w5alt
11-29-2006, 09:02 PM
The following is reprinted with permission by The Society for the Preservation of Amateur Radio from The Roundtable, December 2006.
The Children's Garden
Gabriel Drago, LU5FZ (translation Walt Fair, W5ALT)
Don't underestimate the younger crowd
Well, it appeared I had gotten myself into an interesting situation again. With my activities in the LU-Schools Group, various Argentine amateurs have been periodically visiting schools to introduce amateur radio to the children and attempt to spark an interest. We usually talk about what can be done with amateur radio, pass out the booklet "Amateur Radio - A Sure Road" issued by the Argentine CW Group (GACW) and arrange to have some QSOs with other schools or amateurs, sometimes even with the Argentine operators in Antarctica. Thus we introduce the students to amateur radio and also have the opportunity to discuss the importance of communications and science.
So, apparently word got out about my activities and I was "volunteered" to present our program at the kindergarten where my daughter attends, Jardin de Infantes Nro. 1446 Crecer Santo Tome. I figured with 5 and 6 year olds, this would be fairly simple: Set up my radio gear, say hello to them all, and leave. Well, I think I underestimated these small people! Here's what happened:
I arrived at the school at 4:30 PM and set up a small antenna and my FT-817 on the patio. As I guessed, the location was not great. The patio was about 20 x 20 ft, totally closed in with the entire structure of the church on one side, and furthermore 20m propagation was terrible at that hour. When the children arrived, I started my brief presentation. That's when they surprised me with questions and comments while I was speaking. We covered just about everything from A to Z when the subject of the "F" in my call sign came up. (Note: In Argentina, the first letter of the call suffix designates the province.) One by one they started giving me letters and I told them which province it represented.
Next they asked about the differences between the antenna I had set up and antennas for TV, etc. Then one of the children, remember 5 or 6 years old, asked about helping in emergencies. When I said, "Yes" then he asked "You mean, with that you can call for help?" So next I showed them how to use the microphone and each one took their turn speaking into the microphone. Then one of the smaller girls said "My brother has one like that." Of course she was talking about a walkie-talkie, but that's how we continued, questions just kept on coming. With mention of the walkie-talkie, I took the opportunity to talk a little about CW, since they themselves mentioned this walkie-talkie has a button to make your voice louder, an antenna, batteries, a speaker, and a "golden button that sounds like a horn when you press it."
In spite of being busy with the little ones, I kept one ear on the radio and I heard Daniel, LU2FLN and Omar, LU5BDS in the middle of a QSO waiting for me and realized that soon it would be almost impossible to communicate with them, especially with the poor location of my antenna. So, in order to not lose all hope of having a QSO, I hurried the beautiful conversation, turned up the volume on the rig and within a second they all crowded around the table.
I called Daniel and he heard me, but very faintly, the band was already opening long and we were too close, but Omar in Miramar heard me better. So the children began to give him their greetings, one by one, as well as their comments on the weather, the name of their school, of course, their names, etc. I don't think a single one missed talking and some of the sneakier ones managed to talk twice.
But the children wanted more, they weren't satisfied with just a quick greeting, but the band conditions were getting worse by the moment. Then I had an idea: Let's QSO in CW.
I suggested that to Omar and he gave his OK, so we continued. Each child put their fingers on the key, I held their hand and sent "Hello Omar, I'm Ariadna" (That was the first girl to send in CW.) To their total surprise, Omar came back on SSB and said "Hello Ariadna, how are you?" There are no words to express the look on the children's faces! Next came Nazarena, Agustin, Ignacio, Milagros, and each and every one of them.
We then finished the QSO with Omar and their teacher, Señorita Mele, spoke about what they had just experienced, another way to communicate. Then, I think it was Marcos who pleaded "Please come again tomorrow!"
It was an unforgettable experience, notwithstanding that it was the kindergarten where my daughter Bianca attends. She stood there the whole time watching with the disgusting look on her face that said "Radios here, too?"
Many thanks to the Jardin de Infantes Nro. 1446 Crecer Santo Tome for allowing me to enjoy those moments, to the radio friends who were on frequency waiting, and especially to the children whom I underestimated at first. This was another opportunity that again offered proof of the unforgettable rewards we can receive by showing our beloved amateur radio to children and open a new door to the world for them. Each visit to every school is unique and all of them are wonderful experiences.
The Children's Garden
Gabriel Drago, LU5FZ (translation Walt Fair, W5ALT)
Don't underestimate the younger crowd
Well, it appeared I had gotten myself into an interesting situation again. With my activities in the LU-Schools Group, various Argentine amateurs have been periodically visiting schools to introduce amateur radio to the children and attempt to spark an interest. We usually talk about what can be done with amateur radio, pass out the booklet "Amateur Radio - A Sure Road" issued by the Argentine CW Group (GACW) and arrange to have some QSOs with other schools or amateurs, sometimes even with the Argentine operators in Antarctica. Thus we introduce the students to amateur radio and also have the opportunity to discuss the importance of communications and science.
So, apparently word got out about my activities and I was "volunteered" to present our program at the kindergarten where my daughter attends, Jardin de Infantes Nro. 1446 Crecer Santo Tome. I figured with 5 and 6 year olds, this would be fairly simple: Set up my radio gear, say hello to them all, and leave. Well, I think I underestimated these small people! Here's what happened:
I arrived at the school at 4:30 PM and set up a small antenna and my FT-817 on the patio. As I guessed, the location was not great. The patio was about 20 x 20 ft, totally closed in with the entire structure of the church on one side, and furthermore 20m propagation was terrible at that hour. When the children arrived, I started my brief presentation. That's when they surprised me with questions and comments while I was speaking. We covered just about everything from A to Z when the subject of the "F" in my call sign came up. (Note: In Argentina, the first letter of the call suffix designates the province.) One by one they started giving me letters and I told them which province it represented.
Next they asked about the differences between the antenna I had set up and antennas for TV, etc. Then one of the children, remember 5 or 6 years old, asked about helping in emergencies. When I said, "Yes" then he asked "You mean, with that you can call for help?" So next I showed them how to use the microphone and each one took their turn speaking into the microphone. Then one of the smaller girls said "My brother has one like that." Of course she was talking about a walkie-talkie, but that's how we continued, questions just kept on coming. With mention of the walkie-talkie, I took the opportunity to talk a little about CW, since they themselves mentioned this walkie-talkie has a button to make your voice louder, an antenna, batteries, a speaker, and a "golden button that sounds like a horn when you press it."
In spite of being busy with the little ones, I kept one ear on the radio and I heard Daniel, LU2FLN and Omar, LU5BDS in the middle of a QSO waiting for me and realized that soon it would be almost impossible to communicate with them, especially with the poor location of my antenna. So, in order to not lose all hope of having a QSO, I hurried the beautiful conversation, turned up the volume on the rig and within a second they all crowded around the table.
I called Daniel and he heard me, but very faintly, the band was already opening long and we were too close, but Omar in Miramar heard me better. So the children began to give him their greetings, one by one, as well as their comments on the weather, the name of their school, of course, their names, etc. I don't think a single one missed talking and some of the sneakier ones managed to talk twice.
But the children wanted more, they weren't satisfied with just a quick greeting, but the band conditions were getting worse by the moment. Then I had an idea: Let's QSO in CW.
I suggested that to Omar and he gave his OK, so we continued. Each child put their fingers on the key, I held their hand and sent "Hello Omar, I'm Ariadna" (That was the first girl to send in CW.) To their total surprise, Omar came back on SSB and said "Hello Ariadna, how are you?" There are no words to express the look on the children's faces! Next came Nazarena, Agustin, Ignacio, Milagros, and each and every one of them.
We then finished the QSO with Omar and their teacher, Señorita Mele, spoke about what they had just experienced, another way to communicate. Then, I think it was Marcos who pleaded "Please come again tomorrow!"
It was an unforgettable experience, notwithstanding that it was the kindergarten where my daughter Bianca attends. She stood there the whole time watching with the disgusting look on her face that said "Radios here, too?"
Many thanks to the Jardin de Infantes Nro. 1446 Crecer Santo Tome for allowing me to enjoy those moments, to the radio friends who were on frequency waiting, and especially to the children whom I underestimated at first. This was another opportunity that again offered proof of the unforgettable rewards we can receive by showing our beloved amateur radio to children and open a new door to the world for them. Each visit to every school is unique and all of them are wonderful experiences.