Shakespeare’s Sonnets in CW (mp3 files) at 7, 13, and 20 wpm:
(Thanks to Larry W2LJ via the SolidCpyCW mailing list.)
Shakespeare’s Sonnets in CW (mp3 files) at 7, 13, and 20 wpm:
(Thanks to Larry W2LJ via the SolidCpyCW mailing list.)
Here in Ann Arbor, we have a “progressive” or “alternative” high school. It’s called Community High, but because of its (and Ann Arbor’s, for that matter) hippy-dippy reputation, it’s often affectionately called “Commie High.”
One of our members–Ralph KB8ZOY–has a daughter who is starting there this semester. In the course of getting his daughter enrolled there, he found out about Community High’s Community Resource (CR) Program. Through this program, someone with expertise in an area can develop and teach a course that high school students in Ann Arbor–not just Community High students–can take for credit. According to the CR Program Guide, this allows students to:
Well, if you ask me, a course in amateur radio qualifies on all these counts.
The trick, now, is to structure the course to meet the requirements of the program. For example, our Technician Class course consists of two hours of instruction one night a week for eight weeks. A CR course, on the other hand, must include at least 45 hours of activities. So, now our task is to embellish the basic Technician Class license course so that we can show them that we have planned for at least 45 hours of activities over an 18-week semester.
I don’t think that this is as difficult as it may seem at first sight. Some of the ideas I’ve come up with include:
The point of all this is that if our school system is offering something like this, perhaps yours is too. I believe we are going to plow ahead with this, and when we get our course plan completed, we’ll make it available to any and all that want to use it. Please if you do want it, and I’ll put you on my mailling list.
Frequently, when I take a break from working 40m CW, I’ll give a shout out on our repeater (146.96-, 100 Hz PL) and catch someone coming home from a meeting or perhaps a late day at work. This evening, I connected with Rob, KC8RCO.
As it happens, his name came up last night when I visited the Novi Amateur Radio Club (NARC). Rob used to belong to NARC when he lived in that area. We got to talking about the club, and he mentioned that one of the things he used to enjoy about their weekly net is that every week one of the guys would read selected items from the late W5YI Report.
That got me thinking that we need to spice up our net a little. We do have guys report on their activities and upcoming events, such as hamfests and contests, but it’s hit and miss. Sometimes we have news and sometimes we don’t. If we could regularly have these interesting tidbits of information, then perhaps we’d have more participation.
So, I may twist a few arms to get guys to read excerpts from some of the various news sources out there. These include:
Another way to make a net more interesting is to have a “question of the week.” Rob mentioned that one question he’d heard asked is, “What’s the Worst Rig You Ever Owned”? He thought the answers given to that question helped him avoid buying a lemon. Other questions you could ask include:
The thought behind all this, of course, is to develop regular sources of interesting information. If your members tune into your net and hear something interesting and useful, it’s more likely that they’ll tune in again. Heck, they may even find something of their own to contribute from time to time.
One of the cool things about ham radio is that you learn a lot more than just radio. I just finished a QSO with Doug, VO1DD, who lives in Heart’s Delight, Newfoundland. Having my laptop handy, I did a quick Google search for Heart’s Delight. One of the websites I found had the following tidbits of information:
There are no snakes, skunks, deer, porcupines or groundhogs on the island of Newfoundland.
I offered to send him the two in my backyard, but he politely refused. He did say that although there were no deer on the island, there were plenty of moose. And apparently, coyotes are making a comeback on the island.
By Dan KB6NU
Special event stations are a lot of fun. Earlier this summer, ARROW set one up at the Saline Depot Museum and operated for several hours, passing traffic from the site. They’re not only fun, but they’re good PR for ham radio.
You can also get special 1×1 callsigns for your special event station. You can apply for one via the ARRL website or through three other VECs.
This summer, I’ve worked three W8 1×1 special event stations: