The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) have updated the requirements for the Radio Merit Badge for 2017, although a formal announcement is pending the publication of the 2017 Boy Scouts Requirements pamphlet. A new option for the Radio Merit Badge is Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF). ARRL
“Jim visited a training session at the USA ARDF Championships in Texas last April and realized what an excellent activity that on-foot hidden transmitter hunting can be for Scouts,” Moell recounted. “Working with Brian Coleman, KB0MAP, Jim authored the new ARDF Radio Merit Badge syllabus, which was then reviewed by several leaders of US ARDF community.”
A first draft of the new merit badge pamphlet is anticipated later this month or in early February. Moell said the new merit badge requirements should become effective just in time for the July 2017 National Scout Jamboree in West Virginia, where an ARDF course and equipment will be available to Scouts of all ages. He also hopes there could be a role for ARDF in JOTA.
The Radio Merit Badge ARDF option combines orienteering and foxhunting and opens a new interactive component to this program. Other new Radio Merit Badge options include cellular telephones and different types of radio modulation.
Key requirement being dropped from the Radio Merit Badge include open, closed, and short circuits, as well as schematic symbols and components, because these are covered in the Electricity and Electronics Merit Badges.
Amateur radio club W5BCS takes part in the 2011 ARRL Field Day exercise from Veteran’s Park in College Station. The club hosted a Merit badge training session for local Boy Scouts and offered an opportunity to become a licensed ham radio operator.
The BSA also made some minor editorial changes and reordered requirements for the Amateur Radio option. The radio broadcasting option now includes Internet streaming, regulations and power levels. A medium-wave and shortwave listening option includes both types of listening, as well as listening via streaming services on a smart phone.
The BSA has posted a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs). Scouts are encouraged to follow the new requirements, although the guidelines may allow use of the previous requirements in some cases.
Source:ARRL
Review
Brand new from Yaesu is the FT5D Dual Band Fusion Handheld Ham Radio. Let’s take a look at this brand new HT and compare it to the FT3D, its predecessor. Even in a compact body (W2.44” x D1.34” x H3.94”), the FT5DR provides reliable 5... Read more
News
Nathan “Chip” Cohen, W1YW, of Belmont, Massachusetts — the founder of Fractal Antenna Systems Inc and inventor of the fractal antenna — has been granted a patent for deflective electromagnetic shielding — essentially “cloaking” technology t... Read more
App - Mobile
SDR Receiver for IOS version 1.2.1 has been released
SDR Receiver demodulates and plays AM and FM signals received by an RTL-SDR, Airspy HF+ or SDRplay radio. Requires a radio and a host comput... Read more
STARWAVES DRM SoftRadio App for Android now available!
The STARWAVES DRM SoftRadio allows you to conveniently enjoy any DRM live radio broadcast on your Android smartphone or tablet. No Internet connection... Read more
MagicSDR – A NEW ANDROID AND IOS RTL_TCP CLIENT
MagicSDR makes it possible to interactively explore RF spectrum using panadapter and waterfall visualization, demodulate and play AM, SSB, CW, NFM, WF... Read more
SmartSDR for iOS v3.9.12 Now Available
Marcus, DL8MRE announces that release of SmartSDR for iOS v3.9.12 is now available for download or update from the Apple App Store. SmartSDR is a full... Read more
SignalID – Automatic Radio Signal Identification for Android
There’s an incredible amount of radio signals. It’s impossible to know them all, let alone recognize them. So why not get help from Signal... Read more
EchoHam version v2.10 has been released
EchoHam allows Amateur Radio operators to use the Echolink network from their Mac. You must be a licensed Amateur Radio operator to use this software.... Read more
SatSat for IOS version 1.4.11 has been released
SatSat, by Fabrice Aneche is a satellite tracking software, for radio amateurs, scientists or hobbyists. It displays current and next passes for any s... Read more
