News Page 5 - SARCNET

• Over 500 have been built around the world.

• It is an ambitious project: Many have struggled sourcing the right components, machining the enclosure, following all the steps and calibrating the sensor.

• Together with a tripod, Arrow antenna, battery, controller laptop, it takes an hour to set up. Outside, in the playground, it is difficult to view the PC screen.

• Good AR satellite passes, with OMs to QSO with, almost never occur during school lunchtimes.

• There are plenty of other satellites to track and “listen” to. Some have data modes and decoding software. You can setup to receive NOAA and METEOR satellite pictures on 137MHz.

• The Arrow antenna is linearly polarised. Even with the tracker working you get deep polarisation fades. RHCP Antennas are more ambitious.

• When your class does manage to listen or talk to something in orbit with their own equipment it is a major, newsworthy achievement for all involved.

1. Keeping it simple (an example only):
6. Just start with a couple of handhelds.
7. Explain they will be learning about emergency radio communications that could save their lives one day.
8. Tell a story about some people who got lost and were saved because they knew what radios, frequencies and procedures to use.
9. They just need to practice keeping calm, cooperating with one-another, speaking clearly and describing an emergency situation
10. Others can write down what was said for a report and can think up the most important questions to ask on the air.
1. How many are injured? How serious the injuries? How soon is help required? Do they have shelter and water?
2. This may prompt a discussion on what you should bring and do when going hiking in the wilderness.
3. The effectiveness of the operation can be triaged later and you can repeat the activity next week.
4. The teacher can suggest a class follow up activity. You might find the whole class attends next time.
11. Ask them to describe their position with reference to other land marks, distances and cardinal directions.
12. Get on a quiet channel on the amateur band.
13. Don’t worry too much initially about calling procedures, just announce your call and what you are doing every so often.
14. Don’t use MAYDAY or PAN on air. Instead just announce it is a simulated emergency event.
15. The focus is on each and every child getting a go of the radio and plenty of praise for using the equipment well.
16. A realistic story and activity should give them plenty to think about. Careful, though, some may be easily upset by emergency situations.
2. Not burning yourself out:
1. Don’t try to do too much in a 30-minute session.
2. You actually will only get 20 minutes.
3. Plan just one activity well.
4. Ask the teacher to get the kids quiet and started on time. Request assistance when they are not paying attention.
5. Don’t get upset if it all turns to custard... There will be other opportunities.
3. Getting teachers on side by:
1. Introductions to the principal.
2. Enlisting teacher support and participation.
3. Asking about their curriculum needs and something called key learning outcomes.
4. Explain to them it is a joint effort because they know how to teach and you have all the resources needed for the lesson.
5. Pointing out the wide range of STEM activities supported by Amateur Radio (show them our web site for more ideas).
6. Pointing out the key STEM concepts: Radio waves (are everywhere), frequency (VHF), propagation (LOS), signal strength, sound, batteries.
7. Radio Communications: Different from mobile phones: Separate RX/TX on one channel. Reliable: Does not need but can use fixed infrastructure.       
8. Providing the class with an introduction, summary and review questions. What to think about at home prior to the next session.
9. Letting teachers participate, giving them kudos for correct responses, even suggesting how easy it is to get a foundation licence       themselves.
10. Bounce any directives for the kids off the teachers by looking at them and engaging their cooperation e.g. when splitting up into groups.
4. Practical things:
1. Handhelds: The more the merrier. Fresh batteries. Locked keyboard. A short introduction to the group about controls and displays.
2. Care and use of radio equipment. Lanyards. Antenna cable strain relief. No running.
3. Give each group a different card describing their specific emergency situation (they will have trouble thinking them up).
4. 100% teacher supervision is required.
5. Check:
1. Working with children card.
2. Covered by school’s public liability insurance.
3. Special needs students and how to handle them.
4. First aid and injury response.
5. How to segregate the groups during school lunchtimes.
6. Handheld VHF radio equipment is safe to use in accordance with ARPANSA standard: "Radiation Protection Standard Maximum Exposure Levels to Radiofrequency Fields — 3 kHz to 300 GHz".
7. These are all good things to discuss with the principal to show you are prepared.