Rocky Mountain Rescue operation in Boulder County

[soundchaser]

I tuned in the middle of this, so I'm not sure what this is about. It might be a training. They are trying to locate the source of a radio transmission from some type of a beacon, reporting the microvolt level, the polarization and the bearing. It's in the Gold Hill area.

O/F MRA1 (155.160 MHz), MRA2 (155.235 MHz), also online.

The reason I think this might be a training is that it doesn't appear any other agencies are involved.

 

[jimmnn]

Training I believe, Sunday morning is a common time for the volunteers to train.

Jim<

 

[soundchaser]

Training I believe, Sunday morning is a common time for the volunteers to train.

Jim<

Yes it is a training.

 

[soundchaser]

Question

I am curious... of what use is it to report the polarization of the RF signal? Granted I don't know specifically what type of beacon they are looking for. And as an electronics engineer, I understand and have experience with the polarization of a signal changing as it gets reflected around. If you're seeing horizontal polarization on a vertically polarized signal, you can assume it's a reflection. But how is that useful, unless you know what the polarization angle is of the beacon? If it's a beacon from a crashed airplane, there are no guarantees on the angle of the antenna. Even from a backcountry skier.