Colchester Multi-Tx DF        15/04/2012 

Start   Eight Ash Green  Map 168, TL 944 262 (51.900 N, 0.825 E)
Operator Tim M0BGE        Ten transmitters: Maxi, five Minis and four Micros   
    map
Some of us spent a very long time trying to park the correct side of the rivers and railway  - we needn't have bothered!
tim
You may want to print this out and throw darts at it.
rich
I just can't run anymore
gary
Some kept going a bit longer
roy
Bewildered of Brightlingsea
st
Top man
ros
Guess who came second
How did our winner do it?  Over to Steve:

A seriously challenging event made difficult by the lack of direct access to the TXs without a lot of leg work. I decided to park at the northerly end of the area initially at the eastern end of the footpath. This turned out to be very lucky in one respect but not in others as what I thought was a good area with easy access turned out to be large flood plain. I could hear micro Z and basically ran this down first, passing L without realising it. Mini K was next and from here I knew that most of the others were South. I then spent ages trying to see if there was a way across the river. Eventually decided that I had to go back to the car and drive South. Surprised to discover that L was also on this path. So picked up 3 x 40, including my joker.
Now my big mistake occurred as I took Tim's words too literally in that there was no need to cross the railway line. I assumed that the railway bounded the area and all TXs were North. Eventually parked the car and was surprised to find signals heading South. Went down to the railway and decided that the power lines were broadcasting the signals from further along. Having no idea now I decide to head for the MAXI. Crossed numerous fields and ditches and came out onto the main track right beside H. From there picked up Y. Met Rosie by A who kindly said don't go to far way. air
ST
Hidden station I just to the right of a not-so-hidden Manningtree station (view from A)
Tim was on walkabout, so headed for W. Still picking up the 3 missing TX's pointing South and with no obvious way of getting there quickly decided to call it a day. As everybody came in was glad to hear that all were finding it hard.

Great effort by Phil in picking up 9 TXs, and only a couple of minutes late back, and congrats to those who chose to run from the middle to the North and back, a serious effort. Thanks to Tim for organising the event, a lot of work setting that up.

Steve     (PS.     Roy, if there's a spare date this year, or if not next year, I'd like to have a go at running a Multi event, using a map midway between us.
)

Well done Steve and thanks for the offer - sounds good to me, especially if the map has no rivers or railways. 
res
If you are puzzled as to why Philip got a total of zero - unfortunaely he didn't bother to bank any tickets when he visited the  Maxi early in the event and then just failed to get back in time with nine tickets in his pocket.   A hard  lesson in this case (he would have won easily) but this is all part of the excitement of  Multi DF - the rest of us were all very excited as the machine gun sounded with Colin, Larby and Philip all coming along the path. Of course we all showed the usual amount of DF sympathy ..... 0! 

Relevant bit of the scoring system:



Poetic justice -  those feeling that young Tim had gone over the top on the 'evil b......  factor', may be amused to hear that at 8pm that evening I had to phone him with instructions to return to the site to retrieve Micro W, sometime later I received a mobile call from a heavy breather - "I've got the Micro ... and a puncture in my bike, ....and it's dark, ..... and I'm surrounded by bulls".   Multi Tx just keeps getting better and better.
Now you wouldn't want Philip to suffer alone would you ... so read on:

Here is the big losers tale of pain.
This multi TX was an object lesson in how to run a long way, collect lots of points then loose them all in the last two minutes of the contest.
There is nothing in the rules suggesting a contestant has to find all ten stations, but it’s a challenge some of us find irresistible – right?
 
It all started really well, weather not brilliant but bright between the showers. A straight  drive back to Manningtree as the Minis started coming in, then a micro on 1901 clearly heard on top of Cox’s hill, down towards the Station, or perhaps the river. By the time I drove down to the White bridge over the Stour, the Micro had faded but Minis clearly up the river towards Flatford. So decided to use Manningtree Station car park, popped £1 into the vile parking meter and started off across the farm track and up the hill towards Lawford Church for X, which I could hear again, followed by Rosy and Colin. Half way up the hill met Gary coming down finding he had got the maximum points so collected 32 points, the order of the day. Paused then to try and find the Mini to go with it and when ‘I’ came up, assumed this was it, and as it was my joke, ran swiftly back down the hill to find it right by the car park, still with the 40 points, Rosy right behind me.
Phil
gary1 Completely missed J at that point, which was the mini on the hill, as had Gary.
The bulk of the minis seemed to be the other side of the railway so set off after Gary past Lawford Hall and under the bridge towards the sea wall. Again met up with Gary just after he had taken the 40 points at ‘Y’ but we both struggled to pin down ‘H’, with Larby, Richard & Colin joining us in the hunt, with Peter taking forty so another 32 points.  During this foray Gary and myself had been looking for L and noticed it was in the other side of the river, I thought no more further than Judas Gap perhaps.
So ‘A’ was next along the sea wall, another 32 points and a smug looking Tim!
My mother had always wanted me to work in Barclays and I should have taken her advice and been a ‘Banker’ but there was plenty of time and Tim said we were finishing at 3.35pm due to problems with the start, so whilst I would have to go back for J, the others all sounded really close by, which they were if you were a Crow, or had a boat.

Unusually a bit of a struggle with micro ‘W’, which was linked to the bottom fence, radiating out all along it, got ahead of Larby to find 32 points, again Gary was having a really good day. So set off in company with Richard chasing after Colin. Gave the little peninsula by Judas Gap weir a look, but met by Colin coming back out, it was going to be a long run round Flatford!


 On the other side micro Z had lost it’s strength but picked up K and ran straight for the copse Tim had used before, just as it went off. Scouted round but failed to find it before Richard and Colin pounced.

We all then set off for Z, with Colin leading Richard down the dry route and myself going via the muddy ditches. Found 32 points left with Richard right behind, same with 'L' further along assuming Colin had picked up the 40 before shooting off towards Cattawade. Discussed with Richard the best way back and decided to follow Colin right round via the A137, leaving the option to go via the railway Station and pick up J.

By the time I was crossing the White Bridge at about 3.00pm there seemed plenty of time so pressed on for the full ten stations. Got back to X half way up the hill, but J seemed much further.


col2
br
I laid on a bridge for you but it looks like someone trashed it; shame !
Started to realize I was running out of time and could not wait another five minutes, so set off for A, meeting Colin at the car park. Met a number of dog walkers who had passed us earlier in the afternoon going the other way round, and started to struggle with cramped legs, with the run to ‘A’ painfully much farther than I thought with time running out fast. Ditched my set for one last effort, all to no avail, finding Tim already taking the Tx down two minutes after the gun. The next problem was getting back to the Car, Tim asked if I might collect a transmitter, but I was in no shape to do anything more than limp painfully all the way back again. Fortunately was close to home and it only took a good soak in the bath to free my calfs up, the alcohol dispensed at the Wooden Fender also helped.

So blew it all in the hunt for J, sad, but a lesson for all - be a ‘Banker’ not a ....

Philip
We really need a happy ending -    

Every cloud has ...    a silver lining ..... I didn't come last,   despite:    paying for parking - running miles to my joker A, also finding H, Y and W then finding parking slip in my pocket, hence ........  trotting miles back to the car, finding X and I but still missing J ......walking miles back A to hand in tickets and discover K, L and Z were a swim too far  ......... crawling m.i.l.e.s.  back to collect the southerly Txs and finally ........  falling into car.

The good news - we can do it all again on Sunday May the 27th ........   the bad news - Philip is running it and .......

Thanks to Tim for everything and to Philip for taking pictures while he wasn't banking.

Roy
roy2
ros2
Where have 'the boys' got to? I may as well play the harmonica while I'm waiting
The final, final, final word must go to our host for the day - our beloved Tim

Report from Multi -Tx operator.
 
This event was set up with the aim of not choosing Highwoods again, to be near to home, to take into account that "cover" had not grown, and to make it a bit harder for competitors to find all 10 Txs.

The location of the Txs was considered to give four different entry points, with 3/4 Txs close to each, to try and spread out competitors, to avoid parking congestion, and to make competitors stop and consider tactics and routes around the site :
would it be best to go for your own "joker" first or bag 40 points on someone else's ?
 
I was hoping that everyone would be able to bag 6/7 Txs and then the brave would seek out the more distant ones.

 
I began to set up at 8.00 am and finished at 12.30 - a lot of walking involved. Things which went wrong this time were :
 
Knocking the switch off on "I" so the timing had to be reset.
People standing for ages where you want to set up a Tx
Starting the timer for "A" incorrectly, but only realising when I was at "L", so having to run back to "A" to reset it (hence the late start at 1235).
Falling down the steep embankment near "Y" (later re-enacted by Larby)
Forgetting to collect micro "W" after the event so having to get out of the bath and bike it back to the site.

 

 

col2
larby
Joker in pocket, machine gun ringing in the ears ...... ahhhh bless!


Apart from "A", everything else fired up at 1230 as planned. Worn out legs meant that I stayed around "A" for the event, taking photos as competitors arrived, and views across to the Txs.
 

Gary arrived first and found W quickly; he could have been in first at A, Y and H too. Others followed at irregular intervals. At the end of the event, most had arrived back at A in time except for (unexpectedly) Colin, Larby and Phil.........but they had already posted their tickets, hadn't they....?

Congrats to Steve and Rosie for 1st and 2nd places. Hope you all enjoyed the exercise; apologies for the misleading start instructions; I just didn't want anyone on the railway track or in the river. Also congrats to Phil for nearly getting all 10 and nearly getting back to A in time.

So the only person who visited all 10 Txs
was ................me !

The "correct" way to do this event was :
 
Park at Lawford Church (30min travel)
JXI (30min)
A137 (10min)
HYAW (30min)
cross river at Flatford Mill
KZL (50min)
then back to A (20min) 
Total 2h 50 min so 10 min spare !!!!!!!!!!!
 
Glad you all had fun ? 
Tim
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