We can all find dehydrated onions, but what about dehydrated carrots or cabbage? Make sure that your backcountry chef has what they need.
The Harmony House Backpacking Kit is a collection of eighteen packages of different kinds of freeze-dried vegetables. Each package is one cup of freeze-dried vegetables in a zip-lock bag. The kit is about $50 from most sources.
My wife doesn’t understand the patch thing, but Scouts know that it isn’t real Scouting until there is a patch. The BSA patch for licensed radio amateurs has been available since 2013 and has an official spot on the uniform. If you have an amateur radio license, you should wear this patch.
The Hiker Responsibility Code says “Be prepared..to stay together” on the trail. BSA rules require adequate supervision. But how do we stay together and be safe on a troop hike with thirty or forty Scouts? We can hike in independent groups, each with two adults and a crew first aid kit. Or, we can stay in touch with radio communications.
Crew 27 in our area has a scheme for coordination on a hike. Each independent group has a radio. The last group, “sweep”, has adults and a radio. All groups check in every 15 minutes. If a group cannot communicate with sweep, they halt and wait for the groups behind them to get closer. A hike group can relay messages to and from a forward group.
E. Prep. merit badge requires the Scout to take part in an emergency mobilization and make a plan for emergency service. Why not let your local amateur radio ARES/RACES group help out?
Amateur radio operators work with their local communities to prepare for emergencies. They do this with drills, frequent radio practice, and public service (which is also mobilization practice). Many groups have a radio communications net every week. Scouts can also work with CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and other emergency volunteers.
Let’s look at the three parts of requirement 8 for the Emergency Preparedness merit badge.
Patrols should camp out of earshot from each other and the adult leaders. But how do we provide adequate adult supervision in that situation? With radio communications, of course!
An ideal troop campout has patrols camping separately, probably 100 feet to 100 yards apart from each other. The SPL and ASPL(s) camp separately. The adults should also be at the same distance. But in that configuration, how do the adults provide “qualified supervision” as required in the Sweet Sixteen of BSA Safety? And how does the youth chain of command from Senior Patrol Leader (SPL) to Patrol Leader (PL) work?
This is long, but it combines multiple recommendations from the KX3 and Elecraft mailing lists into a single procedure.
First, update to the latest KX3 firmware. There was a new compression algorithm in 1.50 and fixes in 1.61 and 2.30.
Then, get your KX3 manual. If you can’t find a paper copy, download the latest KX3 Owner’s Manual. You will be looking up a few menu settings.
The audio adjustments are done in separate steps:
With a $6 cable, you can get cleaner microphone audio from your CM500 headset, or any other electret mic or headset, plus add a jack for a PTT switch.
The Yamaha CM500 is a very popular headset for amateur radio use. It is rugged, effective, and affordable — $60 at B&H Photo and $55 at Amazon. B&H has a much more accurate description of the product.
How high can you get your antenna? I used a roll-up J-pole antenna on an 18′ collapsible pole supported by our patio table and could be heard across the city using only my 5W HT.
Every Monday night, I check in to the Palo Alto ARES/RACES training net. I can almost always hear net control, but they can rarely hear me. I guess it is good practice relaying traffic, but it makes it hard for me to contribute substantially.
Bacon is magic in food but a problem on the trail—refrigeration, skillets, grease, etc. Shelf-stable bacon makes tons of trash with strips wrapped individually. Bacon jerky to the rescue!
When my first Petzl Zipka headlamp finally broke, I bought another one. That is a sure indicator of the right gear for my style. Enough light, light enough (69g), and it fits in my pocket.
Our troop has an e-mail alias that can be CC’ed for any communication between an adult and a Scout. To satisfy the “no one-on-one contact” rule, we respond to a Scout’s e-mail CC’ing yp@our-troop. The mail goes to the Scoutmaster and the Committee Chair.
I do this all the time, even when working at a District level, approving Eagle Scout service projects.
The Boy Scouts of America Youth Protection Guidelines and Social Media Guidelines are online.
I came for the flannel, but I stayed for Harriett. I didn’t see this book in 1977, but I’m glad I found it now.
I bought a used copy of Supermarket Backpacker by Harriett Barker and I love it. This sentence starting at the bottom of page one may be the truest thing ever written in a cookbook: “Don’t forget that water is the only thing you can cook really well when backpacking in the high mountains.” I have proved that it is true in the flatlands, too. Ask the other members of the Raccoon Patrol.
I found this great story while researching our tendency to be optimistic in estimating work. There is a Scoutmaster Minute or three in this, for sure.
Is it safe to let your 10 year old ride their bike to school alone? Not in some places. It is illegal in Maryland. But it builds confidence.
Here is one kid who rode 20 miles into New York City. You might have heard more about Buzz after he grew up.
The best book I read in 2014 is a book about writing and grammar. You are justifiably skeptical, but Steven Pinker is a graceful, funny writer with something important to say—good writing is both natural and organized, at every level.
Most Casual Observer 