Winter Scout Camp 2004

by James Alderman, KF5WT

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Greetings Fellow Amateurs,

Thanks to all who made Winter Camp 2004 a big success. Over 1600 Scouts and leaders attended the 4-day event at Camp Cherokee near Athens.

Our Athens club provided radio and weather training classes, an open "Get On The Air" station, and a Tech class followed by a VE session on the last day of camp. Approximately one in ten Scouts at Winter Camp participated in our various programs.

The Numbers

A total of 111 students went through our Radio and Weather Merit Badge programs, representing 56 different Troops from the north Texas region.

Four students passed the Tech exam while at camp. Most accomplished this after only brief study. Some attended an afternoon study session we held on the first day of camp.

One 12-year-old boy with no prior background in radio attempted the Tech test after only taking our Radio Merit Badge class and looking over the question pool for a couple of hours. Incredibly, he got half of the test questions right. Of course, he wants to study a bit more and get his ham license.

During our afternoon GOTA activities we operated two HF stations (one SSB and one PSK-31) and a single 2-meter radio. We copied or contacted 23 different states, 14 foreign countries (including Antarctica and Belarus) and one maritime mobile station aboard a freighter.

Unlike last year when our GOTA station was a popular afternoon stop for Scouts during free time, few came by to visit this time. This low attendance was probably due to equestrian and mountain biking programs which were running during the afternoons this time. Plus, the weather outside was very pleasant and people naturally wanted to be outside enjoying it.

A total of 12 instructors and local volunteers worked to make these activities a success. Both the Athens and Palestine clubs were good to let us use their repeaters during camp so Scouts could make their required ham radio contacts.

What Went Right

Table Mentors - Our classes were often crowded with nearly 30 students. Yet with hams serving as "table mentors" the classroom atmosphere was not chaotic. Each table mentor was responsible for helping up to 7 students at his or her table. The table mentor concept proved successful and we will continue to use this method.
Multiple Stations - With two HF positions, a 2-meter fixed station, and a 2-meter bike mobile available, we were able to get students on the air by splitting them up into smaller groups during class. Without multiple stations we could not have served so many students. We will do this again, perhaps with the antennas separated a bit more.
VE Session - The fact that four people passed their Tech exam is proof both that the Radio Merit Badge class indeed provides a good deal of groundwork for the Tech exam, and that a VE session will attract a degree of interest among Scouts. We will do this again.

What We Can Improve

I'd like to come up with a more precise teaching outline so anybody could step in and teach the radio class if needed. This year the prevailing winds seemed to keep a constant stream of smoke blowing our way from the kitchen' meat smoker. This irritated our voices which sometimes made speaking in front of a class difficult. With better teaching materials we could rotate instructors in the future if needed.
Improve the Tech study session into a full blown mini-license class.
As always, I'd like to develop more "Mr. Wizard" style experiments to demonstrate the scientific concepts we are teaching about.
We need to get our antennas up higher so nobody could possible touch them. The triband vertical was low enough that a tall person standing on the deck of the dining hall could reach up and touch the active element. I only discovered this as I was telling the class, "Never mount your antenna low enough that a person could come by and touch it." At that moment I was standing there with my hand on the vertical.

Thanks to all who made this year's ham activity a success. Special thanks to the Athens and Palestine clubs for the use of their repeaters.

73, James Alderman, KF5WT

Photos

(click to enlarge)

Setting Up I, II, and III: A tri-band vertical was used for PSK-31 operation, and a G5RV multiband dipole was used for all-band voice. A stick was provided by Mother Nature, and some roof work provided by Sam.