Subj : Newsline Part 3
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Thu Oct 13 2016 10:08 pm
PATCHWORK STUDY PAYS OFF FOR SCOUTS
JIM/ANCHOR: Here's some good news for Girl Scouts who also aspire to be
YLs. The newly launched Scouting patch for their radio studies has proven
to be very popular, as we hear from Newsline's Neil Rapp, WB9VPG.
NEIL: In May, the ARRL announced a new initiative to educate young ladies
about ham radio, and other wireless technologies. The Radio and Wireless
Technology patch program is now in full swing. In the 4 months since the
initial announcement at Hamvention, the ARRL has received reports of over
170 girls who have met the requirements for the patch, according to
Education Services Director Debra Johnson, K1DMJ. A troop leader from
Troop 772, Bernadette Purnell, from Antelope Valley, California, reports
that she had 10 girl scouts complete the patch program, with the help of
a local ham radio ARES group.
BERNADETTE: 'We hunted on Google, and we found our local club. And, the
ones out here, were the ones that did the emergency services for the
hospital if there's a national disaster. So, they have a whole
communications program that they do throughout the hospital. When we
contacted them, we said, you know, 'We want you to come and explain to
the girls what you do, because some of them don't even know this radio
exists.'
NEIL: So, this program has created an awareness of ham radio. But, it
didn't stop there.
BERNADETTE: 'The girls were like - this is actually kinda interesting to
hear about. We didn't know. We asked, because it was when they first came,
it was right around September 11th. So we asked them, and we're like
going, 'Well, what happened? Were you guys used during the World Trade
Center attack?' And, he said, 'Ham radios were the only ones available for
the first 72 hours after the attack. And, we were like, wow! So, it was
just interesting to see. And, then I think right around that time, we had
a brush fire that was not too far away from us, that burnt almost like
60,000 acres. And, we were just like - Were you guys used then? He goes,
'Yeah, cause we sometimes, when you go in there, there's no radio
communication whatsoever. So, they use us as a backup, and the girls were
like that was just cool!'
NEIL: So, after earning the patch, and hearing all about ham radio, five
of the ten scouts are preparing for the Technician license exam.
BERNADETTE: 'They offered a free radio to the first girl that passes her
test. So, all the girls are in competition right now to pass the test.'
NEIL: Troop 772 reports that the patch program went very smoothly, and
the girls thought learning morse code and talking on the radio was a
very cool thing. The Troop plans on promoting their participation in the
patch program to other girl scout troops, and are considering expanding
their program to the Daisies and the Brownies. So look out world, there's
a new set of YLs on the way. Reporting for Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm
Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, in Bloomington, Indiana.
JIM/ANCHOR: We also remind you that October 15th and 16th are the dates
for the world's largest Scouting event, Jamboree on the Air, or JOTA.
You have the whole weekend to make contacts. According to the World Scout
Bureau, nearly 1 million Scouts, and nearly 20,000 amateur radio operators
were involved in last year's event. This year, make sure you are among
them.
**
EYE ON PEAK CONDITIONS FOR SUMMIT-TO-SUMMIT
JIM/ANCHOR: How do amateurs in Australia, Europe, and points in between,
celebrate improved propagation? Why, they climb a mountain, and get on
the air, as we hear from Newsline's Graham Kemp, VK4BB.
GRAHAM's REPORT: "You don't need power when you have altitude"
October 22nd, 2016, will see an increase in Summits on the Air activity
between Europe and Australasia.
As has been the case for the last few years, a special event is being
organized by Andrew, VK1AD, to coincide with the improving radio
propagation conditions.
This "S2S" (Summit to Summit) 'all mode' CW, SSB, Data, and even FM,
event already has commitments from VK, ZL, G, GM, DL, and OE stations,
with other European stations expected to join in the climb to the top
of mountains in each region. These "activators" aim to make as many
"S2S" contacts as possible, with other hams on SOTA summits in Europe
and Australia.
The timing will be from 06:30 UTC for about two hours, and is planned
to coincide with long path propagation between Europe and "down under."
Around the same time, short path communications between Europe and
North America is often possible. So, if some SOTA activators in North
America could listen out from a SOTA summit, this activity has the
chance to create a World-Wide Summit to Summit event this year.
Most stations will be running low power, with simple omni-directional
antennas, so this event also aims to show just what can be achieved
with limited equipment from a location with a low noise floor.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB.
Posted by VPost v1.7.081019
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* Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS (801:1/7)
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