Introduction
Who says handling formal traffic always must be serious business? Our esteemed Chief Executive Officer David Minster, NA2AA, who was once an active traffic handler, recently suggested a fun exercise for the NTS community: “Let’s hold a treasure hunt!”
Contestants will respond to clues contained in the initial instructions from an NTS Letter to which they will respond via radiogram to a “judge.” The judge will, in turn, respond via radiogram with the next clue to the puzzle.
You will have to be patient (like any good treasure hunter) and follow this path for at least three or four cycles. If at any point your answer is incorrect, you’ll be asked to try again. If you are clever, good at following directions, and not afraid to send and receive a few radiograms, then you’ll have a good chance at success. We’re still working out the details, but a crack team of NTS 2.0 participants recently conducted a small trial run and the results were encouraging.
While we can’t promise that the winner will receive a chest full of pieces of eight* or a multi-kilobuck, state-of-the-art HF transceiver, there will be some “trinkets” awarded at the end of the competition, like this nifty Treasure Hunt Mug pictured here!
Plus, all participants will receive honorable mention in The NTS Letter.
* Pieces of eight are historical Spanish dollar coins minted in the Americas from the late 15th century through the 19th century. Made of silver, they were in nearly worldwide circulation by the late 19th century and were legal currency in the United States until 1857.
May Results
| 05/14/24 | 2029Z | W1LEM | Lem |
| 05/14/24 | 2030Z | N1CVO | Shawn |
| 05/14/24 | 2031Z | KC1TLF | David |
| 05/14/24 | 2033Z | KY2D | Jim |
| 05/15/24 | 1911Z | K1IG | George |
| 05/23/24 | 1904Z | KC3MAL | Stuart |
| 05/24/24 | 2323Z | KC2QVF | Chris |
The first-place finisher in this, the May Treasure Hunt, as well as in future Treasure Hunts, will be awarded a specially designed mug courtesy of the NTS 2.0 Planning Committee. The second- and third-place finishers will receive a certificate courtesy of the NTS 2.0 Treasure Hunt committee.
April Results
There was no April Treasure Hunt.
March Results
Hello, treasure hunters! Twenty stations participated in the March NTS Treasure Hunt. The following stations successfully completed all three rounds:
| 03/07/24 | 2355Z | KE4RS | Stan |
| 03/08/24 | 1557Z | KY2D | Jim |
| 03/08/24 | 1502Z | KC3QVF | Chris |
| 03/13/24 | 1447Z | W2QMI | Suzan |
| 03/14/24 | 2250Z | WB8RGE | Al |
| 03/16/24 | 1447Z | W2OOD | Carl |
| 03/18/24 | 1431Z | KE8HKA | Matthew |
| 03/19/24 | 2023Z | N1CVO | Shawn |
| 03/22/24 | 1414Z | W4BZM | Michael |
| 03/22/24 | 1440Z | AB3WG | David |
The first three Treasure Hunt finishers in the inaugural NTS 2.0 Treasure Hunt were awarded a specially designed mug courtesy of the NTS 2.0 planning committee. This month’s and future first place winners will be awarded one of these mugs. Second and third place finishers will receive a certificate.
February results
Fifteen stations participated in the February NTS Treasure Hunt. The following stations successfully completed all three rounds:
| 2/11/24 | 2124Z | N1CVO | Shawn |
| 2/12/24 | 2125Z | VE1IJ | Glenn |
| 2/15/24 | 0001Z | KY2D | Jim |
| 2/16/24 | 2100Z | KE2BBS | Ryan |
| 2/16/24 | 2358Z | WB8SIQ | Don |
| 2/25/24 | 2138Z | N0JAR | Joe |
The first three Treasure Hunt finishers in the inaugural NTS 2.0 Treasure Hunt will receive a specially designed mug courtesy of the NTS 2.0 planning committee.