Youth Radio Orienteering

[Charles Scharlau]

The following is a summary of youth Radio Orienteering camps that Nadia and I organized in recent weeks. We hope that some of the information will be helpful to others wanting to introduce the sport to young people.

Nadia recently finished presenting two 3-day summer Radio Orienteering classes through our town's Summer Camp program for youth 11 to 15 years of age. The camps were held at a 300-acre city park that featured a lake, baseball fields, community buildings, and a good number of trails and wooded areas. An excellent orienteering map of the park was available. Note: the campers were not introduced to maps until late on the 2nd day of camp - this was by design, to ensure that each camper learned to rely first and foremost on their receiver for navigation.

We had 12 "campers" in our first session and 8 in our second session - one enjoyed the first session so much that he signed up for the second one too! Boys outnumbered girls by about 3:1. The town had restrictions on the duration of the camps, so although a 3-day format was not our first choice, it worked out pretty well. The daily classes lasted from 9 AM to noon on three consecutive days, for a total of nine hours of instruction per session. Radio orienteering on the 80m band was taught. Transmitting equipment was FlexFox transmitters running 1.5W to 3W into a 2-meter tall tuned vertical dipole antenna. Courses were no longer than 2.5 km total length (about the length of a sprint course) with constantly-transmitting foxes each on its own dedicated frequency. Campers were each provided with their own (loaner) R3500D radio receiver and over-the-ears headphones. 

We handed out fliers to all of the parents as they picked up their campers on the last day. The fliers contained information about upcoming beginner Radio Orienteering classes that Nadia is offering through Backwoods Orienteering Klub of Raleigh. One of the star campers (the one who signed up for both sessions) has already committed to taking part in this weekend's BOK event at Umstead State Park. Two other campers expressed interest in getting their Amateur Radio Technician licenses.

Course Schedule

Day 1

Five foxes and the finish beacon were placed in the woods to create a simple 1.5 km course. A numbered flag was placed on the ground near each fox. The finish beacon was placed near the shelter with the finish flag hung prominently a few feet above the ground. The finish beacon location was never changed during the three days of classes, and the beacon ran continuously each day to help ensure that campers would always be able to navigate back to the shelter.

1. Name tags, receivers, and headphones were distributed to each camper as they arrived.

2. Introduction to Radio Orienteering: we played the Radio Orienteering movie on a laptop with the campers gathered around. Q&A followed.

3. Introduction to the receiver - a receiver connected to an amplified speaker was used to demonstrate receiver basics:

   o Turning on the receiver

   o Volume control

   o Tuning the frequency setting

   o Finding the fox frequencies and recognizing the fox patterns (We had five foxes + homing beacon)

   o Determining the null directions

   o Determining which null direction is toward the fox

   o Q&A

4. Initial practice: 

   o As a group we walked to the start location (a picnic bench) with everyone carrying their own receiver, including the instructors 

   o At the start, the group hunt began: an instructor demonstrated how to determine the direction to the first fox. Everyone else attempted to get the same results with their receivers

   o Once everyone was in agreement on the direction to head, the group walked together to the first fox, then to each of the remaining foxes, and finally to the finish beacon

5. Rest, snack, and Q&A time back at the shelter

6. Blind Radio Orienteering

   o Everyone got their own blindfold/sleep mask to use

   o As a group we headed to a flat, smooth, area - we used a baseball field for this exercise

   o One-at-a-time each camper was blindfolded and used their receiver to locate two foxes placed in the outfield. An instructor turned them around in a random direction, then followed by their side offering encouragement and advice as they navigated to each fox using only their receiver.

7. Receivers and headphones were collected from all campers prior to their leaving for home

Day 2

Five foxes and the finish beacon were placed in the woods to create a simple 2.0 km course. A numbered flag was placed on the ground near each fox, with numbered paper tear-off tags attached to the flag.

1. Name tags, receivers, and headphones were distributed to each camper as they arrived.

2. Receiver review - a receiver connected to an amplified speaker was used to demonstrate all the receiver basics.

3. Second practice:

   o As a group we walked to the start location (a picnic bench) with everyone carrying their own receiver (no maps)

   o Campers were divided into 2-person groups. 

   o From the start, a quick practice was held in which everyone radio navigated as a group to the nearest fox, tore off a numbered tag, and then returned to the start.

   o Each two-person group was then assigned different foxes to find, with instructions to bring back a paper tag to prove their success. And then off they went. 

   o After finding a fox, a group would return to the start, present the tag, and would then be assigned a different fox to find. (We mixed them up to avoid having two groups searching for the same fox.)

   o The exercise continued until all groups had found all the foxes.

4. Rest, snack, and Q&A time back at the shelter

5. Map and compass Introduction

   o Every individual was given their own (laminated) orienteering map of the park

   o Each of the various map symbols, directions, elevations, scale, and orienting the map using a compass were discussed

   o Campers were quizzed and asked to identify various map locations and identifying symbols

   o Campers went as one or two groups with an instructor on a 30-45 minute walk, taking their maps

   o During the walk, campers were asked to identify their current location, and trails and features around them at various locations

6. Receivers and headphones were collected from all campers prior to their leaving for home

Day 3

Five foxes and the finish beacon were placed in the woods to create a simple 2.5 km course. A numbered flag was placed on the ground near each fox, with numbered paper tear-off tags attached to the flag.

1. Name tags, receivers, and headphones were distributed to each camper as they arrived.

2. Receiver review - a receiver connected to an amplified speaker was used to demonstrate all the receiver basics.

3. Relay competition:

   o As a group we walked to the start location (a picnic bench) with everyone carrying their own receiver (no maps)

   o Campers were divided into two or three teams consisting of two of the 2-person groups that were established on Day 2.

   o The relay competition was conducted as follows: 

       One group from each team was assigned a different fox to find, with instructions to bring back a paper tag to prove they had found it.

       When the first group returned with a tag, the next group on their team would be sent out to find a different fox.

       The relay competition continued until time expired, or until all the groups on all the teams had found all the foxes.

       The winning team was the one that collected the most tags (up to 10) with ties determined by the team with the shortest total time. The competition ran for 90 minutes but most teams found all the foxes in less time.

4. Rest, snack, and Q&A time back at the shelter

5. Award ceremony: medals were awarded to each individual on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams (everyone got a medal)

6. Maps were handed out, and everyone was asked to indicate where each of the fox transmitters was located on the map!

7. Receivers and headphones were collected from all campers prior to their leaving for home

Observations

o Three hours was just about right for a class session - any longer and the campers would get too tired; much shorter and there wouldn't have been time for the students to practice their new skills

o To maximize engagement it is essential for everyone to be assigned their own receiver, headphones, compass, and map. 

o Some campers caught on to using the receiver quickly and became very adept at finding foxes, others struggled. Assigning a "buddy" to work with helped ensure that each group had at least one capable hunter.

o In the first relay competition the teams finished faster than we had anticipated (in under an hour), so in the next session we made the course more difficult. Still, one team managed to find all the foxes twice in just a little over an hour.

o Physical fitness (or lack thereof) proved to be an issue for some campers. There should be a plan in case a group member elects to bow out of the competition. We substituted an instructor for a fatigued camper in the competition.

o Have a first-aid kit handy in case of scratches, bug bites, or blisters.

o Having a cooler filled with icy water, juice, and Gatorade proved helpful during the muggy warm July North Carolina mornings

o Inspect all the receivers, headphones, and maps at the end of each day. We had several instances of repairs being needed.

o The inexpensive R3500D receiver proved to be very adequate for these classes. The receivers were dropped numerous times, but there were no failures, just a couple of instances where the telescoping antenna tip was lost and needed to be replaced with a soldered-on washer. One headphone plug failed and needed to be replaced. The lack of receiver sensitivity was made up for by using greater transmitter power. The R3500D's sense antenna sometimes gives a vague direction indication, but generally, the campers got reliable results when resolving directional ambiguity with the sense button.

o Holding these classes through our town's Summer Camp program meant that the town handled most of the advertising, which worked out well since the summer program is popular amongst parents of youth in this age group. Being sponsored by the town also helped lend legitimacy to the classes.

[Vadim Afonkin]

Hi Charles, sounds like you and Nadia put together a great program!

Congrats!

Vadim

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[magnet...@comcast.net]

Charles,

 

Well thought out and executed!   This is a course syllabus to be used and emulated for anyone trying to teach ARDF!  I am VERY impressed by your thoroughness and process.

 

Brian

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[Charles Scharlau]

All the good ideas came from Nadia. She has so much experience in this sport that I just sit back and let her do all the planning. But both Nadia and I had a great time with the kids.

-Charles