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I am looking for some ideas that can be used in a 30 minute window, or less, to introduce ham radio to a dozen scouts. My idea is to employ a few HTs in simplex mode, divide the the groups into 2 or 3 per team. Have each team search for something ( not defined) using the HTs and clues to where the something is located. Each team will have a licensed operator with them during the activity. Also this will be an evening event in a church activity building. Any ideas welcome. This is an opportunity to spark interest and get involved for the scouts.
73
Art N2AJO?
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This is how I got started in ham radio in 1954. We did a field trip to W8FTQ's QTH in Medina, OH, to hear his weekly schedule with his son...in SOUTH AFRICA!! The hook was set and I've been licensed ever since.
That was then...this is now.
My experience with HT's is that young kids today have cell phones and, more than once, I've been asked: "Why get a license when I can do the same thing on my cell phone?" I point out that with ham radio, you can control things yourself...you don't need a cell tower. I usually point out that the storm in Sandy Hook, NJ, took out every mode of communications except ham radios. In some cases, we were the only means of communication. Be prepared for similar questions.
Another issue I've mentioned before: Our club had a GOTO station at Field Day and we had a 13 year old who talked to a guy in CA and was so excited he could barely contain himself. After about an hour at the radio, his mother showed up and he literally burst telling her what he had just done. She said: "It looks like a wonderful hobby, but where are you going to get the thousands of dollars for the radio?" The boy looked like he had been shot.This is where I would drag out a ?BITX, hold it up, and say: "Add a battery, a $20 antenna, $130, a license, and you can start talking to the world yourself."? I think a low-cost entry point is important to lawn-mowing budget (scout-aged) people and their parents.
Your planned activity is a great one and I'm sure they'll have fun doing it. That said, I would have some pictures of your rig at home and tell them that, with it, you have made friends and talked with people all over the world.
Now, if someone can just tell me how to sell learning CW to my club members, I'll die a happy camper. You'd be amazed how many people have to re-arrange their sock drawer on the very day I suggest for a CW class...
Jack, W8TEE
On Wednesday, November 7, 2018, 9:22:33 AM EST, Art Olson <olson339@...> wrote:
I am looking for some ideas that can be used in a 30 minute window, or less, to introduce ham radio to a dozen scouts. My idea is to employ a few HTs in simplex mode, divide the the groups into 2 or 3 per team. Have each team search for something ( not defined) using the HTs and clues to where the something is located. Each team will have a licensed operator with them during the activity. Also this will be an evening event in a church activity building. Any ideas welcome. This is an opportunity to spark interest and get involved for the scouts.
73
Art N2AJO?
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If you are looking for a hands-on?project I suggest the Clothespin Key-
I would also suggest sending them home with links to a variety of radio-related resources-
I would especially direct them to the Icom - Zack & Max Comic books and the online SDR for them listen to later ()
On Wed, Nov 7, 2018 at 9:22 AM Art Olson < olson339@...> wrote: I am looking for some ideas that can be used in a 30 minute window, or less, to introduce ham radio to a dozen scouts. My idea is to employ a few HTs in simplex mode, divide the the groups into 2 or 3 per team. Have each team search for something ( not defined) using the HTs and clues to where the something is located. Each team will have a licensed operator with them during the activity. Also this will be an evening event in a church activity building. Any ideas welcome. This is an opportunity to spark interest and get involved for the scouts.
73
Art N2AJO?
-- Anthony Luscre
K8ZT Assistant Ohio Section Manager for Education Outreach ARRL - The National Association For Amateur Radio? ?
a@... (best for Education & Technology)
The Web Resource Hoarder- Web Resource Hoarder Blog
K8ZT Radio Website- My Radio Blog-?
|
This sounds like a ton of fun!
How about a ham radio escape room? Make up a fictional scenario whereby the kids must assemble a radio station to call in a rescue or pass on secret spy intelligence, etc. Have the kids form small groups of 2-3 to work on the different parts, such as cutting the dipole, soldering the last couple parts on a Pixie kit, building a clothespin cw key, translating the mayday or spy message into Morse and sending it.
Alternatively, you could contrive a search and rescue game where you have people hiding in need of rescue, rescuers waiting for calls, cached resources such as food and medicine, etc. ?The kids travel over the property and use the radios to coordinate the appropriate responses to each discovery.?
Now I’m all excited to create something like this in my area. Thanks for the inspiration!
Jeff, WJ3FF
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Wonderful... scouts and spies... all kids must learn Morse Code
at certain point of their progression. They play with it using
flashlights, why not use the real thing, introduce them to CW.
Heinz, OA4DPH
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This sounds like a ton of fun!
How about a ham radio escape room? Make up a fictional scenario
whereby the kids must assemble a radio station to call in a rescue
or pass on secret spy intelligence, etc. Have the kids form small
groups of 2-3 to work on the different parts, such as cutting the
dipole, soldering the last couple parts on a Pixie kit, building a
clothespin cw key, translating the mayday or spy message into
Morse and sending it.
Alternatively, you could contrive a search and rescue game where
you have people hiding in need of rescue, rescuers waiting for
calls, cached resources such as food and medicine, etc. ?The kids
travel over the property and use the radios to coordinate the
appropriate responses to each discovery.?
Now I’m all excited to create something like this in my area.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Jeff, WJ3FF
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As old school as this might sound, I always found having the scouts visit a shack during the day and letting them experience (or just listen) working 20-meter dx with equipment humming and beams aturning worked really well. Contests with pile ups and stations
on the Black Sea always produced ooohs and ahhhs.? I showed them stuff you can't do with a cell phone and homebrew equipment like amps with tubes afire was a nice touch.
Pat AA4PG
http://www.cahabatechnology.com/aa4pg.html
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Show quoted text
This sounds like a ton of fun!
How about a ham radio escape room? Make up a fictional scenario whereby the kids must assemble a radio station to call in a rescue or pass on secret spy intelligence, etc. Have the kids form small groups of 2-3 to work on the different parts, such as cutting
the dipole, soldering the last couple parts on a Pixie kit, building a clothespin cw key, translating the mayday or spy message into Morse and sending it.
Alternatively, you could contrive a search and rescue game where you have people hiding in need of rescue, rescuers waiting for calls, cached resources such as food and medicine, etc. ?The kids travel over the property and use the radios to coordinate the appropriate
responses to each discovery.?
Now I’m all excited to create something like this in my area. Thanks for the inspiration!
Jeff, WJ3FF
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Maybe also set up a low cost uBitx based demo FT8 station. This is the texting generation after all.
James
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Great idea! Then, after a contact with some distant station, he could point to it and state that the rig costs less than $150 to set up. Or say: "Mow my lawn 6 times and I'll give you the station!" I think emphasizing the low cost is important to them.
Jack, W8TEE
On Wednesday, November 7, 2018, 11:28:35 AM EST, James Lynes <jmlynesjr@...> wrote:
Maybe also set up a low cost uBitx based demo FT8 station. This is the texting generation after all.
James
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And let him listen to the static where your FT8 receiver is somehow picking out a weak station.
Being able to communicate across a few thousand miles on a few AA cells is pretty amazing.
Be ready to show them how many cell towers are in the area, and how close they have to be.
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On Wed, Nov 7, 2018 at 08:28 AM, James Lynes wrote:
Maybe also set up a low cost uBitx based demo FT8 station. This is the texting generation after all.
?
James
?
? On Wed, Nov 7, 2018 at 08:28 AM, James Lynes wrote:
Maybe also set up a low cost uBitx based demo FT8 station. This is the texting generation after all.
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Get them to make a tape measure beam antenna, then send them on a hunt.
?
Sent:?Wednesday, November 07, 2018 at 6:22 AM
From:?"Art Olson" <olson339@...>
To:[email protected]
Subject:?[BITX20] Boy Scout activity event
I am looking for some ideas that can be used in a 30 minute window, or less, to introduce ham radio to a dozen scouts. My idea is to employ a few HTs in simplex mode, divide the the groups into 2 or 3 per team. Have each team search for something ( not defined) using the HTs and clues to where the something is located. Each team will have a licensed operator with them during the activity. Also this will be an evening event in a church activity building. Any ideas welcome. This is an opportunity to spark interest and get involved for the scouts.
73
Art N2AJO?
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Can you talk to one or more of the scouts before the event?? The easiest way to connect with your audience is to know your audience and what matters to them.? There are several ideas already in this thread that sound like good ideas to me.? The problem is, I am willing to bet I am one of the younger people reading this and the last time I wore a neckerchief was around the time we were huddled around the TV watching the first space shuttle launch so what I think is interesting doesn't really matter.? What about taking some of these ideas and asking a few of the kids what they think?
--
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What games can I play on it?? ? ;-)
All kidding aside, Doug's right.? Need to figure out what they are interested in.
Though they may not know they'll be interested in something
if they have never heard, seen, or smelled it.
(A KW tube rig smells of frying dust and a hint of ozone, which might be novel.)
Maybe have a half dozen different things to expose them to briefly,
then go back and spend more time on whatever it is that they show interest in.
Jerry
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On Wed, Nov 7, 2018 at 09:47 AM, Doug W wrote:
What about taking some of these ideas and asking a few of the kids what they think?
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Want to thank everyone one for the great selections. I will take these and any others and see what interests them. Thanks Doug. For the suggestion. By the way all of these are great ideas and will get used over the next few months
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On Nov 7, 2018, at 12:47 PM, Doug W < dougwilner@...> wrote: Can you talk to one or more of the scouts before the event?? The easiest way to connect with your audience is to know your audience and what matters to them.? There are several ideas already in this thread that sound like good ideas to me.? The problem is, I am willing to bet I am one of the younger people reading this and the last time I wore a neckerchief was around the time we were huddled around the TV watching the first space shuttle launch so what I think is interesting doesn't really matter.? What about taking some of these ideas and asking a few of the kids what they think?
--
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Working a little DX can
be exciting for the scouts. Do you have any wiresX repeaters in
the
area. It can be a great show to listen to hams in So.Africa, New
Zealand, America all talking
together on a handheld on two meters. I set up a demo years ago
using a computer and a tran-
sceiver and they could read the morse code on the display (the
contact was Iowa to England)
A backup plan would be to use echolink.
On 11/7/2018 8:22 AM, Art Olson wrote:
I am looking for some ideas that can be used in a 30 minute
window, or less, to introduce ham radio to a dozen scouts. My idea
is to employ a few HTs in simplex mode, divide the the groups into
2 or 3 per team. Have each team search for something ( not
defined) using the HTs and clues to where the something is
located. Each team will have a licensed operator with them during
the activity. Also this will be an evening event in a church
activity building. Any ideas welcome. This is an opportunity to
spark interest and get involved for the scouts.
73
Art N2AJO?
|
Here is a link to an article I wrote for Ohio section Journal on ideas for school radio clubs-
On Wed, Nov 7, 2018 at 3:41 PM Art Olson via Groups.Io <olsonaj6927= [email protected]> wrote: Want to thank everyone one for the great selections. I will take these and any others and see what interests them. Thanks Doug. For the suggestion. By the way all of these are great ideas and will get used over the next few months
Art Can you talk to one or more of the scouts before the event?? The easiest way to connect with your audience is to know your audience and what matters to them.? There are several ideas already in this thread that sound like good ideas to me.? The problem is, I am willing to bet I am one of the younger people reading this and the last time I wore a neckerchief was around the time we were huddled around the TV watching the first space shuttle launch so what I think is interesting doesn't really matter.? What about taking some of these ideas and asking a few of the kids what they think?
--
-- Anthony Luscre
K8ZT Assistant Ohio Section Manager for Education Outreach ARRL - The National Association For Amateur Radio? ?
a@... (best for Education & Technology)
The Web Resource Hoarder- Web Resource Hoarder Blog
K8ZT Radio Website- My Radio Blog-?
|
That QSL card game is a great idea. I would use it as part of training for people who don't yet have their ticket.
TKS
73
?
Sent:?Wednesday, November 07, 2018 at 4:51 PM
From:?"Anthony Luscre" <k8zt73@...>
To:[email protected]
Subject:?Re: [BITX20] Boy Scout activity event
Here is a link to an article I wrote for Ohio section Journal on ideas for school radio clubs-
?
On Wed, Nov 7, 2018 at 3:41 PM Art Olson via Groups.Io <olsonaj6927= [email protected]> wrote:
Want to thank everyone one for the great selections. I will take these and any others and see what interests them. Thanks Doug. For the suggestion. By the way all of these are great ideas and will get used over the next few months
?
Art
?
?
Can you talk to one or more of the scouts before the event?? The easiest way to connect with your audience is to know your audience and what matters to them.? There are several ideas already in this thread that sound like good ideas to me.? The problem is, I am willing to bet I am one of the younger people reading this and the last time I wore a neckerchief was around the time we were huddled around the TV watching the first space shuttle launch so what I think is interesting doesn't really matter.? What about taking some of these ideas and asking a few of the kids what they think?
--
?
?
?
?
--
Anthony Luscre
?
K8ZT
Assistant Ohio Section Manager for Education Outreach
ARRL - The National Association For Amateur Radio?
?
a@... (best for Education & Technology)
?
The Web Resource Hoarder-
Web Resource Hoarder Blog
?
K8ZT Radio Website-
My Radio Blog-?
?
?
|
Jack, imho, CW is surprisingly alive and well, and how many years or
dfecades since its requirement was removed? I believe that, outside
of the fact that in an emergency CW is the most reliable mode, that IT
IS FUN TO LEARN AND USE. It is a game, and the entire millenial
attitude towards smartphones is about games and using their "toy".
The fun of CW and achieving proficiecy in it keeps it alive. -- Rich
WB2GXM
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On 11/7/18, Jack Purdum via Groups.Io <jjpurdum@...> wrote: This is how I got started in ham radio in 1954. We did a field trip to
W8FTQ's QTH in Medina, OH, to hear his weekly schedule with his son...in
SOUTH AFRICA!! The hook was set and I've been licensed ever since.
That was then...this is now.
My experience with HT's is that young kids today have cell phones and, more
than once, I've been asked: "Why get a license when I can do the same thing
on my cell phone?" I point out that with ham radio, you can control things
yourself...you don't need a cell tower. I usually point out that the storm
in Sandy Hook, NJ, took out every mode of communications except ham radios.
In some cases, we were the only means of communication. Be prepared for
similar questions.
Another issue I've mentioned before: Our club had a GOTO station at Field
Day and we had a 13 year old who talked to a guy in CA and was so excited he
could barely contain himself. After about an hour at the radio, his mother
showed up and he literally burst telling her what he had just done. She
said: "It looks like a wonderful hobby, but where are you going to get the
thousands of dollars for the radio?" The boy looked like he had been
shot.This is where I would drag out a ?BITX, hold it up, and say: "Add a
battery, a $20 antenna, $130, a license, and you can start talking to the
world yourself."? I think a low-cost entry point is important to lawn-mowing
budget (scout-aged) people and their parents.
Your planned activity is a great one and I'm sure they'll have fun doing it.
That said, I would have some pictures of your rig at home and tell them
that, with it, you have made friends and talked with people all over the
world.
Now, if someone can just tell me how to sell learning CW to my club members,
I'll die a happy camper. You'd be amazed how many people have to re-arrange
their sock drawer on the very day I suggest for a CW class...
Jack, W8TEE
On Wednesday, November 7, 2018, 9:22:33 AM EST, Art Olson
<olson339@...> wrote:
I am looking for some ideas that can be used in a 30 minute window, or
less, to introduce ham radio to a dozen scouts. My idea is to employ a few
HTs in simplex mode, divide the the groups into 2 or 3 per team. Have each
team search for something ( not defined) using the HTs and clues to where
the something is located. Each team will have a licensed operator with them
during the activity. Also this will be an evening event in a church activity
building. Any ideas welcome. This is an opportunity to spark interest and
get involved for the scouts.
73
Art N2AJO
|
Anthony
This is a great list. Really appreciate your sharing Thanks? 73?
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On Nov 7, 2018, at 7:51 PM, Anthony Luscre < k8zt73@...> wrote: Here is a link to an article I wrote for Ohio section Journal on ideas for school radio clubs-
On Wed, Nov 7, 2018 at 3:41 PM Art Olson via Groups.Io <olsonaj6927= [email protected]> wrote: Want to thank everyone one for the great selections. I will take these and any others and see what interests them. Thanks Doug. For the suggestion. By the way all of these are great ideas and will get used over the next few months
Art Can you talk to one or more of the scouts before the event?? The easiest way to connect with your audience is to know your audience and what matters to them.? There are several ideas already in this thread that sound like good ideas to me.? The problem is, I am willing to bet I am one of the younger people reading this and the last time I wore a neckerchief was around the time we were huddled around the TV watching the first space shuttle launch so what I think is interesting doesn't really matter.? What about taking some of these ideas and asking a few of the kids what they think?
--
-- Anthony Luscre
K8ZT Assistant Ohio Section Manager for Education Outreach ARRL - The National Association For Amateur Radio? ?
a@... (best for Education & Technology)
The Web Resource Hoarder- Web Resource Hoarder Blog
K8ZT Radio Website- My Radio Blog-?
|
with scarce time consider setting up a rig or transmitter to do WSPR, while you engage in whatever activities.? something like a qrplabs U3S or a rig/PC.? at the end of the half hour, pull up the WSPRnet map of detections.?
73 Curt
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Hi Art: Curt beat me to it.? I was going to say WSPR as well.? We also do scout meetings in the evenings at church.? I had two guys working on their Radio Merit badge and we hacked up a quick/dirty WSRP transmitter, strung a 40m dipole in the parking lot (using proper knot-tying and lashing techniques of course!), and went back inside to watch our spots on wsprnet.org.? The Radio Gods spoke and we had spots on the map from Germany within a few minutes.?? The rig is pictured below.? The controller/DDS/clock board was built ahead of time, but I had the guys solder the PA and LPF.? Toroids pre-wound and Manhattan islands pre-drilled.? Less than an hour w/ the proper prep. 73s, Bruce KC1FSZ 
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Anthony Luscre
ekelley