K2BSA is happy to announce the creation of the K2BSA Camp station committee. The purpose of the committee is to create a resource for the establishment of Camp based amateur radio stations. The committee has created its mission statement and has defined what a camp station is as well as started developing the suggested steps in successfully building a camp station. The goal of the committee is to grow the number of permanent camp based amateur radio stations as well as to make them a useful tool in promoting amateur radio to the scouts and help full fill their scouting requirement. We also hope that this will help generate future licensed amateur radio operators. For more information, please use our contact form.
Archive for Radio Scouting
You can find the full 2020 listing of merit badge numbers at Bryan on Scouting – 2020 merit badge rankings: A list rewritten by the pandemic.
Radio Merit Badge came in ranked at 90 with 3,550 earned. That’s down by 36% from 2019 at 5,519. You can find a chart below with the numbers displayed for each year beginning in 1990. You can find the full history at Radio Merit Badge History.
While it’s disappointing to see the drop in numbers for 2020, it’s actually quite amazing considering the pandemic lockdowns.
Congratulations to all those who continued to bring the Radio Merit Badge to so many Scouts.
We’ve pulled together the following information on dealing with COVID-19 that may prove useful to your Radio Scouting activities.
Please note that each state, municipality, and Scout council have their own guidance for addressing COVID-19 issues surrounding Scouting activities. You’ll need to take those into account when considering any Radio Scouting activities.
As starting points, we recommend the following online resources:
- Restart Scouting Checklist covering supervision, assessment, fitness/skill, and equipment/environment. https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/HealthSafety/pdf/680-693.pdf
- National Statement on COVID-19 with other links. https://www.scouting.org/coronavirus/
- COVID-19 FAQ Boy Scouts of America. https://www.scouting.org/coronavirus/covid-19-faq/
- Bryan on Scouting summary of Advancement during COVID-19. https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2020/03/25/advancement-during-covid-19-official-details-about-eagle-extensions-and-more/
- Cleaning Guidelines for Icom Radios. https://www.icomjapan.com/news/2697/
- Clean and disinfect your two-way radios. https://www.buytwowayradios.com/blog/2020/04/how-to-clean-and-disinfect-your-two-way-radios.html
Work closely with your local Scout council and health authorities as guidelines are open to change as local conditions change.
We’ve also pulled together these comments about Jamboree on the Air and the Radio Merit Badge from Bill Stearns, NE4RD, Scouts BSA JOTA Team Lead and President of K2BSA ARA, as well as Gary Wilson, K2GW, the Scouts BSA Radio Merit Badge Subject Matter Expert.
Here’s what they have to say specifically about the QSO requirement for the Radio Merit Badge:
Bill, NE4RD —
As was discussed during the Ham Expo, connecting your rig to a zoom/google meet/skype call is completely possible. If an operator can figure out how to run WSJT-X, shouldn’t take much more effort to get voice to pass through to the rig.
Gary, K2GW —
Bill’s right, but it gets even easier. The contact requirement can be done with a simulated QSO, even to the point of squeezing the PTT switch on an imaginary HT in the Scouts hand.
“Using proper call signs, Q signals, and abbreviations, carry on a 10-minute real or simulated amateur radio contact using voice, Morse code, or digital mode.”
I recently counseled two Scouts remotely where they simulated a QSO with me over FaceTime, then watched me via FaceTime make a real contact and took a tour of my shack remotely for their station visit.
Our sense is that you could easily complete the entire Radio Merit Badge through online options.
Please feel free to add your own thoughts and comments to this post. We’re sure there are many creative options available to continue with Radio Scouting activities during our stay-at-home time as well as engaging in Jamboree on the Air, October 16, 17, 18.
WB4SA Central Florida Council – Radio Scouting Program
May 16th, 2020 is our Cub Pioneer Days Cuboree, an 1800’s theme event with Native American exhibits, cooking, camping and several historical activities.
So how could I get our very active Radio Scouting program involved… bring in the the Telegraph and teach the scouts Morse code, through osmosis. Most of the Cubs already learned SOS, as we taught it to 12,300 scouts last year as part of our monthly events at council.
Telegraph Encrypt/Decrypt game
A fun game where Scouts have to transcribe a message and get it to their partner via telegraph. Their partner has to write it out, then send an answer back. They work as teams and the fastest teams of the day win prizes. They can repeat the game as many times as they like, getting a new phrase each time. Each station SET involves two Morse code straight keys a good distance form each so that a pair of scouts can communicate with each other. We can do two teams at a time. The phrases they use are simple one line Scout jokes, one sentence each way. The first couple times take a while, but they slowly learn/memorize each letters ‘dit-da code’ so they start transcribing the sentence to Morse much faster the more times they do it.
Example phrases… #1 sends it to #2…#2 decodes it, then replys with #2 answer…#1 decodes and shows judge/time keeper.
Cub 1: How can you tell if a buffalo is under your sleeping bag?
Cub 2: The ceiling of your tent is very close.
Cub 2: The ceiling of your tent is very close.
Cub 1: What do you find between the hooves of buffaloes?
Cub 2: Slow buffalo hunters.
Cub 1: What do you get when you cross peanut butter with a buffalo?
Cub 2: You either get peanut butter that roams the range or a buffalo that sticks to the roof of your mouth.
Cub 1: How can you tell a buffalo from a field mouse?
Cub 2: Try to pick it up. If you can’t, it’s either a buffalo or a very overweight mouse.
Cub 1: What time is it when a buffalo sits in your canoe?
Cub 2: Time to get a new canoe.
73 & YIS (Yours in Scouting),
Ken Lyons, KN4MDJ / Trustee for wB4SA
BSA – Central Florida Council – www.RadioScouting.US
