Summer Scout Camp 2004

by James Alderman, KF5WT

Day One: The Big Vertical Surprise

A ham club in Greenville donated an HF vertical for permanent installation at Camp Cherokee in Athens. Today we attempted to put it up. What we didn't know is that the antenna had apparently fallen in the past and had been bent, then straightened. The bending of the metal fatigued it, causing the vertical to fail as we tried to stand it up. But in true BSA form, no four-letter words were uttered by any adult leaders or Scouts.

The trap will have to be rebuilt with another piece of aluminum tubing inside. We will try to repair the trap and attempt another raising in two days.

Here is the photo sequence. As you laugh, please be aware that nothing was funny about the matter when it happened.

(click to enlarge)

Day Two - Classes Begin

Barry Griffin (KD5PXU) from Greenville attended camp with his Troop and was kind enough to assist with our ham radio projects.  Without Barry's tireless work, ham radio activities would not have happened at Summer Camp.      After the previous day's antenna breakage, the first order of the day was to get something on the air.  After careful examination of the broken antenna trap, we realized that it would have to be rebuilt on the inside with new parts.  There was no way this could be done in time to use the big vertical during classes.  So the vertical was disassembled and stored, and "plan B" was implemented.    With the help of a few Scouts we assembled our portable tri-band vertical which we have always used at camp in the past.  Many knot tying skills were required to lash the vertical to the the end of the dining hall building.  But the Scouts were up to the task.    A total of 15 students signed up for Radio and 13 for Weather.

This was a fewer students than expected since we had 20 openings in each class.  Understandably, Scouts preferred to be doing things outside rather than sitting in a classroom.     Another factor which contributed to these unusually low attendance numbers was the fact that we were not listed among the classes which Scouts pre-registered for ahead of time.  Perhaps students signed up for our classes when they got to camp and realized they could not get the outdoor-related classes they originally wanted.    Weather class was taught by Rick and Alice Smith at the headquarters building.  The first portion of the class was taught outside, and the remainder inside.  This building had a nice classroom with a TV and VCR for viewing weather safety videos.    Radio was taught in the dining hall classroom, as usual.  Operating positions included HF, with voice and PSK-31 capability, and 2-meters.  All students got to make contact with Orbin Smith (KL7XP) over the Athens repeater, and a few had time to work HF.

Day Three - Classes Completed, Work Left Undone

On the final day of camp we were planning to complete all of the permanent HF vertical installation except for the antenna itself.  This work would involve running the coax and ground wires, completing the wall-mounted coax fitting in the classroom, and mounting the electrical box containing the coax switch.    But upon arrival at the camp we found that the headquarters gate was locked.  We were told that we would not be allowed vehicle access to the dining hall--work or no work, instructors or not.  Since this was our last day in camp, the antenna installation work had to be left undone.    To stock the classrooms in both buildings with ice, snacks, classroom supplies, and radios--and then to teach those classes--Barry and I had to make several walks between the dining hall and headquarters.  Each round trip was approximately .4 miles.    It quickly became clear that although we were up for it, a walk of this length would be more than we could ask a semi-retired person to do.  And it's from their ranks that we will have to draw future instructors and classroom assistants.

Wrap-up

In confidential surveys the students in Weather class rated the simulated SKYWARN net as their favorite activity, followed by the tornado videos.  They also indicated that they would like to build a weather instrument and complete the entire Merit Badge while at camp.    Students in Radio class rated talking on the radios as their favorite activity, followed by the famous capacitor discharge demonstration.  About 1/3 of the students indicated an interest in a Tech license class being taught at camp.  The feasibility of such a class along with a VE session is being studied now.    In both classes, 100% of our students said they would recommend the class to other Scouts.    The issue of instructor access to the classroom has been taken up with BSA officials in Dallas.  (I also wrote a letter to the camp Ranger explaining why the installation project was not completed as planned.)  We have been assured by BSA officials that instructor access will not be an issue at the upcoming Winter Camp 2004 where we have been asked to greatly increase our course offerings.    Photo Notes    The photo set shows some highlights from Summer Camp.  The final photo is of the location where the camp's UHF repeater will be built.  For the first phase of this project, separate transmit and receive antennas will be installed on the ladders of each water tank.  The repeater itself will be mounted in an electrical enclosure on the wooden electric service pole.  A detailed explanation of this repeater project can be found elsewhere on the Athens ARC web site.

Special Thanks To:   Rick Smith, AA5TI Alice Smith, N5WBH Barry Griffin, KD5PXU.

73, James Alderman, KF5WT