DF

  Multi-Tx DF     Sunday 07-10-2018

  Organiser    Colin F

  Location   Whitley Forest, Seven Oaks, Kent

  Pub     The Woodman





Serious competition at the pub before the event.
Extra horses need  a swiveling number plate!



Colin says:

Having decided Whitley Forest would be an ideal site for a DF hunt, I soon found there were obstacles to overcome. Firstly there is no car park or even roadside parking near enough to access the woods. However the Woodman pub on the western edge had 2 footpaths accessible from it’s car park, so after persuading the pub to allow us to park for the afternoons event, I booked a table. Then I proceeded to explore, but to my surprise I soon discovered that this 2500 acre area belonged to the Montreal Estate and is in fact private. Oh bother, now what do I do? The only legal access for us, is on the various public footpaths through it. I managed to walk a number of these on my first afternoon, and got lost on a few loggers tracks as well. It was just too good to dismiss, so I thought how can I do this keeping reasonably within public limits. There were lots of signs pinned to trees warning users to stay on official footpaths, so I figured if I don’t place Tx’s past any of these signs, we might just be OK.


Footpaths - Yep mind is focussed!

On the next visit I stuck to the paths either side of the central North/South valley, pacing out distances between likely Tx sites, grouping these into three. I was now happy I could do this and concentrated on all the other preparations before the hunt weekend. Then the weather forecast for Saturday (the day I was planning to set it all up), was heavy rain all afternoon! To overcome this I set all the triffid clocks on Friday evening, so I could get an early start the following morning. After setting out 9 Tx’s the heavens opened and I called it a day, knowing that Sunday morning would be bright and dry, and I would be able to place the Ghost near the pub. On Sunday we had a competition for parking with the local ‘boy racer’s club’, and whilst Roy finished preparations, I checked all the Tx’s came alive . . and they did! . .


This is how a Hero trains for these events.

I chose our starting point at a junction of 7 paths, thus dispersing competitors in different directions, whilst I hung on to Bob who was experimenting with a VCO added to his DF set.

As I needed to transport bits back to my car, I suggested to Bob as it was nobody’s joker he tries the Ghost first, this he readily agreed to (without even knowing what the Ghost was). However, on returning from my car I was shocked to find Steve had got there first, and Bob was therefore 2nd . . We returned back past the start in the direction of A, I asked Bob a lot of questions but let him make all the decisions, once we were near a Tx I left him to his own devices (he even showed Colin M where A’s triffid was - see pictures).  

He worked through C, A, B,  then F but missed G going on up the steep hill to H instead. At 15:45 I kept insisting we go back to A, but he was not about to let H beat him, and when Phil returned to his joker he showed Bob and Geoff the triffid in the tree. Bob may have lost points, but to him he had won, finding 6 Tx’s was the most ever, well done Bob.
Set down, Tx found but where's the Triffid?


Another pair of eyes ....
How could you miss it Colin?


Rosie explaining how simple this all is to first time Geoff!




In the tree or on the ground?
I spy ......



Bob going for it right up to the machine gun, unfortunately 2 minutes out of time at A.
Ten Triffid Tim collecting in B, and the water kindly buried with the Tx.

 Results

Pos Competitor Hcap Joker A B C F G H K L M 1 Score Raw % Final Total
1 Tim P 87 B 40 80 32 32 26 40 20 20 26 26 342 100 255
2 Steve S 54 L 15 17 15 17 0 23 26 52 40 40 245 71 191
3 Colin M 67 M 23 26 26 23 23 20 32 40 40 0 253 73 186
4 Philip C 108 H 20 23 23 40 32 64 17 17 23 0 259 75 151
5 Richard S 45 G 17 20 17 26 80 26 0 0 0 0 186 54 141
6 Dave C-A 7 K 0 0 0 0 0 0 80 32 0 0 112 32 105
7 Bob S 0 A 52 0 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 32 104 30 104
8 Roy E 136 C 32 32 80 0 0 0 23 23 32 0 222 64 86
9 Geoff G 0 * 0 0 0 40 20 17 0 0 0 0 77 22 77



1st
2nd


3rd
Maximum effort!

So how did Tim do it?
 
This event was very much up to the challenging standard of previous Kent events. Hilly terrain with plenty of tree cover, some water, and bendy paths or wide tracks preventing easy direct line translation. Triffids varied from ground to tree, and their degree of covering : a good mix.
 
Three good signals from A,F and K were heard at the start, each pointing roughly down one of the tracks at the start.
Tactics employed during the event included : Listening for the joker from the start during the “dead time” of other transmitters. Walking in the “expected” direction for the next transmitter. When close, doing a quick Red/Yellow/Green scan to try and get three approximate directions from one set of transmissions. Trying to nip in before Roy got to his joker (thought it was A; later found he had red joker C ???) (Brain fade at the briefing) Walking up hills to save energy for running at the top. Always trying to be in a good place ready for the next transmission.
 
The ghost (1) proved hardest to find due to its short transmission lengths and distance from the other transmitters. I had already found six before this one and only had 30 min to find it. Its signal was weak in F’s valley area. By the time I had braved the guarding hounds, only 20 minutes were left. I ended up having to take close in bearings from three different places to get close to the right one of many holly trees. F wasn’t easy either due to a multitude of possible hiding places for the triffid.
 
In the end I completed the event with 20 min to spare in the order BACHFGIKLMB (Joker B).
Spotting Phil looking for his joker at H was a bonus. A fallen tree straddling a barbed wire fence at G overcame the need for a 200m detour. At M a protruding bit of green wire revealed a leaf-buried triffid. It was very much a day for finding the aerial wire then the triffid. The day’s senior moment was thinking I was going for G when I should really have been going for L. Wondered why G was weak and in the wrong direction.
 
So overall a very pleasing feeling to have found all 10.  Thank you Colin for a well constructed and executed event.

Hero League


Tim - our worthy winter Hero, the ultimate trophy presented by 'Deer' Colin.
Tim swept the board, finding all 10 Tx’s with time to spare and a score to match, and is now our new Hero.

Steve came in 2nd place, closely followed by Colin M in 3rd just one point behind.

Unfortunately Dave had been led out to his joker K then L and found it difficult to get back over to the other groups and didn’t gain any more points . . sorry Dave.

I must also thank both Roy and Steve for all their help making this happen, and as the last multi of the year, enjoy a rest and I hope you are all fighting fit and ready for another action packed season next year . .

Thanks Colin a great event to finish the year with, I noted all the superb hides, well some of them ..... eventually!

Well done to Tim, careful disguarding put him just in reach of the Hero and then a storming performance on the day, I think his raw 25% winning margin is the biggest we have seen since records began.

 Thanks to all who have supported us this year by building, programming, setting up events, providing prizes, competing or just letting your 'other half' come out to play!

 Please keep your eye on the  Multi-Noticeboard   for 2019 dates, hope to see you then.