BANGALORE: Do the words ‘fox hunt’,’fox howl’ and ‘treasure hunt’ conjure up images of faraway lands and cultures in your mind? On Sunday, these terms will be used by small groups of participants as they take part in the 12th Annual Fox Hunt to mark the Very High Frequency (VHF) Day. It is a connotation used to describe a yearly hunting programme organised by Ham Radio Clubs in the city.On Sunday, many amateur radio operators or HAM operators, as they are called, will take part in a citywide search to locate a hidden transmitter using Amateur Radio Direction Finding equipment like a hand held radio, VHF FM receivers, a directional antenna, a map and a compass. Using these equipment they will have to find the transmitter popularly called ‘fox’, which will be hidden within a range of 35 kms from the Vidhana Soudha.The fox hunt has been going on for quite sometime now and the Sunday’s hunt will be its 12th edition.Bangalore holds the distinction of conducting the country’s first ever hunt and also the first ‘Night fox hunt’. The city has organised the maximum number of Fox Hunts till date. The sport however is popular all over the world.Besides being fun for all the contestants, the competition also helps amateur radio operators practice the use of radio direction finding techniques which can be useful for disaster response and civil defense purposes. As a result, these competitions get the support of many government departments who encourage amateur radio operators.This year’s hunt is being organised by Upagrah Amateur Radio Club of ISRO Satellite Centre Bangalore who were the winners of the last years Fox Hunt. The winners will receive a prize and a fellowship to the Radio Club.
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