Meriden ARC Web Site | Castle Craig Chapter 10-10


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Pond Hill School Radio event
#1
Just want to say that Paul and Joe did a great job with the kids at Pond Hill school. I recorded K1LYP and KB1HCC chatting with the kids...interesting questions.

Trying to figure out how to post the mp3 files to the site.

73,

Steve - KC1AXJ
73, Steve - KC1SA
Reply
#2
(06-04-2014, 08:25 PM)KC1AXJ Wrote: Just want to say that Paul and Joe did a great job with the kids at Pond Hill school. I recorded K1LYP and KB1HCC chatting with the kids...interesting questions.

Trying to figure out how to post the mp3 files to the site.

73,

Steve - KC1AXJ

That's great Steve. We will have to check on the mp3 posting here. Supposedly this BBS can play audio/video files. Never tried it.

But you can still post a reply here and attach the file. Then users can download the attached mp3 directly from the attachment in your post.

I'll have to see if mp3s are enabled here. I'll check the parameters we have set up here for allowed attached files are valid. Be right back.

- Rich
Rich - WA1TRY 
Reply
#3
(06-07-2014, 06:23 PM)WA1TRY Wrote:
(06-04-2014, 08:25 PM)KC1AXJ Wrote: Just want to say that Paul and Joe did a great job with the kids at Pond Hill school. I recorded K1LYP and KB1HCC chatting with the kids...interesting questions.

Trying to figure out how to post the mp3 files to the site.

73,

Steve - KC1AXJ

That's great Steve. We will have to check on the mp3 posting here. Supposedly this BBS can play audio/video files. Never tried it.

But you can still post a reply here and attach the file. Then users can download the attached mp3 directly from the attachment in your post.

I'll have to see if mp3s are enabled here. I'll check the parameters we have set up here for allowed attached files are valid. Be right back.

- Rich

Okay Steve, I added *.mp3 file extension to the list of valid file attachments. Try attaching your mp3 file to a post as an attachment.

If the BBS doesn't like the default size of the file, drop me a note here and I'll increase the max size for mp3 attached files.

- Rich WA1TRY
Rich - WA1TRY 
Reply
#4
[attachment=26]
(06-07-2014, 06:31 PM)WA1TRY Wrote:
(06-07-2014, 06:23 PM)WA1TRY Wrote:
(06-04-2014, 08:25 PM)KC1AXJ Wrote: Just want to say that Paul and Joe did a great job with the kids at Pond Hill school. I recorded K1LYP and KB1HCC chatting with the kids...interesting questions.

Trying to figure out how to post the mp3 files to the site.

73,

Steve - KC1AXJ

That's great Steve. We will have to check on the mp3 posting here. Supposedly this BBS can play audio/video files. Never tried it.

But you can still post a reply here and attach the file. Then users can download the attached mp3 directly from the attachment in your post.

I'll have to see if mp3s are enabled here. I'll check the parameters we have set up here for allowed attached files are valid. Be right back.

- Rich

Okay Steve, I added *.mp3 file extension to the list of valid file attachments. Try attaching your mp3 file to a post as an attachment.

If the BBS doesn't like the default size of the file, drop me a note here and I'll increase the max size for mp3 attached files.

- Rich WA1TRY
73, Steve - KC1SA
Reply
#5
So how do you explain Ham Radio to elementary school kids???
Thanks to our past connection through the ARISS program with the nationally recognized, local 5th grade teacher Chris Stone of the Pond Hill Elementary School here in Wallingford, we were asked to be one of the “attractions” at the school’s spring term day of S.T.E.M. activities. In addition to ham radio, there were several other interesting things for the kids to enjoy such as a “rocks & minerals” display, water bottle rockets, “rollercoasters” for model cars, reptiles (ughhh!), and the science of sound.
FYI, the synonym STEM translates to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Joe Hamm, KC1BAQ, and I arrived at the school at 8:00 am, June 4th, and after checking out the day’s weather predictions, we decided to opt for the outdoor setup on the grass in front of the gym door. Joe put up his portable pop-up tent cover over the table, just in case. Next came my BuddiPole antenna on its own tripod to the side of the table set up for 20 m. I ran my 100 foot extension power cord through the gym door at our back, and we were ready to go by 9 am.
The little Elecraft KX-1 mini-QRP transceiver that I bought years ago came to life quickly with CW signals popping up in the DX portion of the band. I copied several DLs and a strong SM station. Yah gotta love 20 m CW! Later in the morning we copied W1AW/5 operating in Louisiana, a pretty strong signal. Bringing out the audio to a battery powered Radio Shack mini-speaker completed the little station. For display, Joe had brought along an older Kenwood 100 watt rig with the handheld mike connected, and another small SW-LW short wave portable receiver.
I had intended to bring along my box of DX QSL cards for the kids to rummage through, but forgot to pack it into the car… rats! Next time…
Of course, Joe and I had our HTs. I had informed the MARC gang via Email the day before that we’d be “on the air” with the kids on Wednesday. During the presentation, after relating how today’s modern cell phones are really little short wave receivers and transmitters, Joe dropped his call onto the W1KKF/repeater, and quickly began a conversation with John, K1LYP. The kids were fascinated and Joe began a kind of “interview” similar to what goes on during the ARISS “talk with an astronaut” exchange… once the kids “got” the gist of what was going on, he asked the young ones if anyone had a question to ask. Out of a class of 20 kids, usually half were excited to get in line and state their name and question. Joe handled the PTT and helped the kids with their question, sometimes “interpreting” for John!
Joe used the “73” expression in closing out his chat with John, and of course, we then explained about its development from wired telegraphy in the late 1800s to save cost on telegrams. They thought that was very cool, and we had them shout “73” when saying good-bye through the HT!
There were 8 classes that had signed up to visit the “Amateur Radio” table that morning. Starting promptly at 9 am and lasting for 25 minutes, the kids circled around the front and sides of the table, with Joe and me standing at the rear of it.
After introducing ourselves at the start of each “performance”, I explained how recently radio has been available in our world. Then I’d ask them how they would get a message to a friend at the center of town back in the time before radios or cell phones. The answers from the kids ranged from carrier pigeons, writing a note and asking someone to deliver it, or jumping on a horse and riding into town. It was soon obvious to them that something else was needed. I then explained who Samuel F.B. Morse was and some of his background, and the creation of wired telegraphy. About that time in our presentation, I would turn on the KX-1 and key a few letters on the key to give them a taste of what Morse code sounds like. Turning up the volume a bit more, I’d swish around the low end of 20 m CW and let them listen to signals from around the world. Their little eyes and facial expressions were priceless! How could a radio wave go from the other side of the world? Well, kid, it’s like this…
I then told them how fast radio waves travel… at the speed of light, and then we’d develop a bit of understanding how fast 186,000 miles per second really was! Each class “learned” the number 186,000 and saying “miles per second”, repeating it several times. I challenged them to remember that when they went home today and tell their parents how fast light and radio waves go! Of the approx. 160 kids who were there, I’d bet more than a handful did just that!
Again going “back in time” to 1914, a hundred years ago, they learned that there were no radio stations, or TV channels, or record players, or DVDs in people’s homes…. Nothing!
We then spoke on how wired telegraphy was very cool in the mid-1800s for getting messages around the country, but the real “kick” was to do it without wires. That’s where experimenters and other scientific folks began fooling with wires, batteries, etc… and soon, wireless telegraphy was created. It was perfect for sending messages from ships to shore stations, or even asking for help during emergencies. A few kids piped up how radio was used in the Titanic disaster.
And then, along came the experimenters who really latched onto the incredible invention of sending signals far away, back in the early 1900s… they called themselves “hams”, or amateur radio operators! It was not a stretch or dull information for the 4th and 5th graders surrounding our little table. In my opinion, it’s all in how you relate the story of the development of radio, messaging at a distance, and allowing them to participate for themselves. In this early part of the 21st century, elementary school aged kids are very good at imagining different scenarios, and grasping the “story”.
Realizing that elementary school kids have limited attention spans, it’s important how you tell this story. While discussing the way we talk over the radio into a microphone, I used some phonetics, and then asked one student her name…. Ann… which became Alpha November November. You could tell they enjoyed the understanding of why and how phonetics is used. One asked why you couldn’t use other “N” words, and we described the necessity for clarity and consistency when used by folks around the world. It was not hard for them to grasp.
Having experienced how well this little morning’s work went yesterday, I’d be glad to repeat it at any other elementary school. Taking it to older kids might be harder for all the reasons we know, but the 4th and 5th graders seemed just right to receive “fun” information.
The only other experience with older kids I’ve had was with the S.C.O.W. (Spanish Community Of Wallingford) kids last year, and they were a delight… very well behaved, studious, and interested, a trade mark in my opinion of the close family relationships and structure of the Spanish-Mexican culture.
As a lasting legacy of their ham radio experience, I recommend that the MARC buy 5 Morse code kits from ARRL and donate them to the STEM Academy folks for use. I’m sure we could garner a small handful of Morse code teachers if needed to start them on their way!
Also to be thanked for chatting with the Pond Hill kids on the repeater yesterday are: Steve, KC1AXJ and Haggie, KB1HCC… who heard the call to lend a helping hand for the next generation of hams!
73, K1SEZ Paul Ciezniak
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