At the OVMRC October meeting, Roger Egan VA3EGY was presented with a Medal for Good Service for the many hours of volunteering that he does with Scouts Canada. The Medal and paper certificate were presented by Rod Wilson VE3RXN, Group Commissioner for Scouts Canada National Museum, home of scout radio station VE3SHQ. Roger has been instrumental in working with a few other dedicated Scouters to re-vitalize radio in scouting in the Ottawa area. And he says…we have only just begun.

Some of the other local HAMs who regularly volunteer their time for Radio Scouting activities are: Chris Bisaillion VE3CBK, Thane Brown VA3TTM, Scott Bury VA3SBQ, Bill Byrne VA3IEN, Fred Crowe VE3LAF, Ken Galama VA2TXZ , Rob Haddow VE3RXH, Scott Hendry VE3NPX, Harrie Jones VE3HYS, Tom Madden VA3TXL, Rick Marcogliese VE3RVV, John McGowan VA3JYK, Dave Sampson VE3FCQ , Norman Siemens VE3NPP, Raj Thukral VA3RZT, and Rodney Wilson VE3RXN.

Here are some of the activities that Roger and the others are involved with:

Fundraising:

Roger has solicited a number of organizations to be able to purchase equipment that they need to be able to offer radio-related activities to local scouting groups. This includes Fox Hunting gear, FRS radios, Garmin GPS devices and an HF radio station at National Scout Headquarters on Baseline Road. It’s not difficult to get money for anything that provides STEM opportunities to Youth. And Amateur Radio is still recognized as a hobby that has the potential to help young people want to explore Electronics, and put into context with hands-on opportunities for many of the things they learn about in school. About $10,000 has been raised to date.

Activities:

Roger is a Group Committee Member (volunteer) with the Scouts Canada National Museum where he is part of a team of licenced Amateur Radio operators who maintain the Ham Radio Station and host groups of youth and their leaders who come to the Museum and want to “get on the Air”. The station consists of an HF Radio, a VHF Radio and an APRS iGate as well as several antennas and power supplies.

One of the activities that is delivered from the museum is Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) & Internet (JOTI)which happens each year on the 3rd weekend of October. Visitors can get on the air and talk to other young cubs, scouts and venturers around the world on HF. And they can also do fox hunting, play battle ships or try to build a lego figure with instructions provided over the radio and then discuss how the instructions could be improved for clarity and the teams reverse roles. There are also several PCs set up for Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI) so participants can actually see the people they are speaking with around the world and the conversations they have are simply amazing.

Roger has developed a packaged Emergency Communications Simulation activity for supporting a Family Bicycling Event (like CN Cycle for CHEO). It can be delivered outside or indoor which is sometimes more practical as the evenings get colder and dark through the fall and winter months when Scouts is most active. Participants are given an FRS radio, and a script for a role they are assigned (like Registration, Snack Bar, Medical Tent, Parking Lot, Repair Shop or Path Patrol) Roger is Net Control and engages each participant who follows their script until the end and then they are invited to make stuff up and contact Net Control or other stations with traffic.

They have to learn some basics about how to hold their radio, to wait a second before speaking and speaking slowly and clearly. They also realize that radio is only effective if they ask Net Control to speak before jumping on the air. This activity is about 45 minutes and can be delivered anywhere. We have 20 FRS radios for this purpose.

Fox Hunting is sometimes delivered to scout group in a local park setting. They can accommodate groups up to about 30 youth and these activities take about 4 hours to deliver including set up and tear down. The actual fox hunt lasts 90 minutes including a short (10 minute instructions) and 10 minute debrief at the end. For more information visit: https://ardfottawa.ca/

Another activity that Roger and others have been participating in over the past several years is the Rideau Challenge Journey (RCJ) which is a spring time event now in its 33 year where Cubs, Scouts and Venturers along with their leaders plan a hike in a local forest area. The youngest just hike for one day. The older youth camp overnight but their leaders do camp setup, tear down and all the cooking. The oldest have to carry all their gear and food, set up camp, cook their meals and be prepared for dealing with situations like weather, a broken tent peg, etc. The HAM Radio team sets up a Net Control at the event headquarters and then Radio operators are positioned in the forest along the planned routes and report on the progress of participants and as well they are there to help out in case someone is injured or lost or as had enough fun for the day and just needs somebody to pick them up. (It does happen) For more information visit: https://newhamsottawa.ca/index.php/Main/RCJ

Roger says that by providing information about Radio Scouting on this web page https://newhamsottawa.ca/index.php/Main/RSA, he is hopeful that other Amateur Radio Clubs will discover us and be able to offer similar experiences for youth in their communities too. There are similar initiatives ongoing in the US and Europe too.

If you would be interested in getting involved with Scouts, you must complete some training and pass a Police Record Check.

Contact Roger directly for more details at va3egy@gmail.com

73, Rod, VE3RXN
Group Commissioner for Scouts Canada National Museum, home of Scout Radio station VE3SHQ

Appears in: Rambler November 2024