'Fox hunt' set at ham radio field day in Havre

The local ham radio club is inviting people to come watch — and use — amateur radios and take the opportunity to hunt for an electronic fox.

Hi-Line Amateur Radio Club will be participating in the American Radio Relay League — ARRL — Field Day Saturday from noon to Sunday at US Bank Park on 11th Street west across from Montana State University-Northern’s Tilleman Field, club member Heather Hinckley said.

Throughout the event, the club will be holding fox hunts, she added.

“It’s called fox hunting, but it’s really hunting with a radio,” Hinckley said.

A radio transmitter is hidden somewhere in the area, and people use radio direction techniques to triangulate and find the transmitter.

“It can be very challenging and a whole lot of fun,” a page on the ARRL website said. “The direction finding skills learned in this activity can be very valuable in locating a repeater jammer, or a lost hiker.”

An ARRL release said its Field Day is the single most popular on-the-air event in the United Sates and Canada, held the fourth weekend of June every year.

Every year the release said, thousands of radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups or simply with friends to operate from remote locations.

“It is a time where many aspects of amateur radio come together to highlight our many roles,” the release said. “While some will treat it as a contest, other groups use the opportunity to practice their emergency response capabilities. It is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate amateur radio to the organizations that amateur radio might serve in an emergency, as well as the general public. For many clubs, ARRL Field Day is one of the highlights of their annual calendar.”

ARRL is the national association for amateur radio in the United States, representing some 170,000 Federal Communications Commission-licensed amateur radio operators using the amateur bands.

The field day both lets amateur radio — often called “ham radio” — operators show the community what they do but also helps them hone their skills.

“We use these same skills when we help with events such as marathons and bike-a-thons; fund-raisers such as walk-a-thons; celebrations such as parades; and exhibits at fairs, malls and museums — these are all large, preplanned, non-emergency activities,” the release said. “But despite the development of very complex, modern communications systems — or maybe because they are so complex — ham radio has been called into action again and again to provide communications in crises when it really matters. Amateur radio people (also called “hams”) are well known for our communications support in real disaster and post-disaster situations.”

Hinckley said the field day is an opportunity for people to come see how the amateur radio system works, and even use it themselves.

People have to be licensed by the FCC to use a ham radio, but if licensed operators are present people without licenses can use the system, Hinckley said.

She added that the event also earns points for the Hi-Line club in the field day contest — the number of contacts made by the Hi-Line club are counted and added to its score for the Field Day contest.

She said the fox hunts will be held throughout the event, and if some people really want to try it, the club members may set up a hunt for them.