VE6AB Technical
Byonics Micro Fox PicCon Transmitter
You are or should be aware of Byonics and the fine devices they offer to those of us that enjoy all things APRS.
I have been using their various devices for a number of years, and I have three of their Tiny Trak4 aprs devices in operation at the present time.
Byonics also carries Micro-Fox transmitters for Hidden Transmitter Hunting, also called Fox Hunting. These transmitters are small, self-contained, and easy to hide.
The Micro-Fox PicCon as pictured combines a 1 watt transceiver and a PicCon fox controller capable of operating on any 2-meter frequency (144MHz - 148MHz). It runs on 3 AA batteries for about 20 hours at 1/2 duty cycle.
Because it includes a transceiver, it can be remote controlled via DTMF tones on your favorite HT. In addition to starting and stopping the transmitter, all timing, tones, Morse code ID, and other user settings can be remotely adjusted at any time.
All settings can also be configured with either a serial or USB programming cable and Windows configuration software.
When I acquired this device, I thought that the unit by itself was somewhat vulnerable to the elements while placed in a hidden location, so I modified a appropriate Pelican case to mount it in making the complete unit capable of handling the elements with ease.
Here is a description on how I modified the Pelican case.....
http://www.jerryclement.ca/HamRadio/VE6AB-Technical/i-fpsnHfm
The other item in the photo that I will mention is my 1/2 wave 2 meter dipole that dramaticly increases the range at which the hidden transmitter can be heard.
Of course this antenna can be utilized with any 2 meter HT for the various reasons you have need of a much better antenna.
Here is a link describing the antenna and how to build one.....
http://www.jerryclement.ca/MachineShop/Antenna-Werks/i-rhPhTb7
