Winter Scout Camp 2003

by James Alderman, KF5WT

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Radio Merit Badge Class

The AARC sponsored Radio and Weather Merit Badge classes at winter Scout camp between Christmas and New Year's. This was the first major outreach activity organized by our Scouts & Schools program.

This marked the first time either class had been offered at winter camp. Because of space limitations we had to turn away many who wanted to take the classes. But the project overall was an unmitigated success.

Although there were a few minor problems along the way, the classes were very enjoyable for the students. One Scoutmaster even stopped by the camp office on the way home to say that our classes were the best merit badge classes OF ANY KIND that he had ever seen. And, of course, we are being invited back next time to do it all again.

Camp Facts

A total of 1470 Scouts from all over north Texas attended winter camp. (Attendance was up from 1380 last year.) Among the host of activities and Merit Badge classes Scouts could avail themselves of were Radio and Weather.

Because of limited classroom space and supply stocks, we had only 24 openings in Radio class and 12 in Weather class. When class registration opened, those few slots filled within minutes -- literally as fast as I could write names down. I had to turn away a couple dozen more.

The demand for our classes was so great that if we'd had sufficient classroom space, supplies, and instructors, we could have taught Radio and Weather all day every day and filled every class.

Class Structure

We had a portable HF station set up in a classroom just off the camp's main dining hall. A vertical near the corner of the building gave us 10, 15 and 20 meter capability. This station afforded students the opportunity to participate in a ham radio contact, which is one of the course requirements.

Classes were conducted during morning sessions for three days. The HF station was open for general operation during the afternoon "free time" periods. Three visiting hams who were serving as adult leaders at camp came by and operated the station during these free times. Two of those hams requested, and were given, CD copies of our teaching materials so they could teach classes in their home towns.

As I had been warned might happen, some Scout leaders didn't have the heart to tell their boys that classes were full, so they sent them on to class anyway. Although there were only a total of 36 "official" student slots, 41 students showed up. Since workbooks had been printed to accommodate 36 students, some had to take notes on paper.

Both classes were as hands-on as possible. The only writing that students had to do were those things that the BSA requirements say they must "write" or "list."

In Radio class, students made some HF contacts on SSB and PSK-32, practiced mock emergency communications scenarios, and learned some basic electronics. A small amount of work was done on electronic kits, but there was very little available time for this activity.

Safety was stressed as students saw a video clip of a vehicle being burned up after coming in contact with power lines, and saw some photos of just what kind of damage electricity can do to the human body. One boy came close to vomiting while viewing these photos. I'm confident that all my students are now scared to death of power lines.

In Weather class, students learned the basics concepts of meteorology, studied severe weather, witnessed a mock SKYWARN net, and built a high quality rain gauge to take home. An entire class period was devoted to severe weather safety and was taught by Alice Smith, N5WBH.

During a special session on environmental science, students participated in a contest to see who could guess whether air pollution in America had cone up or down in the past 30 years, and by how much. About half the students correctly guessed that air pollution was down, and the winning guess was that it was down by about 1/3. According to figures from the EPA, air pollution is actually down 48%.

One final requirement for completion of the Weather Merit Badge is that each student must give a brief speech to his or her troop on the subject of severe weather safety. To help with their research, each student received a CD containing a couple of dozen brochures and fact sheets put out by the National Weather Service, Red Cross, and Department of Homeland Security.

Class Evaluations

Upon completion of the class, each student filled out a critique sheet to rate what parts of the class they liked most and least. Here's what the students themselves had to say:

RADIO - In the radio classes, 11 students listed ham radio contacts as their favorite activity, five listed the emergency scenarios, five listed the kit building project, and two listed the electrical burn photos.

For least favorite activity, eight listed the drawings they had to do, and one didn't like the electrical burn photos. One boy said the thing he liked least was having to leave class when it was over.

As for ways we could improve the class, about half of our students wanted more kit building activity. Two wanted more on-air ham activity, and one wanted more emergency simulations.

When asked if they would recommend the Radio Merit Badge class to other Scouts, 100% of the students answered yes.

WEATHER - In the weather class, 85% of the students listed the rain gauge activity as their favorite. One listed the simulated SKYWARN net.

For least favorite activity, seven listed the required drawings.

As for ways we could improve the class, one student requested smaller class sizes, one wanted more hands-on activities, one wanted to study the weather outdoors, and one simply requested brownies.

When asked if they would recommend the Weather Merit Badge class to other Scouts, 100% of the students answered yes.

Future Classes

We have already been told that they want us back at winter camp next year. Also, the director of summer camp has requested radio and weather classes at those camps too. (Summer camp offers us four hours of instructional time rather than three.) We are currently working on a list of ways to improve the classes next time.

These classes have created one more ripple effect. One official from Ham-Com, who was a camp leader, is proposing that this exact same class format be used to teach the Radio Merit Badge at Ham-Com this summer. Any Scout who takes the class gets into Ham-Com for free. The hope is that more Scouts and their families will be exposed to the world of adventure that is Amateur.

Special Thanks

Special thanks goes out to all the club volunteers who made these classes a success:

Wanda Alderman, WD5GXX
Alice Smith, N5WBH
Doug Boswell, KW0K
Dee Boswell, AC0DE
Therese Galloway, KD5LZM

Special thanks to the following hams who stopped by to operate or offer their moral support during the afternoon on-air times:

Barry Griffin, KD5PXU - Greenville, TX
Jerry Bell, KC5JWH - Wills Point, TX
Ron Wallace, KD5OYK - Plano, TX
Richard Phillips, KB5YBQ - Plano, TX

73, James Alderman, KF5WT