hex

#DearLazyWeb ( #Nederland #HamRadio edition): I have small kids. My oldest is just turning 7. I have an idea of starting to introduce radios to them and some other parents are also interested.

I'm starting with walkie talkies and basic radio protocol. My thought is to try to play a few games of "keep talking and no one explodes" over walkie talkie, then trying to expand that out into an informal radio net or something. I have some other ideas for projects, like downloading weather satellite data or something (but I think this may be a bit too advanced, perhaps).

I've also been thinking about playing a bit with LoRa radios (meshcore or reticulum), but I haven't yet figured out an application that would be fun for kids.

One parent suggested a kids radio broadcast. In the US it's possible to get a local FM license (within about 2 kilometers) for community stations and educational use and such. Is there any similar program here in NL?

Extra question for #Ham operators: are there other simple kid friendly projects you can think of?

For parents (to gauge interest outside of my weird little circle): one goal here is getting kids into radio to build the next generation of disaster communication. Is this something you would be excited about for your kids? Is this something you would be interested in seeing as an after school program?

Apr 10 at 10:08amWeb
Show threadAlexander KnochelApr 10

@Hex Fox hunting maybe?

We're planning something very similar with local boy/girlscouts here.

Show threadMaria GattaApr 10
@Hex As a parent: sounds awesome! But also, my kid is only 2 😅
Show threadMaria GattaApr 10
@Hex This just showed on my feed. This Ariss account sounds like something to look into 👀 https://social.growyourown.services/@FediFollows/116381769932238025
FediFollows (@[email protected])

#AmateurRadio #HamRadio #PersonalRadio accounts to follow: @[email protected] - Discussion group about amateur radio, follow to see posts, mention to make post @[email protected] - Decentralised encrypted mesh network using low-power radios @[email protected] - Helping students talk to astronauts on International Space Station via amateur radio @[email protected] - Free open source toolkit for software radio / SDR @[email protected] - Online library on ham radio & early comms @[email protected] - Free open firmware for digital ham radios 🧵 1/3

social.growyourown.services
Show threadhexApr 10
@M_Gatta ohhhh!
Show threadGiovanni - ZL2GXApr 10

@Hex If you have any nearby radio stations, crystal sets can be fun. I have demoed them to school holiday groups and they were fascinated not so much by the radio side but that they worked without batteries!

As high impedance headphones are hard to get, various suppliers including Aliexpress have 1000:8 ohm audio transformers. These combined with earbuds are fine. The over the ear headphones tend to be even better.

Show threadGiovanni - ZL2GXApr 10
@Hex Another project that was popular was one I called "Deconstruction". Let them take apart old hard drives, motors, DVD drives, VHS players (lots of moving bits), laptops ... This is good for finding the right tools (flat/philips/torx screwdrivers ...) & there's a freedom in that they can take things apart without expecting the item to ever go back together again! One caution, if you take a 3.5" diskette drive apart and find a big flat ceramic magnet, keep it and fingers away from flat metal.
Show threadhexApr 10
@gmoretti This is awesome. I used to do this as a kid, and I've been wanting to figure out a good way to let my oldest do this. Sounds great.
Show threadRolf Blijleven 🔻Apr 11

@Hex @gmoretti

I still do this every once in a while, (#rightToRepair) and I wish everyone to come across a big old Sony beamer while dumpster diving. Lots of optica!

Show threadpenguin42Apr 10
@gmoretti @Hex I didn't learn how to put stuff back together until much later....
Show threadJohn MaxwellApr 10
@Hex Fox hunt. Locate a hidden transmitter with directional antennas. Combines playing with radios and running around in the woods (or wherever your kids like to run around).
Show threadJohn MaxwellApr 10
@Hex You'd have to provide the gear, but using it should be straightforward for them.
Show threadDNAvinciApr 10
@Hex
Despite having a parent who was 'someone' in the HAM community growing up, neither I or any of my brothers ever took much interest in HAM.
As a matter of fact, we got strict lectures from the parent and from random strangers on random frequencies when we DID explore.
Maybe the HAM police have chilled out a bit in the last 30 years, but it was extremely hostile back then
Show threadDNAvinciApr 10

@Hex
Fwiw, I also have a 7 year old and I can't get him interested in much outside Roblox, science facts, and swimming.

I HAVE seen some cool, affordable projects in LoRa and SDR lately. BennJordan posts a lot to his GitHub

Show threadpenguin42Apr 10
@Hex short wave receiver, for listening to random AM broadcast?
Show threadJustin MacleodApr 11
@Hex I'm thinking of getting PMR radios for my son's friends. Could be cool to have a loosely supervised kid net.
Show threadBeko PharmApr 11

@Hex I got mine to go for a walk to map out the reach of our Lora gateways 😁

The TTN Mapper app showed the result of our portable chirper and the streets we walked live.

Show threadhexApr 11
@bekopharm oh! A radio walk would be fun. It might be interesting to do some old school war ~drive~biking and make maps.