Dateline:  October 21, 2012

From:  K5LBJ, the LBJ High School/LASA (Austin, TX)

The October 2012 "School Club Roundup" was one of the best we've had in years.  I say this simply because the bands stayed relatively open all week from our Austin, TX, location.  Continuous contacts equal lots of fun!

Of course, there were variations as things were "normal" at week's beginning and end, but what made it exciting was the volume of stations on the air Wednesday.  The bands were open and just packed with operators willing to talk to our school club.  (And, our Senior YL, Makala Kuhr, worked them with grace and professionalism.  Definitely, my star operator this year.)  I think it always impresses my students that for every CQ there is another new operator; a seemingly endless supply of hams to speak with all over the US and globe.

During the week, K5LBJ would bounce between 20m where most schools were operating and 10m where the DX contacts were (and the bands seemed much quieter).  My students love the contest aspect of the SCR, but are also very happy to make contact with DX or novel stations.  Contacting the Pentagon and Boeing radio clubs were talked about at length, in addition to the ability to work New Jersey, California, and New Zealand in quick succession.  Any way you slice it, Amateur Radio is just cool like that.

Many thanks to Lew, N2RQ, all of the people in the Long Island Mobile ARC (LIMARC), and those in software development that support the SCR, especially David, AD8B.  Your efforts continue to make Amateur Radio an exciting hobby that brings electronics/engineering to life for young people.  But, linking the world via wireless communation is its heart, so School Club Roundup is what breathes life into our schools each semester.  Thank you for all you've done and continue to do.

73,

Ronny Risinger, KC5EES

Trustee, K5LBJ, the LBJ High School ARC

Liberal Arts & Science Academy High School

Austin, Texas