Strangely I did not have any problems with working out roughly where the 7 (seven!) Tx were located. After two cycles I had them a picking sequence sorted out 2-6-1-4-5-7 and then 3 last. I think optimum route was 2-6-5-1-4-7-3.
The controls were hung low and only 43 seconds 'chasing' time per Tx made finding them during or just after the transmission difficult. The problem then was do you run on in the last "good" direction or stick around and hunt. But this was as expected.
The really challenging thing was that within 200m of the Tx I found it really difficult to get a clear direction. Even moving around to mitigate the effect of reflections from mature trees and terrain-screening - in many places I was getting bearings from all directions. Even listening to the background-hiss rahter than the done did not help - the hiss was more directional but often misleading. I also struggled with distance estimation - some of the Tx never really got that loud.
Above is my "route" to #1 (magenta dot, click on the picture for a larger version)
Can anyone tell me what was going on?
The RED arrows are my initial bearings. The one pointing due south was the last 'good' one before things went confusing. #1 was nice and loud and the bearings were 'clear' (unambiguous)
MAGENTA came next - strongest signal was towards the houses across the road. As I moved south east I got signals down the spur and finally towards the green. Signal was not that strong - so perhaps I should have carried on further east. This would have saved a lot of trouble - but the next bearing pointed North West...
GREEN 1 - here on the open woodland - I was getting signals from all directions - even from the south. Moving around helped a bit as some was coming from the large mature tree trunks. The loudest signal came from across the re-entrant - so back into the green and hunt around. Worried that the signal was weak (on my dial >500m)
BLUE - None of this was making sense - so I decided to abandon and go for high ground. So back the way I came - indistinct bearing along the slope - but this could just have been a reflection or the effect of slope-screening. Bearing turned rapidly as I came to the end of the green. Still no clear direction from the tone - I was going from the strength of the hiss
PINK - nothing found after a good hunt - so back up to the ridge to triangulate. Running up the path - bearings from all directions. Possible one from the east. There was Bob T - at the path junction - did he get a clear bearing? In desperation I ran down the clearing into the green and did a "sweep" and ended up on the hill side.
YELLOW - this time a better group of bearings - still not clear and still not loud. It is either on the slope (where the blue bearing pointed) or down in the ditch to the east of the path. Once more sweep of the slope, back on the path (Frank confirms that #1 can be found) and a quick 'nip' to look in the ditch and the light green. Nope. Nothing - give up and go for #4.
CYAN - On the way I noticed that #1 was about to come up - and Bob was close by. Again confusing bearings and not that loud - but a "possible" to the north made me look carefully in that direction - and there was #1!
So that is "got within 250m and then took 8 transmissions "
Number #2 was easy by comparison. The bearings go..
RED, GREEN, MAGENTA, CYAN, YELLOW
I am to blame for the GREEN
I should have followed the MAGENTA further
But note I ran along the ditch after the CYAN bearings and got within 5 metres of the Tx. I looked all along the bottom of the ditch and on both sides and still did not see it. Putting the Tx in the open was a nice challenge - but the drawback is you have to hang it very low - and anyone finding the Tx will give it away to others.
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