Multi-DF  (10 Txs)   Sunday July 16th 2017
Organiser  Philip G0NXH   

Location    Holbrook

Tea: Manningtree,  The Crown.

Some plotted bearings on the 10 Txs at 1:30 pm while others just went for it hoping to pick up points while others were still sharpening their pencils.

What were they hoping to find?

Ten new electronic Triffids into which to insert their Dibber, issued at the start.



The host Txs would be within 3m metres but would these Triffids be a root crop  or be blossoming in the trees ... could there be different varieties .... ?????

Results 

Pos Competitor Hcap Joker A B F G I J R S Y Z Total Percent
1 Richard S 43 I 23 40 32 32 80 26 15 20 17 0 242 100
2 Roy E 109 S 40 20 40 40 17 17 26 64 20 20 195 80
3 Rosie M 66 Y 17 23 17 17 32 40 20 17 52 26 195 80
4 Tim P 121 Z 20 26 20 23 23 23 23 23 40 80 180 74
5 Steve S 112 S 11 15 26 26 20 20 40 80 23 23 172 71
6 Gary P 146 Y 15 32 15 15 26 32 17 15 64 32 117 48
7 Colin F 145 R 13 17 23 20 15 15 64 26 0 0 48 19
8 Bob S 0 B 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 10
9 Colin M 68 A 64 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -4 0

Competitor Joker A B F G I J R S Y Z Validation
Richard S I 14:04:15 14:09:57 14:18:44 14:23:21 13:47:08 13:52:06 15:17:24 14:59:16 15:47:44 15:57:31
Roy E S 13:40:13 14:49:52 14:02:17 14:07:22 15:00:07 15:04:33 14:35:23 14:16:42 15:36:09 15:29:56 15:46:18
Rosie M Y 14:33:06 14:25:12 14:44:13 14:46:11 13:47:37 13:51:18 15:16:32 15:12:32 14:06:58 14:13:20 15:30:05
Tim P Z 14:30:19 14:25:09 14:44:01 14:36:51 14:09:20 14:15:55 15:00:15 14:56:15 13:57:16 13:49:59 15:15:53
Steve S S 15:38:18 15:28:19 14:32:40 14:30:05 14:44:25 14:48:10 14:22:40 14:02:25 15:16:44 15:14:14 15:38:18
Gary P Y 14:33:30 14:24:48 15:28:37 14:56:21 13:54:33 13:51:31 15:16:48 15:12:59 14:06:07 14:13:11 15:36:34
Colin F R 15:01:41 14:54:53 14:43:48 14:46:08 15:14:33 15:21:38 14:23:19 14:26:43 15:38:38
Bob S B 13:54:07 15:05:51 15:51:40 15:24:34 14:29:14 14:49:05 13:54:07
Colin M A 13:51:04 14:02:52 14:05:48 14:36:08 13:51:04

The new system records times and awards points once the find is validated by a later dib at Tx A. (Only A is self validating).  Red times are 'unvalidated'  finds,  i.e. there was no later dib at  Tx A.  Green is the final validation dib at A. Other banking dibs at A are recorded in the system log but not shown in the final results for clarity.  Bob was just 2 seconds out of time in validating his last 5 finds so they did not count.  Colin lost his Dibber on the beach - fortunately found after the event, he did solder on  'for fun'  and found most stations but with no dibber ......   As the inventor of this system he did leave with one leg longer than the other, Rosie is going to surgically attach his Dibber before the the next event.

Note - In future events the 'Competitor's Joker' will replace A as the 'Validation Tx' making Tx collection at the end of the event much quicker - less walking,  more time in the pub!

The non-linear points system is superior to pure times because it encourages independent searching.  Only the validation time is relevant, this must be before the event end. In future the validation time may also be used for resolving 'points ties'. 
Awarding prizes for finish time would encourage group hunting and destroy much of what is good about Multi-DF.  
Also validation may seem unnecessary now find times can be shown BUT to remove it would lose the Multi-Spice,  Bob had his first taste in this event!  Times are published only so people can check their points and for general interest.
Richard's Tale:

Very pleased to get a win on this one and happy to move up to Red Joker status at last.

I immediately liked the  look of the site at Holbrook as it seemed that all transmitters must be in the southern hemisphere unless Phil did something sneaky by putting some on the other side of the main road. But that wouldn't be in Phil's nature at all.

Deciding to plot all bearings from the start point I was second to last away I think. But all signals had come up strong on my frame antenna and I could see a plan straightaway. My joker was I and this enabled me to get an immediate fix on the centre of the site which was the head of the yacht moorings. Picked this one up without difficulty but I found Gary and Rosie had beaten me into J. Probably the next target should have been Y/Z but I headed off to F and found that A and B were obvious to collect on the way. F & G were straightforward but then into the time disaster of R and S, though Steve must have found these easy as he zoomed past me from their direction.  
Here's where Phil's prophesy of "if you're getting scratched or stung you've gone in the wrong way" came painfully true. Loads of nettle stings from lack of leg protection and 2 nasty horse fly bites - you don't want to see the pictures.

Anyway, scrambling down to the beach eventually located the 2 TX as their transmissions became longer. Along came Colin with a new catchphrase "Anyone seen a dibber in the sand?" a question which I didn't really take in at the time. This couldn't happen to a nicer inventor, of course.

I tried to keep up with the jogging Rosie in the rain to do a safety dib again at A station and found there was just enough time to attempt Y/Z.  At the end of the long distance upA day when things went well for me and everyone else's Jokers and routes also conspired to favour me. Plus my low handicap advantage, of course. the boarded footpath it was obvious that a TX was kindly placed not far away. However, I did not hear the next scheduled transmission from Y and waited for the next one which led me straight in. No time to attempt Z and just 10 minutes to walk back to A as fast as possible.
 
A day when things went well for me and everyone else's Jokers and routes also conspired to favour me. Plus my low handicap advantage, of course.

Surprisingly for me, the triffids seemed no more difficult to spot than the old drinks bottles despite being less brightly painted. I didn't see a transmitter all day.
I have some lanyards from work which are for sharing though these are not really long enough to reach the triffid without disconnecting the dibber. An alternative would be those long curly bootlaces from Amazon, although 99p is a serious investment for a DFer..

Thanks to Phil and dibber kit constructors for a good day. That's the last time you'll see me in shorts.

Following a good meal and the award ceremony we were all contemplating what might have been, except Richard who was trying to memorise his successful strategy and yours truly who had won a box of chocolates for being first of the losers, definitely a career peak.

Philip bravely retained his 5 points for running the event putting his handicap up to 166, can any one catch him?  


Next event August 20th watch the noticeboard for details
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