Radio Direction Finding (RDF) or Fox Hunting is a popular spring and summer activity for many schools. It combines the fun of ham radio and wireless technology with outdoor activity and competition. 

• Fox Hunting Article
• Fox Hunting Rules & Regulations.  Organization - Rules - Changes
• The Fox Hunt Schematic
• The circuit diagram for the added operational amplifier

Here are the files you'll need to construct the boards for the project. Included is the Express PCB file.This is the company used by the author to produce the boards. You can download the company's software from the Web and then display, print, or if desired modify and order the boards from them.
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The purpose of this board is to give the instructor a ready instructional resource to support lesson presentations in wave fundamentals and modulation. The board would be used in conjunction with a projection capable oscilloscope and an external audio amplifier during platform instruction of the concepts.

In the document below you will find a number of example lesson plans on how to set up the board for classroom use, use the board to demonstrate wave fundamentals, and finally to use the board to instruct the concepts of modulation and demodulation.
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This board can be a very flexible instructional resource for teachers and ham radio instructors. The utility of this activity board goes beyond its intended purpose; introduce students to fundamental waveforms and allow students to explore the transistor as an amplifier.
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The Basic Electronics Course is intended for those teachers and instructors that want a ready resource that they can adapt to their instruction of electronic fundamentals. The materials include a PowerPoint presentation and instructor's script. The course is designed around affordable components, prototyping board, and VOM and uses ARRL's Understanding Basic Electronics as the associated text.
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The purpose of this project is to give teachers some ideas that they can use to help their students to understand what happens in today's wireless link systems. Handheld wireless devices have hit the mainstream in a big way. Wireless linked cellular telephone systems and linked Personal Data Assistance (PDAs) and palm sized computers are becoming common place. But behind these unassuming technologies are some pretty sophisticated hardware and software. Through a project similar to the one described here, students can get a better appreciation of what they hold in their hands.
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A simple, yet capable, seismometer that anyone can use to learn about the fundamental principles of seismology.  The seismometer can be constructed using a Basic Stamp and two Memsic 2125 accelerometers.

• Basic Stamp Program .bs format
• Basic Stamp Seismometer circuit diagram

Building upon the Basic Stamp Seismometer project on the ARRL ETP website, this new version has enhanced improvements in accelerometer technology, that allow it to be more flexible in demonstrating technologies based on acceleration sensors and is cheaper to build.

If you are new to building Basic Stamp Seismometers, this device allows for many fun, hands-on experiments that students can enjoy while studying the forces that they experience every day in a quantitative way.

 
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The No Solder CPO project is intended to show teachers and students how to use a simple technique for building a circuit using a wooden board and wood screws to make circuit connections. A circuit diagram is sized and copied to a sheet of paper that is pasted or taped to a wooden board.

These links give more detail:

• No-Solder CPO a Hit for Kalamazoo Club and Big Project Kids
• Evolution of No-Solder CPO Kit Continues

This is a follow-on project similar to the No Solder CPO, but uses more complicated circuits to build a rudimentary electronic organ.

• Schematic for the No Solder Electronic Organ

This board is designed to help the teacher to cover the fundamentals of inductive and capacitive reactance and resonance. The board requires the use of a volt meter that will measure RMS voltages and currents. An oscilloscope is also helpful. The level of math required to use the experiments of this board is approximately Algebra II and there is heavy dependence of graphing calculator curve fitting techniques.

This board is intended to help the teacher instruct student on how the common TV remote control works. The board combined with an oscilloscope will allow the students to see the binary stream waveform being sent by the remote control using infra red light. The board decodes keys from the remote to turn on and off relays that in turn can be used to switch on and off other devices. Once the students understand the operation of the remote control, the teacher can encourage them to invent something using the board.

• The TV Remote Decorder circuit diagram

This Power Point walks you through the basics of soldering from start to finish

Download Soldering 101 Power Point

Building your own antenna can be a rewarding and educational experience.  Here are a few antenna projects employing metal tape measures you can tackle by yourself or introduce to a group.

• The Tape Measure antenna for 2m.

There are many ham radio related activities that provide a rich opportunity to explore and learn more about the science of radio.  One of those opportunities is radio astronomy.  All matter emits radio frequency energy dependent on the temperature and makeup of the matter, including the matter in space.  The foundation of radio astronomy is to study the heavens by collecting and analyzing the radio frequency energy that is emitted by bodies in space, very much like how astronomers use light energy collected by telescopes. 

Build a Homebrew Radio Telescope, Mark Spencer, WA8SME

Because of continuing interest in this project since the original publication of the article, Spencer has provided an update. The Channel Master IF is no longer made. He suggests that if you are able to locate a used Channel Master be sure to confirm that it is in working order. The original digital potentiometer is obsolete, as well as the substitute digital potentiometer. 

Some working materials to update the project are provided here. The circuit is modified with a current digital potentiometer. This circuit should work with the original Channel Master IF.

• Radio Telesocpe Update
• Interface Connections

Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is everywhere.  Digital this, digital that, it is ever present on any modern ham radio. Unfortunately there are those in the minority that know DSP, and then there are the rest of us in the majority who can spell DSP and that’s about it.

The world we live in is an analog world.  The tools we use to control and interact with that analog world can only use digital information (discrete numbers).  The fundamental premise of DSP is the conversion of signals generated in the analog world to a list of numbers in the digital world that computers can do some number crunching on (analog to digital conversion or ADC).  Then after the crunching is over, DSP is used to convert the numbers of the digital world back into information that can be used in the analog world (digital to analog Conversion, DAC).

If you are looking of a presentation to fill the “education” time slot at your local club meeting , consider presenting a primer on the Fundamentals of DSP.  Take a look at this power point presentation as a starting point. Power Point presentation for Instructors

Then take a look at the little program simulation that you can use to demonstrate the programming “thought” process a computer uses to convert analog to digital signals (ADC).  Instructional Computer Program for demonstrating binary search process

Finally, need a hands-on activity that you can flip switches on to reinforce the power point and the simulation?  Then take a look at this simple circuit that allows the user to become a computer for just a moment and convert an unknown voltage into a digital value that represents that voltage (ADC).  You can consturct this circuit as illustrated in this finished product illustration.    A hands-on instructional resource for "doing" a binary search that you can duplicate

You don’t need to be a DSP expert to more effectively use DSP.  But a fundamental understanding will help you appreciate the capabilities, and yes, limitations that DSP has to offer.  The tools linked to here will give you a starting point that you might enjoy sharing with your fellow hams.

MAREA is a Mars Lander/ Marine Amateur Radio Robotics Exploration Activity.

The MAREA program is an  actvity that involves programming robots to respond to commands sent by packet radio.  It employs a UHF radio tranceiver designed for communication with the robot.

 
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Remote measurement technology can be the beginning of many rewarding classroom experiences.

Here's a low cost vehicle employing sensor technology that provides students witht the tools to do remote measurements and collect their own data to study the environment.

 
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