03/03/2022

Registration[1] is now open for the 21st USA Championships of Amateur Radio
Direction Finding (ARDF), set for April 7 - 10, 2022. The competition will take
place in Prince William Forest Park near Quantico, Virginia.

"Radio orienteers from all over the country, plus visitors from abroad, are
invited to attend," said ARRL ARDF Co-coordinator Gerald Boyd, WB8WFK. "The
competitive courses are open to anyone of any age, with or without an amateur
radio license. The results will help select who will be invited to fill
positions on ARDF Team USA, which will travel to Serbia for the 2022 ARDF World
Championships in September.

Wednesday, April 6, will be a practice day for equipment testing and a
competitor briefing. From Thursday through Sunday, competitors will have the
opportunity to compete in the sprint[2], foxoring[3], and classic courses on 2
meters and 80 meters. Awards for first through third places will be presented
at ceremonies following the events.

Members of the Backwoods Orienteering Klub (BOK[4]) will organize the 2022 USA
Championships. All are experienced radio orienteers who organized the
successful 2013 and 2019 national championships. The event director is Joseph
Huberman, K5JGH, and the registrar is Ruth Bromer, WB4QZG.

The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) sets ARDF championship rules[5].
For scoring and awards, participants are divided into 12 age/gender categories.
In the classic ARDF events, competitors start together in small groups made up
of different categories. As they seek the "fox" transmitters, they navigate
through the forest from the starting corridor to the finish line, a distance
ranging between 4 and 12 kilometers (about 2.5 miles and 7.4 miles). They plot
their direction-finding bearings on orienteering maps that show terrain
features, elevation contours, and vegetation type.

"The USA ARDF Championships are open to anyone who can safely navigate the
woods by themselves. A ham radio license is not required," Boyd emphasized. "In
ARDF, personal navigation skills are important because each participant
competes as an individual - any teamwork or GPS map use is forbidden.
Competitors bring their own direction-finding gear to the events, although
extra gear is often available for loan from other attendees. Competitors may
not transmit on the course, except in emergencies."

Information bulletin #2[6] contains the complete schedule, technical details,
fees, rule variations, and more. An email reflector[7] is available for Q&A
with the organizers, as well as for coordinating transportation and arranging
equipment loans.

Announcements, rules, organizer instructions, and more are available at the
ARRL ARDF website[8]. Basic information on international-style transmitter
hunting is on the Homing In[9] website, which includes equipment ideas for 2
meters[10] and 80 meters[11], plus photos and stories from previous
championships. - Thanks to Joe Moell, K0OV

[1] https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/register/start/ardf2022
[2] http://www.homingin.com/sprints.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.homingin.com/sprints.html
[3] http://www.homingin.com/sprints.html%2523foxoring
[4] https://backwoodsok.org/
[5] http://www.homingin.com/intlfox.html
[6] https://backwoodsok.org/2022-ardf-champs-bulletin-2
[7] https://groups.google.com/g/ardf-usa
[8] http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-direction-finding
[9] http://www.homingin.com/
[10] http://www.homingin.com/equipment.html
[11] http://www.homingin.com/joemoell/80intro.html

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