Multi-DF Sunday July 19th 2020                            

Location   Fordham, near Colchester  NGR 926286      Organiser  Tim P 




I wonder what we all make of this picture now, and what will we make of it in years to come?

Thanks to Caroline for providing masks for when we needed to get too close for current comfort.

Left - Gary is experimenting with an add on aerial system for a conventional receiver.

Chris had also been busy making a direct conversion receiver using an Arduino and Si5351 to produce the local oscillator.

Both above need more work and experimentation but good to see people with an eye on the future.

So what does Tim have in store for us?  I hope he has remembered that the 'Red Txs - C, H, M, 1' need to be well hidden to  keep the experts amused!  Of course the 'Greens - A, F, K ' will be easy .. won't they? (Tim has a reputation!)



Tx for H found but where is the 'Triffid'... search... search ...?

5 ....long .....minutes .....later .......Ah


Left -    Ben is looking for C - Reds don't phase him!



After the event Colin ... has brought proof he visited C too.


Tim processes the results .............................  ooooh the tension!

Some have decided to be 'Anon'  to avoid the stress!!!

Results - points mean prizes!    1 is the time hopping 'Ghost' Tx
Pos Competitor Hcap Joker A B C F G H K L M 1 Score Raw % Total
1 Colin M 40 C 40 40 80 20 23 23 13 23 15 0 277 92 237
2 Roy E 69 H 9 15 17 32 32 80 23 20 26 40 294 98 225
3 Colin F 75 M 17 23 32 17 26 26 26 26 80 26 299 100 224
4 Ben G 0 * 64 32 23 15 0 20 17 15 23 0 209 69 209
5 Tom I 0 K 23 26 26 0 0 0 80 13 17 0 185 61 185
6 Philip C 102 G 11 13 15 40 80 32 11 17 32 32 283 94 181
7 Vaughn L 0 F 15 0 0 52 20 0 20 0 13 0 120 40 120
8 Steve S 103 L 20 20 20 23 0 0 15 80 20 23 221 73 118
9 Chris I 2 A 52 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 52 17 50
12 Gary P 137 B 13 34 13 0 0 0 32 32 0 0 124 41 -13


Times for info    -  scores in red were either after time or not validated before time at the competitor's Joker Tx.

Competitor Joker A B C F G H K L M 1 Validation
Ben G * 13:56:08 14:18:29 14:31:58 15:58:55 16:00:54 15:22:44 14:43:57 14:53:33 15:05:50
16:00:00
Chris I A 13:58:50 14:21:19



15:35:58


13:58:50
Colin F M 14:28:37 14:20:42 14:11:56 15:18:51 15:06:43 14:53:31 14:04:17 13:57:06 13:48:08 14:41:42 15:28:39
Colin M C 13:46:02 14:17:39 14:09:04 15:03:24 15:13:03 15:22:20 14:48:05 14:24:38 15:41:31
15:50:34
Gary P B 14:55:46 15:02:00 15:32:01


14:01:49 13:48:11

15:42:28
Philip C G 14:59:44 15:19:46 15:06:05 13:43:19 13:52:37 14:08:02 14:48:19 14:52:32 14:44:24 14:23:22 15:32:46
Roy E H 15:28:51 15:19:05 15:01:35 14:04:02 13:56:33 13:47:04 14:37:54 14:30:07 14:49:47 14:14:16 15:41:57
Steve S L 14:22:20 14:30:26 14:41:00 15:03:16

14:45:10 13:48:00 15:26:12 14:52:03 15:34:06
Tom I K 13:59:15 14:18:43 14:31:12


13:49:59 15:03:47 15:26:24
15:35:10
Vaughn L F 14:28:53

14:04:17 15:54:28
14:43:15
15:42:26
15:58:38



TImes for others who were not competing for prizes .....   just the joy of triffid spotting!
Competitor Joker A B C F G H K L M 1
Anon1
14:29:11

14:04:35 15:54:38
14:43:10
15:42:21
Anon2
15:20:50 15:53:26 15:42:27 13:43:32 13:57:02
14:15:44 14:34:54 14:44:56








Gary had not had a good day with his new receiver but remains our Hero giving beginners a 130 point head start.
Our winner Colin M says:
It was good to meet up with everyone again and to resume this exciting hobby/sport at last. What a good turn-out! 12 teams.
At the start I scribbled some rough bearings on my map. I noted that TXs A and K were off to the SE and TX F was ENE.
My joker was C so I headed for the A,B,C group first. However transmissions from C seemed to be very brief and so I got tempted to take the easier option of finding TX A first. TX A and triffid found, TX C was next hoping that no one had beaten me to it. The short transmissions meant I could only advance quite slowly. Eventually the signal became very strong – but the terrain was ridiculous! Station C was hidden somewhere in a sea of enormous Mares Tail (about 4-foot high). I had to drive a new path through this thick, deep undergrowth. TX C and nearby triffid were eventually located. Then off to TX B to complete the set where I bumped into Tim who was apparently advising Ben.

I headed off in the direction of the K,L,M group and TX L presented itself before K so clocked-in there first. Then to K and finally on to M. However I had trouble finding TX M and the associated triffid. Both seemed to be in a dry ditch which was full of blackthorn and difficult to access. Eventually found the TX but not the triffid. Too many minutes passed so I decided to give up and to carry on with the F,G,H group.

There was some way to go for this remote group so some running was needed. Eventually homed-in on TX F but not the triffid. Fortunately, Steve Stone was also looking for F. So I pointed him in the right direction for the TX in the hope that he would also find the triffid which he did.
Off to station H. It was in a very overgrown, swampy area hosting a stagnant pond. There was no easy access from most directions and I had gone around the long way to find an entrance. Signal came up strongly as I entered so I knew it had to be in that area but it still took another transmission to find the actual location.

After clocking-in at G I found that there was still plenty of time left so I headed back for the elusive TX M. This time I had another good look around the ditch for the triffid and still didn’t spot it. Vaughn and Debbie turned up, also looking for M. I was able to point them in the right direction for the TX but not the triffid. I was just saying “I don’t know where the triffid can be” when I interrupted myself saying “Ah, there it is!”. TX was on one bank of the ditch and the triffid was at the top of the opposite bank, quite obvious once spotted.
Then off to the Mares Tail ocean to wade back to station C for the finish. It was still difficult to recall the host tree and navigate in the right direction. However, I got there with about ten minutes to spare.

I had no idea that I had done even reasonably well as I hadn’t been looking at the display when dibbing at the stations and I was astounded to be declared the winner. On reflection, it was partially down to the handicapping system since 4 other competitors beat me on raw points. Well done to Colin F who had the highest score of 299.

Many thanks Tim for finding a really excellent site and making it a truly challenging event. PS: The red wine will go down very well (the wine was labelled “Signal Point” and I guess that was relevant to the event).