 Organiser Gary P |
Multi-Tx DF Sunday August
18th
2019 Location Ipswich - Belstead Meadows and the surrounding open space areas. Times 12:30 Demo Txs on. 13:00 registration, briefing. 13:30 First transmissions. Pub Chestnut Tree Farm, , IP8 3LQ Event Format Overview for beginners Full details here . Contact Email. |
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 Note the 1 Km scale marker ! |
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 Time to collect all the Txs in ...... |  ..... and off to the pub for food and a beer or 3 ! |
Results
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Times (for info only)
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 Tim won everything - Star, Ghost, Hero ...... Richard was in chocolate place (2nd) but had to miss the pub. |  Colin F was 2nd on the raw score list . |
| Winner's Speech: Three strong signals from TXs A,F and K at the start. I don’t plot bearings but do take notice of relevant landmarks in roughly the directions of the signals. So for A it was a tall tree to the West of the start, F along a path heading East towards the top of the field, and K towards power lines in the distance SE ish. My initial plan was to do LMK, the Ghost, then ABC or FGH depending on where the ghost took me. My joker was L, so when allowed, I set off in K’s direction with Phil. Before K’s next transmission, I had reached a bridge over Belstead brook, but as F was on at the time, I took a quick check on its direction which was straight up the path to the left. If I had realised it was so close I could have nipped in for some early points. At this point, I was lured by Phil’s superior dfing prowess to the wrong side of the brook rather than crossing the bridge, so when K came on, a quick paddle across the wide but shallow brook was needed. Once crossed, a re-tune to L indicated a path along the brook-side was the route to take. Next transmission took me to L and the triffid high up in a bush the other side of the easily visible transmitter. |
| Next to M to try and get
40 points before Phil. Up near the pylons. Uh oh ! With no visible
direct path, it was heavy going through the long grass and stuff in the
meadow. M was a bit tricky due to its short transmissions and doubt
caused by the power lines. In one interval I was able to ascertain that
the Ghost was West along the power lines and radiating strongly. Here
M’s signal strength was deemed more important than bearing. After
searching a few likely small trees I found the Tx but no sign of its
triffid in its branches or the base, or in the adjacent bush. After
some frustration the search was widened and eventually brought about
the desired result. Feeling happy, but Ghost or K next ? Decided on K before others descended on it. Quick find, then West, but no Ghost transmission for a long time, and when it did come, it was weaker, and over the A14. So through the tunnel under said A14. Spent a while searching too close to the tunnel and decided it must be further on up the path. Luckily stopped by the right tree when it came on, so I nipped through the convenient hole in a hedge to find the (hastily placed) large Tx on the other side. Nothing at ground level (except a bit of blue wire off the aerial); triffid hanging from a low branch. No-one else around, was pleased to get a third 40 points. Decided on ABC next as they were closest to the tunnel. Met with Colin F back near the start, who took the trouble to warn me not to go near the power lines. I thought he’d already done ABC but I think retrospectively he was on his way from FGH. |  |
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and C all seemed straightforward but from under the power lines at C
both the Ghost and M were booming out. Now along the previously noted
path towards F, whose position was already mentally plotted. Ended up
on the wide path with Colin M waiting lower down. Decided to go for
higher points at G and H first as F already likely to have low points.
On transmission, Colin ran up the path too. I just about got to a point
of maximum signal when G went off, so I turned right into an open area
past a gate to see evidence of fervent foraging in dense bushes. The
transmitter was easy to spot but I only found its triffid after
searching both sides of the bush and others to the right. Starting
again, close in to the transmitter, success was had low down just to
the left under low cover. Then a sneaky exit to avoid letting Colin in
(sorry !). H next, and signals coming from up the road. Reached the end of some available cover after a couple of transmissions, only to hit a brick wall. Well, a wooden fence, with H supposedly beyond the houses contained within. The only route seemed to be to go further up the road, and after a couple of hundred yards there was an open area to the right – a likely hide. After a slight overshoot, and looking up rather than down, H was in the bag. Or induced. Back down the lane for an easy F, then home to L by 3.20. Met Richard at L who found it quickly then headed for M. |
| Overall I thought it was a very do-able contest, all three groups were
close to the start, triffid hides were up and down, in the open and in
undergrowth for good variety, terrain was mixed with open areas, a
brook, power lines and areas of thick stuff. The pub was close and the grub and service good. The cake on offer was too big to handle though. One of the closest contests with the top three all within 8 points. Thank you Gary for a well thought out and effective event. Even the rain stopped for the afternoon. Tim |
Hero League  Thanks to Gary for trying to keep us fully occupied - yes he suceeded! Next event September 22nd - watch this space for details. |