When All Else Fails...Amateur Radio Mystery Cache
OReviewer: As there's been no response to the earlier reviewer note, I am archiving this cache.
If you wish to repair/replace the cache sometime in the future, just contact us (by email, include the GC Code), and assuming it meets the guidelines, we'll be happy to unarchive it.
When All Else Fails...Amateur Radio
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Published coordinates are for parking only. Solving the puzzle will be required to obtain final coordinates. Cache is in a 6x6 inch Rubbermaid container located on level terrain. You can check your solution on Geochecker.com.
This cache is dedicated to Amateur Radio operators who volunteer their technical expertise with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, providing radio communications during disasters and public emergencies. ARES volunteers assist municipal, county, state and federal agencies with critical communications when disasters strike. "When all else fails...Amateur Radio" is the motto of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service.
During Hurricane Katrina, Amateur Radio operators provided the only means of emergency communication in the stricken gulf coast areas of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. More than 1,000 volunteer ARES operators mobilized and set up emergency-powered field radio stations to relay critical messages in and out of the region. ARES volunteers also assisted with emergency communication efforts in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York City on September 11.
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service has a presence in most counties throughout the United States. Volunteers are FCC-licensed, FEMA-certified radio operators who can quickly deploy to any location and set up emergency radio stations for local or long-range voice and data communication. Their operations are independent of the power grid and are unaffected by outages that can disrupt commercial communication systems. For more information on Amateur Radio, visit www.arrl.org.
To obtain coordinates for the cache location it will be necessary to perform a calculation used to construct a half-wave dipole, a common antenna used by many Amateur Radio operators. There is an inverse relationship between the resonate frequency of an antenna and its length. As frequency increases, the length of the antenna decreases.
To calculate the overall length of a half-wave dipole antenna, use the following formula:
L (feet) = 468 / F (Mhz)
L is the overall length (in feet) of the antenna
F is the Frequency (in Megahertz) at which the antenna will resonate for optimum performance
1. Use the formula above to calculate the length of a half-wave dipole that will resonate at 3.024 Mhz.
Truncate the decimal to three places (ie: A B C . D E F) and do NOT round decimal.
First integer digit = A
Second integer digit = B
Third integer digit = C
First place decimal digit = D
Second place decimal digit = E
Third place decimal digit = F
2. Now plug the variables above into the coordinates below to locate the cache:
39' 55. ABC North, 075' 26. DEF West
From the parking location you will be able to see antenna systems employed by two important ARES stations in Delaware County. If you look toward the 300 foot tower, used for police and fire communications in Delaware County, you can see a smaller 55 foot tower to the right located at the 911 Center. That tower houses several antennas used for Amateur Radio emergency communications. If you look farther right (almost 90 degrees), you’ll see the Fair Acres Geriatric Center. On the roof of the high-rise building you may be able to see other antennas. One of those radiators is used for an ARES radio repeater providing emergency communications.
For more information on ARES operations in Delaware County, visit the web at www.delcoares.org.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Va enqvb cneynapr, fynat sbe "pelfgnyf".