Last week K8LPS, the Columbiana Clipper Amateur Radio Club participated in their first ARRL School Club Roundup Contest. In order to participate, SRO Sergeant Boley, N8YMX, worked with Don Kemp, NN8B, of the Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency to procure mobile equipment to borrow and set up on the school campus. This provided students with the ability to connect with amateur radio operators around the world and get a taste of contesting.
Over 20, not yet licensed, students took advantage of the opportunity to operate under the club call sign some during the contest and some during class demonstrations. Amassing over 21 thousand points, electronics club members operated daily from 1-6 pm and had 172 total contacts, with each DX QSO averaging 1,917 miles. Some highlights of the week included contacting Cape Verde off the coast of Africa, Greenland, Canada, and 36 states.
Students were able to observe first hand radio wave propagation changes with gray line advancement, learn phonetic alphabet basics, reinforce geography skills, and practice communicating professionally. They even talked with a Columbiana native now living in SC, who provided video feedback of how they sounded. While the equipment was on campus, STEM teachers took advantage of demonstrations for their classes reaching a larger audience than just those 70 students signed up for electronics club.
This firsthand experience of operating on High Frequency is motivating to students pursuing amateur radio licensure and truly STEM in action!
Great Job Clippers!
