Fox hunts and direction finding are fun activities for families and great challenges to sharpen our direction-finding skills.  MARC holds several foxhunts every year.  For a brief (and highly subjective) history of MARC foxhunts go here.

Direction-finding is an important skill needed when interference must be hunted down or someone in difficulty should be located.  You do not need elaborate equipment to be successful in foxhunts.  The winners of recent foxhunts used nothing but their handheld radios with factory rubber-ducky antennas. However, a simple three-element handheld beam antenna can help greatly.  These are easy to build using pvc pipe and tape measures.

Foxhunts are announced on our website and our group mailing list.

Transmitter Hunting, or Foxhunting, is a popular way to combine outdoor activity with the amateur radio hobby. The "Fox" hides a hidden transmitter, and the hunters use direction finding techniques to locate it.

Transmitter hunting (also known as T-hunting, fox hunting, bunny hunting, and bunny chasing), is an activity wherein participants use radio direction finding techniques to locate one or more radio transmitters hidden within a designated search area. This activity is most popular among youg and old amateur radio enthusiasts, and one organized sport variation is known as amateur radio direction finding.

Transmitter hunting is pursued in several different popular formats. Many transmitter hunts are organized by local radio clubs, and may be conducted in conjunction with other events, such as a radio enthusiast convention or club meeting. Before each hunt, participants are informed of the frequency or frequencies on which the transmitters will be operating, and a set of boundaries that define a search area in which the transmitters will be located. Transmitter hunters use radio direction finding techniques to determine the likely direction and distance to the hidden transmitter from several different locations, and then triangulate the probable location of the transmitter. Some hunts may include limits on the amount of time allowed to find a transmitter. Although many transmitter hunts are conducted just for the fun of the activity, some more competitive hunts will recognize winners in publications and offer awards, such as medals, trophies, or ham radio equipment.