San Antonio Hams

Under the direction of Mike, AB5EB, a rather large contingent of boy scouts and cub scouts converged at Overlook Point near the Canyon Lake dam in Texas to see what amateur radio was all about. They got more than they envisioned as the diversity of amateur radio was revealed. The amateur radio operators, featuring Mike, AB5EB, Rich, N5RAG, Carlos, KE5DFK and Bob, W2IK, were ready and waiting with several stations that operated using several modes, such as voice, digital and slow-scan television.

Other events were offered such as two antenna building sessions where scouts built actual antennas from scrap materials and used them to make contacts.The most rewarding event was the merit badge class given by Mike, AB5EB. During the class, they learned quite a bit about radio communications, “Q” signals, etc and were each also required to make an actual ham radio contact.

Also covered were basics in fox-hunting using a homemade “tape measure” antenna, PSK digital operating basics, viewing slow-scan television pictures being sent by other hams, MARS, Military Affiliated Radio Systems were explained and as added bonuses, several scouts assembled short wave radio kits using point to point wiring and in the afternoon a “geo-caching” hunt was held where scouts used GPS units, under the direction of a scout dad, to discover hidden “treasures”.

Also available were food and refreshments sold under the direction of scout moms and dads as a fundraiser. Next year’s event promises to be bigger and better!

Below are more photos from the event.  For more information about the sponsoring group, please visit them on the web at www.KX5BSA.org

Bob  W2IK

The following photos were taken by Bob W2IK. Click on thumbnail to view each photo in larger mode.