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Amateur Radio Direction Finding

Amateur radio direction finding, also ARDF or radio orienteering, combines orienteering with radio direction-finding technique. Participants use receiver, antenna, map and compass to find hidden transmitters efficiently in terrain.

LevelMain sport FamilyOutdoor Sport CategoryOutdoor sport

Representative sports image for Amateur Radio Direction Finding — Dale Hunt WB6BYU · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image source

Classification

Category Outdoor sport

Family Outdoor Sport

Level Main sport

Getting started

Kurzbeschreibung ARDF is orienteering with a radio direction-finding receiver and hidden transmitters.

Geeignet für Suitable for people who like navigation, forest running, technical puzzles and tactical route choice.

Cost Low to medium if receivers/antennas are borrowed from a club; buy specialist gear later. Low to medium for club fee, entry fee, maps, travel and possible personal receiver. An amateur-radio or orienteering club with ARDF/foxoring is the best entry. Bring radio technique and map reading together gradually; do not force race pace immediately.

First progress One transmitter is findable after a short briefing; fast route choice takes several practices.

Fitness level medium

Was du brauchst

direction-finding receiver
antenna
map
compass
running shoes
timing
organised course

First steps

find ARDF practice
borrow a receiver
practise signal direction
find one transmitter
then link several transmitters with the map

DARC/ARRL/IARU-adjacent ARDF groups, amateur-radio clubs, orienteering clubs or foxoring/foxhunt beginner events.

Run only on approved courses, respect terrain limits, plan for weather/ticks/visibility and know emergency contact details.

Weitere Angaben

Tags individual, outdoor, einzeln, amateurfunkpeilen, outdoor-sport, radio-orienteering, funk-orientierungslauf, amateur-radio-direction-finding

Rules and format

Die Grundlagen

Ziel

Find the required hidden transmitters with the best possible route and time.

Teilnehmer

Individual competitors in categories; team scoring possible by competition.

Teamgröße

Individual scoring; teams usually as aggregate results.

Spielfeld

Terrain with hidden transmitters, map, start and finish.

Dauer

Time limit and course length by format, age and competition.

Wertung

Valid transmitter finds plus elapsed time; missing or wrong transmitters worsen the result.

Gewinnbedingung

More valid transmitters and, if tied, faster time under the rules.

Ausrüstung

receiver
antenna
map
compass
timing

Wichtige Regelpunkte

entering forbidden terrain
wrong transmitter scoring
exceeding time limit
unsporting assistance

Regelquellen

Federations and sources

Federations

International Amateur Radio Union (IARU)

ARDF International Amateur Radio Union · official-sport-guide · high
ARDF Rules IARU Region 1 · official-rules · high
Amateur Radio Direction Finding ARRL · beginner-guide · medium
So you want to join in an ARDF event IARU Region 1 ARDF · participation-guide · medium