Radio

Rainbow Council to Offer Ham Radio License Class to Boy Scouts in Fall 2016

by Brian McDaniel · Published May 5, 2016 · Updated July 23, 2016

Beginning in August 2016, Rainbow Council BSA will sponsor a Technician Class amateur radio license course. Besides to earning an FCC license, Boy Scouts will complete the Radio and Electronics merit badges.

Scouts also will take part in the largest Scouting event in the world, Jamboree on the Air.

What is Ham Radio?

For more than a century, experimenters have developed the technology we use to keep in touch with one another. With an amateur radio license, you can use a radio to communicate with people all over the world using computers, satellites, and even equipment you build yourself.

What You Will Achieve

At the least, you will earn two merit badges once you complete the course.

Radio Merit Badge

You use radio in some way every day. You might listen to satellite radio in the car, use WiFi, or exchange text messages or Instagram photos through your cell phone. The Radio Merit Badge is an introduction to electronic communication and a cornerstone of the amateur radio service.

Electronics Merit Badge

From computers in your car to your cell phone, the modern world runs on electronic devices. What is electronics? Electronics is the science that controls the behavior of electrons so that some type of useful function is performed. For the Electronics Merit Badge, you will learn how to read an electronic schematic, solder, and how to solve simple problems involving current and voltage.

At the end of the course, you will take a 35-question exam for your amateur radio operator’s license. You must get 26 answers correct to pass (74%). We’ll even let you take it again, if you get nervous and blow it the first time.

What to Expect

This program is like a science class. Over 8 weeks, you will use radio equipment to talk with people all over the world. You will learn how to solder electronic components. You will learn to draw a schematic diagram.

You also will gain the knowledge to pass the U.S. Technician Class Amateur Radio License. But don’t let that worry you. Young people have passed this exam when they were as young as 10 years old.

We set this course up not interfere with your school work so you have time to study.

We want you to succeed.

Jamboree on the Air

On the same day you take your license exam, you will take part in the largest Scouting event in the world; Jamboree on the Air! World-wide, more than 1-million Scouts take to the air to meet each other using amateur radio.

Here in Rainbow Council, Scouts have spoken with other Scouts as far away as Russia, Germany, and Brazil. They’ve spoken to sailors on U.S. Navy Warships. And best of all, you do not need a license to take part (so don’t let the exam worry you further).

Register Online Now

This program will be taught by the Rainbow Council’s Radio Scouting Committee. Participation is limited to 20 Scouts, Ventures, Varsity or Sea Scouts who are 14 and at least First Class (or equivalent).

This is an 8-week course, meeting on Saturday mornings. The fee covers class study guide, examination fee, Amateur Radio Operator patch, and Jamboree on the Air patch.

The first class is August 20, 2016 at Fountaindale Public Library in Bolingbrook.