ARRLWeb: Youth@HamRadio.Fun: Hamvention, Youth Leadership, Scouting and Ham Radio and More

By Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM
Contributing Editor

Learn about the role of Scouts and youth leaders in promoting Amateur Radio to young people.

A Tribute to Senior News Editor Rick Lindquist, N1RL: My editor (the guy who corrects all of my mistakes before you read this column) is retiring June 1. But before he does, I want to give him a big thank you for all of his years of service to the League, for all that he has taught me over the last few years, for his patience with me as I learn and as I am late turning in my columns, and for his unwavering and sincere willingness to help. We will all miss him but wish him luck in the future. Here's Rick and I at the 2004 Alford Memorial Radio Club hamfest (where Rick presented Andrea with the 2003 Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award). [Scott Hartlage, KF4PWI, Photo]

Participants in the 2007 ARRL Dayton Youth Dinner pose for a picture afterwards, proudly holding their newly-acquired door prizes.

Visitors and staff were busy in the ARRL Youth Lounge throughout the 2007 Dayton Hamvention weekend.

The ARRL Youth Lounge staff takes a quick break for a group picture: (L-R) Simon Rosen, VE2RSE; Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM; Emily Stewart, KC0PTL; Emily Bishop, W6EMB; Rebekah Dorff, WG4Y, and Ben Mills, N4CV. [Scott Hartlage, KF4PWI, Photos]

Academy students pose for a picture on Alternative Education Day. [Kevin O'Dell, N0IRW]

Newly-licensed General, seven-year-old Isaac Feriante, KI6DIL.

New Technician, Jackson Tenor, KC9KVU.

Update from your former editor: My predecessor, Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT, who's now ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Vice Director, sends his best to all of the column's readers. Here on a recent trip to the Grand Tetons are his wife Katelyn, KA5TLN, Brian, their eight-month-year-old daughter Audrey, your editor, Laura Hartlage and Scott Hartlage, KF4PWI.

Dayton Hamvention®, reputedly the largest ham radio conventions in the world, held May 18 through 20, had a number of ARRL youth activities, including a Youth Lounge, Youth Booth, and Youth Dinner. The final numbers are still being tallied, but we had almost 90 young participants in the lounge, and approximately 25 attended the dinner. I hope to have more specific numbers next time.

One noticeable improvement over last year's Hamvention youth activities was the outstanding ARRL Youth Lounge staff. We went from having four staffers last year to six this year, including four new team members. A big thank you to Emily Bishop, W6EMB; Rebekah Dorff, WG4Y; Ben Mills, N4CV; Simon Rosen, VE2RSE; and Emily Stewart, KC0PTL, for all of your help. I certainly could not have done it without you!

Many of last year's favorite activities were back this year, including the scavenger hunts, foxhunts, Morse code bracelets and QSL card decorating. New this year was the game, "Are You Smarter Than a Technician?" phonetic alphabet and Morse code quizzes and a new and improved prize system that allowed visitors to accumulate points towards prizes by participating in various activities.

Plans are already in motion for next year's ARRL Youth Lounge, which is expected to be both bigger and better. In fact, we encourage every hamfest to have a Youth Lounge. If you're considering putting one together, I'll be happy to help you with tips or suggestions. Be sure to share your success stories with me, too, so others may benefit.

Ever since ARRL Alabama Section Manager Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, set the precedent of naming an Assistant Section Manager for Youth, the number such ARRL Field Organization appointments has been rising steadily. With the recent addition Arizona Assistant Section Manager for Youth and Scouting Jim Fagan, KE7IDC, North Texas Assistant Section Manager for Youth Megan McClellan, K5MEM of North Texas, we're up to eight. Youthful appointees now exist in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, North Texas, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

There is no excuse why every ARRL Section shouldn't have one. For anyone not familiar with the idea, the concept is simple: studies show that peer leadership is one of the most effective kinds, so SMs around the country are asking responsible youth to serve as the Assistant Section Manager in charge of youth activities, promoting ham radio to youth, and the like. Contact me if you need tips or suggestions on how best to volunteer yourself as an Assistant Section Manager for Youth or on how to find one. Also, be sure to let me know once your section can be added to this list!

A favorite event of many scouts, the 2007 Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) will run an extra two hours this year, making it a 50-hour event to commemorate JOTA's 50th year. Close to 500,000 Scouts and Guides all over the world will be on the air October 19 to 21, 2007. The event officially starts with a transmission from the World Scout Bureau station in Geneva, Switzerland, on 20 meters, 80 meters, and EchoLink on October 19 at 2100 UTC. The World Scout Bureau will use the special call signs HB100S to commemorate Scouting's 100th anniversary and HB50S to mark the 50th JOTA.

The World Scout Bureau is sponsoring the "Scouting 100 Radio Award" for contacting Scout stations via Amateur Radio during 2007 -- the centenary of Scouting. This international award is also available to short-wave listeners (SWLs). Stations may be worked/logged on all bands and modes including EchoLink and IRLP, and endorsements are available for special modes or bands, such as "All Satellite Contacts" or "All QRP Contacts." Award activity will focus around the international Scout frequencies (in the Americas, use 7270 kHz as the 40-meter SSB frequency; on 80 meters, avoid RTTY/digital DX on 3590 kHz).

Contact Scout and Guide stations for points: Ordinary Scout stations are one point, special event Scout stations are 2 points, and World Jamboree, Gilwell Park and Brownsea Island stations are 5 points.

Logs should be verified as accurate by two other local radio amateurs. Logs should include name, Scout details and age of operator contacted. Female operators may send "YL" instead of age. Participants should submit age when applying for awards.

A group of 15 students from Take Two Academy in Ardmore, Oklahoma, recently attended Alternative Education Day at the Oklahoma State Capitol. These students and their teacher, Creede Tibbs, KE5ISP, showed their class project, a 2-meter Yagi made from a used television antenna.

Iin addition to studying for their Technician licenses, students in Tibbs' technology class have been working on a variety of projects relating to wireless communication. Activities include plotting all the AM broadcast radio stations in the state on a map, checking into the local EOC net Wednesday mornings and monitoring storm-spotter nets.

Members of the Southern Oklahoma Amateur Radio Emergency Services and Scientific Society (SOARESSS) are working with the class assisting in answering questions, finding equipment and testing.

"Our club members are excited about getting these kids on the air and active," says SOARESSS President Kevin O'Dell, N0IRW. "It's a way for them to learn how to give back to their community early in their lives."

Take Two Academy is an alternative school started by Ardmore City Schools in 1993. Take Two gives young men and women a second chance to get their high school diploma or work toward their GED. They offer high school courses in business, language arts, social studies, mathematics, science, fine arts, practical arts, physical education and computer science.

If you're a Scout and planning to attend summer camp this year, be sure to take your ham radio gear with you. There's a revised Scout Camp Calling Protocol should make it easy for you to find other Scouts on the air. The latest Scout Camp Calling Protocol is available on the ARRL Web site.

In an earlier column, I took a poll of all student hams out there. We've now heard from a couple more:

No list of congratulations would be complete without calling attention to the fact that Andrea was the 2007 recipient of the prestigious William R. Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship. The ARRL Foundation Board voted unanimously to name Andrea, who graduated from Grayson High School May 17 with a 96.05 grade point average.

Awarded to one high school senior each year, the Goldfarb Scholarship enables the recipient to receive a four-year undergraduate degree in engineering or science or in the medical or business-related fields.

Congratulations, Andrea, and best wishes for success at Georgia Tech! It's been great working with you all these years. You'll do great things. -- Rick Lindquist, N1RL (retired)

Thanks to everyone for their continued support of this column, and I'm hoping to publish a little more regularly over the summer, now that I've graduated from high school. Keep up the great work with all of your endeavors to involve youth in ham radio. With persistence, I know we will succeed. As usual, I welcome your comments, suggestions, news and photos.

Editor's Note: Eighteen-year-old Amateur Extra class licensee and ARES Member Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, resides in Grayson, Georgia, and is a recent high school graduate. Her Amateur Radio activities include public service, kit building, hamfesting, and operating SSB, CW and digital modes. Amateurs with youth-related news and photos are invited to contact Andrea via e-mail with the subject line "Youth Column."