ECE students went on a fox hunt in February.
The “foxes” were a transmitter hidden on the around the engineering buildings. It was tracked using elite RF hardware and spectrum analyzers.
Keysight and Electrorent, two joint testing technology companies (oscilloscopes and other similar technologies) sponsored the event. The fox hunt was a chance for students to track signals like a lead engineer.
The University of Utah Amateur Radio Club organized the fox hunt.
Using the Keysight N9912C Field Foxes, students put their directions skills to the test.
“These are very special pieces of equipment that are highly durable and waterproof, and can analyze a wide spectrum of radio frequencies to measure signal strength across multiple frequencies. These were a lot of fun to use, and it was great to spend time with industry-grade equipment,” organizer Micah Black said.
Teams were given an hour to find as many foxes as they could, with the top team finding 5 out of 6 foxes,” Micah Black said.
One of the foxes was hidden under the rocks on a main path, another was in a tree by the Merrill Engineering Building, and a third in the Warnock Engineering Building parking lot, in addition to many other locations.
“Overall, a fantastic event for students to learn about RF technology and have hands-on experience with real RF equipment,” Micah Black said.
The event mimicked the fox hunts that were popular in the England. The hunts involved horses and hunting dogs in search of foxes that were hiding and being chased in the area.
