• Implement a "process of elimination" strategy. If the signal is
difficult to "read" remove from consideration all line-of-sight
locations that you do not receive a strong signal.
You will notice that the signal in the open field led you directly to
the transmitter while in hilly area the direction changes slightly as
you move around obstacles and hills. This signal “bounce” is
completely normal and eventually, with practice, you will be able
to “read” the signal in relation to the terrain.
A signal is not required to be line-of-sight to yield a good bear-
ing. In gentle rolling topography with few obstructions, radio
waves can follow the contour of the ground and provide a good
bearing. However, distance estimation is complicated as the sig-
nal is attenuated (strength reduced) while following ground con-
tours. Often the bearing will change slightly as you approach
the transmitter across rolling landscape.
EFFECTIVE RANGE
Transmitter and receiver location will affect the range we can
detect the signal from the transmitter. On flat open country with
few obstructions (trees, large rocks, homes, etc.) we will get
maximum range out of our system. In steep hilly terrain or in a
large city, the range can be reduced significantly.
Distance can be estimated after you have gained experience track-
ing in the same terrain using the same transmitter. You may note
that a signal received at a gain level of 6 is much farther away than
one received on a gain level of 5 in the same terrain. The gain
18
HINT!
It is generally helpful to know the relative distance and
bearing of the transmitter. To become proficient at judging dis-
tance, note the gain setting either on the top of the LCD display
or on the wheel. Remember that gain is a logarithmic scale so a
setting of 8 or 9 may indicate that the transmitter is 8 to 10 miles
away OR the signal is obstructed by topography or buildings.
With practice, you will quickly be able to accurately judge distance
under most circumstances.
