Random thoughts: The case for paper, CB for youth engagement, POTA/SOTA safety

The case for paper

As most of you know by now, the ARRL is going to start charging extra for the print version of QST in January—even if your membership expires after that date. While I am generally in favor of magazines going digital, paper does have its advantages.

For example, I’ve recently been plowing through my stack of paper QSTs, looking for interesting things before I toss them. In the process, I’ve come across several items of interest, including articles on building an inline RF current sensor and building a short vertical for 160 meters.

I’m not sure that you’d get this kind of serendipitous occurrence with digital magazines.

CB for youth engagement?

On reddit, someone asked if anyone had any information on successful programs for youth engagement. Someone replied, “Heard of a ham club that gave out old CB radios to young people in the area, and helped them with setting them up. Within 2 years, most of them were licensed hams!”

I think that in addition to just helping them get set up, you might also want to give the kids some structured activities, like showing them how to run a net or maybe do a hidden transmitter hunt, if such a thing is possible with CB radios. You’ll also want to be available if, or should I say when, there are problems with the radios.

This sounds like an interesting idea to me. I asked for more details. Have any of you heard of something like this?

SOTA/POTA Safety

A couple of weeks ago, I joined a Long Island CW Club Zoom meeting on portable operation. It was a great meeting, and a lot of good ideas were mentioned.

One of the best, I thought, was the reminder to be safe when doing a Parks on the Air (POTA) or Summits on the Air (SOTA) activation. One of the things that I do is to attached caution tape to my inverted-V antenna where there’s any chance that someone could come into contact with it.

Another fellow mentioned that he wears a blaze orange vest when he heads into the woods. This had not occurred to me, as I have been operating from open areas where no hunters are allowed. But, if there’s any chance that you might come into contact with hunters on your POTA/SOTA adventures, the orange vest is a good idea.