Snowman Multi-Tx DF 11/03/12The event was originally going to be held on 05/02/12 but we were snowed in!Start Great Dunmow Map 167 Times 12.30 - 3.30 pm Operator Larby G4TEB Location Broakes Wood (previously called Shardlowe's Wood) near Gosfield. Maxi, 5 Minis and 4 Micros |
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 The
site was 20K from the start, sadly two competitors left their car after
only 15 K and proceeded on foot; having heard a micro they thought they
must be close. On this occasion a very sensitive set did not help.
At the tea signal reports from different competitors
illustrated
the wide variation in set sensitivity, some could only hear the micros
when within the specified 200 m while others could hear them all over
the site. At least everyone did hear them which is the main
thing. Moral of this story, if you have an ultra-sensitive
set
don't abandon your car on strength alone - this is not the first time
this has happened and it probably won't be the last!
Larby says .... |
The
Snowman/The Spring Chicken/The Circular Tour of Broakes Wood. What a difference in the weather, 6” of snow compared to glorious sun! Thanks to everyone that turned up and especially to Rosie/Colin, Steve Stone, Mr X and Graham Philips for travelling to support our event. I took the dog to the wood on Saturday and put up the aerial for TX “A”. I made my final selection of which trees and left a bag, the post with tickets and the Triffid ©. I returned on Sunday at 8am with the 4 micros and the 5 minis. The minis can be set up to 5 hours ahead so they were set at 7:30am, 7:31 etc. I walked with a large brief case around the site placing, erecting the aerial, bagging the TX and placing the Triffid concealing the score cards. A map is essential to ensure the right TX and the right score cards, as you walk away from the micro you question yourself “did I switch it on?” as these are continuous transmission. Care is also needed not to knock the on/off switch on the minis. |
Two and a half hours later I arrive at the final
TX. Now
yesterday the cards were missing so I made some, but now I can’t
find the Triffid and the post. I installed the Tx and hung the cards on
a branch. Then off to my car to fetch TX ”A” and set that up.
This was
done by 11:30am so my work was done. All I had to do was pray
all TXs
fired up as programmed and wait until 3:30. So I popped home for a
bacon roll and a cuppa and returned to hear every TX perform at 12:30.
All micros could be heard at the car-park and main station “A”. I returned to the site of missing Triffid and found the Triffid at 12:45 a few feet away!  That was my reward for finding a site, a start, a finish, fetching Txs, charging them the day before, walking the site several times, going through procedure in my head many times and setting up Saturday and Sunday. So now I’ve sold the idea who wants to volunteer to run one? You get Sunday afternoon off unlike traditional events and you also get the worn out competitors to retrieve the TX’s for you. Well done AGAIN Phil! Watch out in future for the glint of piano wire! Also Gary for romping home in 2nd place to show the old hands how it’s done. (Wait until those legs are 40 years older Gary!) |
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 Roll up, get
your jokers here.
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 Winner Philip says: Snowman 2012. No Sense of Multi direction. Fortunately all the snow had gone by the day of the re-scheduled start at the new location on the A120 Dunmow bypass. Ok toilets, noisy overhead wires and underground devices, so took a bearing perched on top of the plastic picnic table which came out at 64 degrees. Had already had a conversation with Tim and Gary who reckoned it was odds on Peter would be in Shardlowe’s Wood on the edge of the map near Halstead. Set off with Roy who was keen to get a second bearing. My view was there was little else on the map apart from Shardlowe’s or the dismantled railway beyond, so we should keep going. As we closed the minis started to crowd in and get stronger so said we should just park up in wood and check for micros. But Roy had to stop about 500 meters away and yes it was the wood so we dived straight in and bumped into some others already there. |
 Timbo
modelling
his new dongle.
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 Graham performing without a safety net. |
The 'before'
man
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 Same man after Multi-treatment |
 All this
effort to find .....
Sorry Philip ...... you were saying .... My joker was J but first thing I heard was Z close by the car park so took off for some clear space. Quickly found Z by the path but could not then work out which one it’s mini was, none seemed close. Decided then to press on for J and picked up on X on the way there, found near a small pond, right behind Roy. Thought he may have already got to J as he took off in that direction ahead of me but found it still with full 40 points. Then doubled back to L and again came across Roy eventually leading him to it. Then came full circle by tracking down ‘I’ which was the Mini for Z. By this time though completely disorientated so just followed the signals right across the wood heading for K. |
Came out onto
a ploughed field and ran right pass A having seen Colin around K, which
I then struggled to find with two wrong senses which left the door open
for Steve who nicked the 40 points Colin and myself had left begging.  Due
to the scrambling motorbikes it was really noisy this side of the wood,
which did not help and made micro W hard to pin down as well. Then
picked up on Y, otherwise known as Swampy, given its strength and
ability to wash out the other 1843 micro. Couple of confusing senses on
H, which I had clearly run past between W and Y. Time then for A which
I had heard before but was so strong it could have been anywhere in the
wood.
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 Having run round in several circles by the time I arrived I was completely lost and disorientated, which is unusual for me on a good sunny day. Found a number of people milling about and a smug looking Steve Stone who had finished some time before hand. A number of others had also done all ten, including Gary, so we are all getting better at the multi’s and it would all come down to the points. |
 Only sad news of the day, John and Graham Phillips had jumped out of the car way to soon and had walked half way across Essex, but still got to the wood in time to pick up a couple of stations. Collected L on the way out of the wood, still not sure where I was! When the numbers were all crunched it was close, but still a decisive Snowman win. Good weather, good wood, good organization of TX’s, good dinner and company in the pub afterwards. Philip |
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The
main result .... Peter
went home a happy man! Other results may be seen in the table below. Can anyone catch Philip? Gary and Richard are getting closer .... keep it up guys. Those who are not familiar with this scoring system may wonder how Steve finished first but ended up well down the list - it took him several bearings to pin down the site (proving that the map navigation phase does play a part) and his score at his joker (K) was only 20. I would like to tell you the best strategy for winning and rest assured, if I ever work it out, I will! In the meantime you better read Philip's winners' reports, there are plenty to choose from. Thanks to Steve, John, Graham, Colin and Rosie for putting in the miles to be with us and to Larby for getting us 'fit'. Need more exercise - see here! Pictures by Ian, Larby, Philip and Richard. |
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