Comm Training Cadets

taylor914 · November 10, 2015, 01:47:27 AM

I'm working on getting our cadets some more comm training than just the basic push this button, turn this knob type thing. I created a power point based on some of the old BCUT training where we discussed frequencies, modes, and repeaters. I'd like to do some other stuff to give them a better understanding of comms. Suggestions?

Lord of the North · November 10, 2015, 02:24:09 AM

Suggest you explore the ICUT material available in LMS

sarmed1 · November 10, 2015, 02:59:56 AM

Practical...... and not just sit in a circle and play radio. Actually have them do check ins on a net, or at least practice running a net on ISR's. Run mix of written, radio and phone messages: such as simulate a mission base where they are monitoring checks ins, status's and message relay to ops personnel are just a couple ideas that come to mind. I am sure there are others.

mk

helper · November 10, 2015, 04:19:23 AM

In addition to the above, give hands on with both the portables and base/mobile. I noticed that often cadets focus on the portables and are not comfortable with a base/mobile. Also, include using a comm log and how to enter it into WMIRS.

LTC Don · November 10, 2015, 03:16:38 PM

A great training exercise that covers many comm elements is to work a Young Eagles event and plan a comm exercise around it. Some other type of flying event would work too, or even just a busy day at an airport.

1. Set a remote station a reasonable, safe distance from the runway. Binoculars or spotting scope a must. Remote station records the takeoff and landing times of the aircraft along with the tail number. Remote station passes the times and tail numbers to the main receiving station somewhere else on the airport.

2. Main receiving station receives traffic from the remote station. Main receiving station, on a different radio/channel, passes the traffic to another station offsite (recommended to be through a repeater, but certainly not required).

3. Offsite station receiving traffic from the main receiving station transcribes the traffic into an email, then emails the traffic to someone designated to receive it. The email message is checked against the ICS radio log(s) for accuracy. This component "closes the loop" so everyone can see the process and review for improvement.

If it's an all day event, hourly weather reports can be added in for complexity.

Setting up a good comm exercise takes a little bit of creativity, but it's not rocket science. Have fun with it.

JC004 · November 10, 2015, 04:54:54 PM

We'll be doing a couple UDF practice missions during meetings - just as if we were called to a mission during a meeting. The plan is to have some people at mission base practicing MRO/CUL/MSA.

C/SrA Ravlin · November 10, 2015, 05:28:14 PM

what about a Wing or Region comm-ex? I know that I love comm-ex and that they are not only great training but a fun way for cadets to get out and have a little fun while working...

Holding Pattern · November 10, 2015, 05:57:42 PM

Quote from: C/ARMN Ravlin on November 10, 2015, 05:28:14 PM
what about a Wing or Region comm-ex? I know that I love comm-ex and that they are not only great training but a fun way for cadets to get out and have a little fun while working...

It wasn't until my first commex that I learned how to use the buttons on the front of my radio, even though I sat through 3 powerpoint presentations on using the radio beforehand.

kirbahashi · November 10, 2015, 06:22:16 PM

First off, OUTSTANDING! I think we need to do more of this. There are some great ideas being fielded here. Getting more into the weeds is a great idea. I would suggest learning more about the antenna. It is crazy to think of what you lose in using a rubber ducky. Try building an antenna even if you have one (if the squadron can fund it). They are easy and incredibly cheap. I'd suggest either a 2m Vertical or a BNC Brass Whip. GET PERMISSION FIRST IF YOU ARE GOING TO USE CORPORATE ASSETS!!! Even if you have one, finding out why an antenna has to be of a certain length to do it's job helps you understand it better.

If you don't have some comm gray beards in your area, contact your local amateur radio club. Getting your Technician License will also help you learn more about communications. I just took a two day class and plan on taking the test (all really easy to do), and I learned more about antennas, propagation, and frequencies, than I have in the 25 years of using VHF radios. And just because you get your license it does not mean you need to go out and spend crazy money... The cost of the class was free, though I had to pay $25 for the current book. I am also taking the test for free. While I am getting a radio I won't be able to use in CAP, it is dirt cheap and it is an entry into that field.

The CommEX is a good idea. Constant Watch is coming up in April/May. But you will want to be more skilled. Map out the local repeaters in your area. Test the capabilities of your radios and that way you know what your equipment CAN do. Also, check with the Director of Comms for your wing. Find out when your wing holds check-ins. Get on those in both the VHF and HF if you can.

Like I said... Great idea. Get them understanding more than just the PTT will help them greatly!

taylor914 · November 10, 2015, 10:17:24 PM

All of you have some great ideas.

Quote from: kirbahashi on November 10, 2015, 06:22:16 PM

If you don't have some comm gray beards in your area, contact your local amateur radio club. Getting your Technician License will also help you learn more about communications. I just took a two day class and plan on taking the test (all really easy to do), and I learned more about antennas, propagation, and frequencies, than I have in the 25 years of using VHF radios. And just because you get your license it does not mean you need to go out and spend crazy money... The cost of the class was free, though I had to pay $25 for the current book. I am also taking the test for free. While I am getting a radio I won't be able to use in CAP, it is dirt cheap and it is an entry into that field.

I've had my tech license since I was 10 (26 now). So that has definitely given me an understanding that I wouldn't have otherwise had. Building an antenna also sounds like a terrific activity to do with the cadets.

Quote from: C/ARMN Ravlin on November 10, 2015, 05:28:14 PM
what about a Wing or Region comm-ex? I know that I love comm-ex and that they are not only great training but a fun way for cadets to get out and have a little fun while working...

We currently don't have any wing comm-ex. We do have occasional Sar-ex and I've tried to get some of the cadets more into comms with that, but they're always raring to go on the ground team missions when we do those. So I struggle with finding ways to get them into comms. I'm afraid I don't have the knowledge to plan anything large scale like a comm-ex on my own.

Thanks for the input everyone! Keep 'em coming if you think of any more.

arajca · November 10, 2015, 10:24:28 PM

Plan and set up a remote radio operating location, like you're supporting a disaster. Tie it in with a SAREX or get with a couple other units to do a few of them.

Plan a unit or couple unit comm-ex. Nothing says a comm-ex has to be a wing-wide affair.

taylor914 · November 10, 2015, 10:28:55 PM

What would you guys think about having the cadets build their own foxhole radio? I know it's not exactly a CAP thing, but it could 1. be a good history lesson and 2. show how simple receivers can be.

SarDragon · November 10, 2015, 10:51:16 PM

Quote from: taylor914 on November 10, 2015, 10:28:55 PM
What would you guys think about having the cadets build their own foxhole radio? I know it's not exactly a CAP thing, but it could 1. be a good history lesson and 2. show how simple receivers can be.

That might be a fun thing, but the end product might not be very functional in the grand CAP scheme.

JC004 · November 11, 2015, 12:58:46 AM

An electronics kit (I think Arduino) is going to be part of the new STEM kits...you could build an Arduino radio as a STEM project. I was considering maybe having them build some smart home devices they could take home and use.

C/SrA Ravlin · November 11, 2015, 05:28:27 PM

Talk to your Wing DC about how to plan a comm-ex. They are much easier than you think to plan. Really the basics are give goals to accomplish(i.e. work on logging, talking, planning, MRO quals, etc...) and plan an area to do it... Find a really high area in your state and get up there to contact other participating stations.... Please PM me if you have more questions.

gcreager · January 22, 2016, 07:41:07 PM

All of our OPEX's are now distributed affairs, with several bases throughout the Wing. All the bases have a requirement for HF and VHF capabilities. for our next one, I will complete one SM's MRO training (last exercise) and start several more on that journey, as well as introducing the cadets to the skillset. Generally, I like to get the cadets comfortable with operations before brancing into some of the more interesting things (how to set up an antenna, how to build an antenna, etc), but if they're there and willing to help, and will follow direction, I'll show them how things go. As the cadets get more experience, I try to hover less, and let the more experienced cadets lead a bit more... as I start nudging them toward CUL.

ALORD · January 23, 2016, 12:44:49 AM

You can take free Amateur practice tests online here: http://www.eham.net/exams/ These tests consist of the ACTUAL questions and Answers, and there have been Kindergartner's who passed the Tech test after practicing the multiple-guess, 35 question test. You can buy the book for the theory, but the license itself is pretty much a walk in the park, Questions are drawn from several banks, and it is not uncommon to see one with all easy answers, like " When is it okay to use profanity on the radio?" On the other hand, you might draw a test with questions like, " What are the territorial limits of ITU Region 3?" Most people can memorize enough of the info from running through the practice test until they can consistently break 80% test scores. Now with No-Code Tests, you pay one fee and you can keep taking tests until you pass them all or fail one, and making the leap to General Class is very doable. The Extra Class test is a bit rougher, but if you can pass it, you can probably pass the GROL (FCC Commerical License) which actually qualifies you for some types of employment!

73 DE AF6OF ( Plus GROL + RADAR)

Garibaldi · January 23, 2016, 02:55:55 AM

Quote from: ALORD on January 23, 2016, 12:44:49 AM
You can take free Amateur practice tests online here: http://www.eham.net/exams/ These tests consist of the ACTUAL questions and Answers, and there have been Kindergartner's who passed the Tech test after practicing the multiple-guess, 35 question test. You can buy the book for the theory, but the license itself is pretty much a walk in the park, Questions are drawn from several banks, and it is not uncommon to see one with all easy answers, like " When is it okay to use profanity on the radio?" On the other hand, you might draw a test with questions like, " What are the territorial limits of ITU Region 3?" Most people can memorize enough of the info from running through the practice test until they can consistently break 80% test scores. Now with No-Code Tests, you pay one fee and you can keep taking tests until you pass them all or fail one, and making the leap to General Class is very doable. The Extra Class test is a bit rougher, but if you can pass it, you can probably pass the GROL (FCC Commerical License) which actually qualifies you for some types of employment!

73 DE AF6OF ( Plus GROL + RADAR)

My dad finally got his General, and my sister and I WERE going to try for it, but...it was a lot of theory and stuff that went wayyyyy over my head. Sticking with Tech for a while.

ALORD · January 23, 2016, 03:23:30 PM

As the tests step up, the number of questions from the available "pools" of questions and answers grows. Much of the General Class test material will look very familiar if you have taken the practice tests for Tech, in fact, enough where with a little testing strategy, you might be able to pass the General Class test by making an educated guess on answers you are uncertain about. There are plenty of "Throw away" questions in every bank of test questions. If you are a Tech, I suggest you try the eham.com online practice tests, and I will bet that you will do better on it than you might think. These are the real tests and answers; the only thing different about these is the answers will not be in the same order. Once you start to associate keywords in the answers to the test questions, you will be amazed at how easy it is for a Tech to transition to General. I have nothing against actually learning the material ( I have an MSEE earned after I passed the Tech and General tests) I passed the Tech and General and missed passing the Extra on my first test sitting by six questions after studying and yellow highlighting the test book, and taking the online test until I could answer 100% of the questions. At the time, General still had the code requirement (Which many older hams still mourn) so I had a year to take the code test. In the meantime, they dropped the code requirement completely, so jumping to extra just meant taking the online practice tests until I memorized enough questions and answers to pass every time. I got 100% correct answers on my Extra Class license, and at least 90% of the questions on that test have absolutely no relevance to what I do as a Ham ( I manufacture the Micro-Trak APRS product line for Byonics.com, so I pretty much live, work, and play in the VHF digital world) One of our squadron members was an old-time Elemer, and we bought a VX-150 handheld to give to the first Cadet who passed his Tech license test after sitting through the License classes. Virtually every Cadet dropped out of the Class from boredom, and no one claimed their free radio! If you can jump-start them into the Tech license in much the same way they pass other Cadet tests, you are more likely to keep them involved in radio and Com's in general.

N6RVT · January 24, 2016, 10:14:38 AM

Quote from: Garibaldi on January 23, 2016, 02:55:55 AM
My dad finally got his General, and my sister and I WERE going to try for it, but...it was a lot of theory and stuff that went wayyyyy over my head. Sticking with Tech for a while.

I'm actually a "Tech +" as there was a code requirement when I got it. Turned out to be all I ever needed.