a piece of cake. By the way, both Riders picked out nice bright red shirts to match the truck; this was to ensure that the color blind Fox wouldn’t see them until it was too late.

That morning at 6:30 AM Ghost Rider I got gas in Purcellville and picked up his buddy and headed for breakfast at the IHOP and the monthly meeting of the Group in Leesburg.. Our old friend John Kanode N4MM was the featured speaker and he did himself proud; it was good to see him again and everyone else. In the parking lot, we saw a new two-element delta loop antenna homebrewed by Dave KG4KZZ for the hunt. The Ghost Rider’s analyzer showed it resonated best around 140 MHz. We took a picture of the 3AKD Special on Mark N3GMW’s little car if you can get a good ground that thing should really talk. Then about 10:30 AM, after some last minute assistance to some other fellow Fox Hunters, the Ghost Riders headed west on Route 7 in anticipation of finding the Fox in quick order.

Several teams had a head start and as we cleared the crest of Leesburg Mountain and headed down through Clarkes Gap you could hear Tom NA4MA and Bill KG4OHE, Mary KF4UUY and her Dad KF4VBM, Joyce KG4SHO and Larry KC1YC, Bob W4POF, Denny KF4TJI and Carol KF4TJJ, Mark N3GMW and Dave KG4KZZ, and John KG4L and friend Andrea; a total of eight teams counting the Ghost Riders plus out there somewhere were the Fox Handlers - Tom WB3AKD and Jake KF4VLQ. The Fox had been heard earlier in the morning at sun up from Canby Road Ridge but not now and Tom WB3AKD had advised all at our meeting that it was somewhere west and north from Purcellville. What he did not say was whether it was in Loudoun County.

Well, most of us just assumed it was east of the Blue Ridge and started riding the roads west to Round Hill and then north toward Hillsboro. Tom NA4MA reported hearing something at the Hill High Orchard on Route 7 west of Round Hill so the Ghost Riders went that way and elected to drive Route 711 north around the western side of Round Hill and on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge. Well, no luck there or at the Orchard for that matter. About 45 minutes into hunt Mary KF4UUY proclaimed: “I’ll bet next month’s pay that it is in Clarke County.“ Hummm, up to Snickers Gap everyone went except for some who continued searching further north around Hillsboro and points west. We never did hear from them until after recovery.

Reports started coming in that Joyce and Larry had a signal on Route 601 north of Route 7 and were trying to get a bearing. That’s a good high spot and others went up there too but with little luck. On the Ridge, the Ghost Riders ran into several including Joyce and Larry who swore it was not a pager or cell phone signal - they had heard the real thing and believed it was west of the Blue Ridge. Some including Mary and Bob went on toward Berryville while some including the Ghost Riders search Routes 603 and other roads on both sides of the Shenandoah with no luck.

  So the Ghost Riders decided to start all over again and go back to the last citing up on the Ridge; they again ran into Joyce and Larry and we soon determined that the Fox had died and a call to Tom WB3AKD confirmed there were battery problems and that everyone should hold their positions. Ghost Rider II thought “Hummm, maybe I can take a nap too!” Well, after two rounds of that and a 20 minute wait it was back up and alive!

 So, over an hour and a half into the hunt, we again reacquired the Fox from the Pine Grove Restaurant on the western slope of the Blue Bridge It had a nice signal of about S-3 with Larry’s 4-element yagi and was best with horizontal polarization. Hummm, it must be on the ground. It was strange that you could find only one or two spots on the Ridge where you could pick up the signal so it must be further out in Clarke County. Anyway, the bearing of 320 degrees was reported to everyone on the Hunt Frequency and Joyce and Larry and the Ghost Riders decided to head further into Clarke County by driving along the west side of the river and north of Route 7. It pays to be high; it was funny,; no one else was reporting signals and there were many scouts out there. In reflection, if you were not within a mile or two of the Fox then you needed to be high.

This  is looking north along  western slope the Blue Ridge with Snickers Gap in the lower right. The Green Circle marks the position where Joyce and Larry first acquired the signal. The Yellow-Black Dashed Line is a "ground reflection or trace" of the Line Of Sight path to the Fox. The Ghost Riders and the McCaigs drove north along the western edge of the River on Route 603, etc. to find the prey.

The plan was to reacquire the signal as we drove north and west on Route 603. We stopped and checked for a signal on the western slope just in case it might be hiding there below where it was last heard; nope, no signal and we drove on north and west. About 2 miles north of Route 7 on Route 603, at a sorta high and open spot, Joyce and Larry and the Ghost Riders reacquired the signal, stopped , took readings, and reported a bearing of 320 degrees to all. A more northwesterly scouting route was needed and Route 603 did just that. Another mile up the road and the Fox was continuously readable and not just from high points on the road. We knew we were on the right track. We knew we were getting close and we knew we had to pay attention to signal levels so we didn’t drive too far past the hiding place. So where was it? At Route 663, Joyce and Larry went north while the Ghost Riders decided to continue west on 603. Well, Joyce and Larry were correct since the signal soon began to drop off. We regrouped at the intersection of 663 and 608 and confirmed that it was west on 608. A little less than a mile up 608 it was clear we were close as the Fox had pinned the our meters but we could tell we had gone too far and so we stopped at the intersection of 608 and 609. We prepared to do a dismounted hunt.

Finally, when you get in close an attenuator is essential and you can walk right up to a Fox with one. You can track it as you walk right by it just as you track a balloon payload as it passes over you location. We were using four and five element yagi antennas and they seemed better than the smaller ones that we used in the past. Even in close with the attenuator they had considerable rejection and the patterns were nice and sharp.

There’s probably some other stuff we also learned but by the time the Ghost Riders got home it was lost in their ole memory banks. If they missed something important then please pass to the ATTN: Ghost Rider I at LARG - K4LRG.ORG Webmasters. The Ghost Riders just hope all had a good time and that we can do this again. If you too forget everything else then just remember to take the high ground.

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