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K1DMJ

Joined: Wed, Sep 18th 2002, 00:00 Roles: N/A Moderates: Can't Find a Licensing Class?, Can't Find an Emergency Communications Class?

Latest Topics

Topic Created Posts Views Last Activity
Activities to keep kids active Nov 1st 2012, 16:45 3 13,020 on 2/11/12
Resources for Teaching Basic Electronics Jun 8th 2012, 13:00 5 13,543 on 15/6/12
Please Note! Feb 9th 2012, 22:07 1 12,197 on 9/2/12
Teaching amateur radio to elementary school students Feb 9th 2012, 22:01 2 13,448 on 9/1/15

Latest Posts

Topic Author Posted On
Activities to keep kids active K1DMJ on 1/11/12
Here are suggestions offered in an email reply by Mark Spencer, WA8SME:

Keeping in mind that ham radio is a contact sport, it is really up to the interest and proclivity of the teacher who knows the interests of the students to choose from a range of activities that will be appropriate. Here are a few that come to mind:

1. Set up a fox hunt competition activity with prep instruction how fox hunting technology is used for search and rescue and research.
2. Participate in the School Club Roundup or any of the contest activities that happen almost any weekend. Students can be encouraged to listen and copy call signs if they are not licensed and log the number of states/countries or some other statistic.
3. Listen to the ISS as it passes (or the other cubesats in the area), if not in the voice mode, monitor the packet transmissions. [there recently has been a concept called MAREA that illustrates using commands relayed through the ISS via packet radio to control a robot in the classroom. Here is a short video on the concept: https://www.dropbox.com/s/n5svrunocznabpe/AREA%20Proof%20of%20Concept.wmv]
4. Build a kit, maybe a receiver and then use the receiver to do SWL and log SWL contacts. Ask for and collect QSL cards.
5. Practice communication procedures using FSRs or ham radios under the control operator.
6. Morse code is related to the math standards and also a fun activity for students. Build some CPOs and then use their CPOs to send messages.
7. Us a standard AM radio to study propagation. Log stations heard during the day and then at night and compare the quality of the signals and the distance to the transmitting station.
8. Build an antenna for the school station, then make contacts with the antenna.
9. Provide the students with some telemetry data received from a CubeSat, let them listen to a wave file of the pass. Have the students graph the data and interpret the results.
10. Have the students design a satellite and then build a model of their design.
11. Have the students listen to WWV and log the climate data (sun spot information), then plot the data, relate to what they observe during their SWL activity.
12. Go on a field trip to a local emergency service unit and see what radio technology they use, and how they use it. Then monitor the channels and log the transmissions, relate them back to what they were briefed.
13. Build a radio telescope as outlined in a previous article, then do some listening of the universe.

These are just a few ideas that might stimulate other ideas.
Activities to keep kids active K1DMJ on 1/11/12
Nigh Pugh, K5QXJ relayed this question from a local middle school teacher: What are some activities for licensed middle school students that will keep them involved with radio?
Resources for Teaching Basic Electronics K1DMJ on 8/6/12
Hi Herman,

There are a couple of things I would suggest. First, have you looked at the resource pages of the ARRL web site? If you look here: http://www.arrl.org/etp-kits-projects

And go down to the Basic Electronics Course, you will find a program developed that we use during the teachers institute as a resource to help teachers do what you are wanting to do. This course is a collection of parts and a curriculum based on a power point that you can adopt to your students and your situation. You don’t have to buy the kit of parts, the PPT is downloadable off the web page.

You also might consider the ARRL's Understanding Basic Electronics book. I am not trying to sell you the book, I just want to say from my experience, this is a pretty fine book for teaching the basic content.

Another resource that I would recommend is the old Navy's NEETs course. You can probably find it on the web, but if you can't I know I have saved a downloaded copy of the pdfs here and I'd be happy to send you a copy. For some reason, I don't think the Navy uses that course any more (probably because they don't teach basic electronics anymore) but the course is well done and comprehensive. It doesn't have all the fancy colored pictures and stuff, just good basic information that in the hands of the right teacher will help students grasp the basics of electronics.

If you are looking for some more up to date and sexy material, I would also recommend the What is a Microcontroller course offered by Parallax. You can down load this text off their web page. This is an excellent course that includes some basic electronics concepts while it goes on to programming microcontrollers to manipulate the basic circuits in the computer world. This might be the bridge between basic electronics and computers that will inspire your students to dig deeper into electronics.

I don't think any single suggestion above is the panacea that you are looking for, but some part of each put together might meet your needs.

Hope this helps,
73 Mark Spencer WA8SME
ARRL Education & Technology Program Director

Resources for Teaching Basic Electronics K1DMJ on 8/6/12
I teach Physics in High school. A number of my students have expressed a desire to learn electronics. However, these are (at this time) not that interested in becoming Hams.

Frankly, a great portion of the study material for Tech and to great extent that for General class is “appliance” oriented.

I am looking for a text or course which deals primarily with components, (resistors, inductors, capacitors, transformer, tubes, transistors, simple integrated circuits (AND, OR, NOR etc) devices).

When I first started (in 1952) I enrolled in an NRI correspondence course (National Radio Institute) out of Chicago, which if memory serves comprised of 120+/- lessons (booklets), and about 20 or so hands on experiments. The completion of which resulted in the construction of a 5 tube broadcast receiver.

I am looking for a textbook or a course such as I described above for use in this class I am attempting to set up.

Can you help me?

Thanks in advance.

Herman C. Belderok, WV0R
Please Note! K1DMJ on 9/2/12
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