Amateur Radio woos kids at HMO Science Day

Fox hunting and other amateur radio related activities wooed South African kids at the recent HMO Science Advancement days.

John and Lynn Willescroft organized various activities.
John reports that the 450 MHz licence-free foxhunt receivers and transmitters worked very well with no reflection problems and the receivers were very good in demonstrating the principle of the Yagi antenna.

John told South African Radio League (SARL) News
"We first assembled the folded dipole and showed the pattern against a transmitter, we then added each element in turn and demonstrated how the antenna pattern changed. It made clear and precise patterns for each element added. The kids commented that they had never seen it work before.

In a letter the Managing Director of the HMO, Dr Sandile Malinga, wrote "On behalf of the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory (HMO) and the National Research Foundation (NRF), I would like to express our sincerely gratitude and heartfelt appreciation to you for visiting the HMO and running the fox hunting activity. The event was enjoyed by all and went a long way in showing the young ones that science can be fun. My daughter enjoyed it greatly; she was still talking about how enjoyable the hunt was at home at night.

"It is things like these that make a lasting and positive impression in these young minds and advance science for our future."

Thanks to John and Lynn for flying the flag high.

Find out more about Amateur Radio in South Africa
The South African Radio League