 |
Scout Radio & Electronics Service Unit |
Minutes - July Monthly Meeting
Tuesday 12th July 2022, 7.30pm
BATCave, Legana Street, Mount Waverley
Chair: Luke Byrnes
Minutes: Andy King
Meeting Opened: 7.41pm
Attendees
Andy King, Luke Byrnes, Matt Cengia, Allison Burdon, Alan Kanowitz, Glenn Perry, Kent Cochran, Murray Taylor, Neil Wilson
Online: Anders Hamilton, Gemma Nash, David Timms, Quintin Coutinho, Philip Adams, Mark Perkins, Bryan Ackerly, Daniel Gutsell, Karl Donald
Apologies
None received.
Absentees
Alan Stratford, Alberto Scelsi, Alister Blaney, Andrew Canet, Ash Clark, Ben Hodder, Franc Rojo, Greg Lipschitz, Hayden McManus, Jenny Adams, Jodie Bedford, Juliet Montague, Kevin Bedford, Kieran McGuinness, Peter Chaplin, Peter Fraser, Peter Robinson, Peter Watkins
Action Items Summary
| Expected Delivery |
Reference | Description | Lead | Assist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2022 | Sep 21 > Program Planning | Revisit 1st Upwey Scout Unit Activity Request | Kevin | |
| Mar 2022 | Feb 22 > Program Planning | 4th Brunswick Scouts Activity Request: Follow up for Term 3 night | Andy | |
| Apr 2022 | Sep 21 > Program Planning | Moreland Darebin District Joeys Day: Planning | Andy | |
| May 2022 | Apr 22 > Program Planning | 1st Alphington: Follow up for Term 3 session, offer RadioActiv8 | Luke | |
| May 2022 | Apr 22 > Program Planning | 1st Glen Iris: Follow up for Term 3 session, offer RadioActiv8 | Luke | |
| May 2022 | Mar 22 > Program Planning | Moreland Darebin District Joeys Day: Approach STEM YC for assistance with delivering activities | Andy | |
| May 2022 | Mar 22 > Program Planning | Knox District Joeys Day: Confirm |
Alli | Andy |
| June 2022 | Mar 22 > Additional Business | Update on Gillwell Tower situation, including placement of plaque | Greg | |
| June 2022 | Mar 22 > Additional Business | Ascertain current Gilwell Patrol Activity Camp situation | Greg | |
| June 2022 | Mar 22 > Program Planning | Develop self-contained SSTV activity kit | Andy | |
| July 2022 | Oct 21 > Additional Business | Explore First Aid training opportunities for team | Luke | |
| July 2022 | Mar 22 > Program Planning | 6th Box Hill: Ascertain further details regarding activity request, including narrowing down possible date | Daniel |
Meeting Items
Administration
Chair's Comments
- Star Trek: Survival
- The first statewide STEM camp, and it was a huge success. We've received nothing but overwhelmingly positive comments and appreciation for the range and diversity of activities.
- Thank you to everyone who assisted in any way to make it the huge success it was. It was a big team effort.
- Matt Cengia
- Andy King
- Murray Taylor
- Karl Donald
- Kent Cochran
- Matty McKernan
- Daniel Gutsell
- Bryan Ackerly
- Outstanding VicRovers trailer costs to be discussed with Pete Wotherspoon in the next fortnight.
- Welcome to Glenn Perry and Alan Kanowitz joining us in person this month.
Previous Minutes
It was moved by Matt Cengia and Murray Taylor that the minutes of the SRESU meeting held Tuesday 21st June 2022 be adopted. Carried unanimously.
Finance
| Account | Balance on Tuesday 12 July 2022 |
|---|---|
| STEM - State Radio (Bendigo Bank) | $7,134.10 |
| Cheque Account (ANZ) | $0.00 |
| Savings Account (ANZ) | $0.04 |
| Total | $7,134.14 |
- There is still a list of outstanding invoices (see Appendix 1) but once these are paid we will have a healthy balance.
- Outstanding invoices to Mafeking will be followed up after Mafeking committee changes occur in the coming weeks.
- We are looking into constructing some kits of DMR radios in Pelican case kits that can be made available for activity nights and JOTA use.
- Finances for Star Trek: Survival are still being finalised: there may be some additional cashflow back to our team, but either way additional radio assets are available as a result of purchases for this camp.
- Kent noted that callsign renewals are coming due within the next few months and will be in the order of $2000.
- Further details are included in the finance report attached as Appendix 1.
Work Health & Safety (WHS)
- Please ensure you remain on top of eLearning modules including WHS as they become due.
- First Aid Course arrangements for the team to be made over coming months.
- Access to powerpoints, doorways, etc. at the BATC.
- Luke is following this up with the BATC Leader in Charge.
Program Review
Star Trek: Survival Camp - Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd July - Mafeking Rover Park
| Event | Star Trek: Survival |
|---|---|
| Section | Joeys Cubs Scouts Venturers Rovers |
| Date | Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd July |
| Location | Mafeking Rover Park |
| Details | STEM camp open for all sections (Joeys, Cubs for Saturday visit, other sections camping) |
- Thank you to the team members who assisted in any way with delivering this major STEM camp, the first all-sections statewide camp, and the most widespread camp to take place at Mafeking Rover Park.
- Murray noted that communication before the event could be more broad - covering all aspects of the camp not just one's own activity area.
- Glenn was in catering for the weekend and noted that this went well, but feedback from youth members noted the bottleneck checking in for next activities.
- There is a challenge when starting a session causing this bottleneck. We have tools and procedures in place to improve this.
- Experienced team but the challenge with this event is that it is a completely different model - we are not using a traditional rotational activity model.
- Glenn also noted that there was a long queue to sign in to the site. Briefing was done individually after checkin and this was time consuming. Doing a briefing in groups would speed things up.
- Kent noted a gap in the registration system around a program support leader only attending for a day, there was no option for this.
- Kent also noted some confusion around activity times - unsure when to move a group on; used to having a list of times.
- Activity Captain briefing was held Friday night but this message may not have filtered through to all staff.
- We had Venturers and a patrol of Scouts visit Starfleet Command - equivalent of VK3SAA HQ at ScoutHike - and operate the room for part of the weekend.
- The dispatch system worked - Murray noted that "we had a surge of 5 at one point when Andy asked if we had capacity to make a gap and we could, so we shuffled things slightly."
- Murray had a chat to a few leaders during the weekend who are interested in pursuing radio further.
- The need for a foundation course in the near future was identified.
- Gemma noted that the UHF radios were a huge success. Wrapping it into the ticket price meant everyone walked away with a radio. We got a radio into the hand of every kid, it wasn't dominated by just the stronger kids. It was amazing to see the increase in radio competency in Starfleet Command over the weekend.
- Karl: "Having spoken to a number of the Scouts, they really enjoyed being able to move around under their own steam... had a few mention it was better than the way VicJam worked."
- We have since discoveed that it is possible to disable the bell sound on the small UHF radios.
- Thank you also to Joey (Venturer) who assisted Murray and Karl at Red Shirt Rescue.
- Thank you also to Hurstbridge Venturers Will and Callum who ran a dedicated RadioActiv8 activity base. They adapted from digital to a paper based dispatch system when the technology dropped out on them.
- Glenn: "good work with getting radios in the hands of all attendees."
Program Planning
Program Activities - Dates Confirmed
| Formation | Knox District Joey Day |
|---|---|
| Section | Joeys |
| Date | Sunday 31st July, 10am to 3pm |
| Location | Heany Park |
| Lead | Allison |
| Assist | Andy, Murray, Bryan, Philip |
| Contact | Louise Robertson |
| Overview | District activities day for approx. 60 Joeys |
- Approx. 60 Joeys in rotational groups of 10.
- Approx. 20 Leaders/Adult Helpers but looking for ~5 team members to lead bases
- Six bases of 25 minutes each. Two of these are 'down time activities'
- STEM YC can provide an activity and possibly some team members to assist. Activity is bottle rockets so will be easy to have other leaders/adult helpers run this base if required.
- Budget will be discussed further offline.
+ Fox Hunting (Murray and Bryan)
+ 'Pick up the poo' - radio and teamwork
+ Conductive Playdough
+ Bottle Rockets (STEM YC)
+ Downtime Activities x2
- Planning is still underway. Allison and Andy are working on documentation requested by Louise.
- Looking for an additional indoor activity.
- Planning for an online meeting the week before with activity details ready to go to onboard leaders and parent helpers as far as possible.
- Please message Allison directly if you're able to assist.
Program Activities - Dates/Details TBC
Original requests and full activity details are in Appendix 2 as required. Activities to be revisited or followed up are in Appendix 3.
| Formation | Moreland Darebin District Joeys Day/1st Reservoir |
|---|---|
| Section | Joeys Cubs |
| Date | |
| Location | |
| Lead | |
| Assist | Andy, Alli, Luke, Kevin, Neil |
| Contact | Alison (District Leader) |
| Overview | Activity day for 12 Joey Units in Moreland Darebin District. |
- Current plan is to review the Knox District Joeys Day to evaluate how we approach this request.
- Andy will reach out to see if there are any preferred dates.
- Once a date is set Andy will liaise with the STEM Youth Council.
| Formation | 1st Glen Iris |
|---|---|
| Section | Scouts |
| Date | Wednesday evenings |
| Location | |
| Lead | Luke |
| Assist | Murray? |
| Contact | Mike Lukins |
| Overview | 50 scouts. "What do you offer that would be interesting / fun for a scout troop such as ours?" |
- Luke will follow up for Term 3 session and offer RadioActiv8.
- Luke, Daniel, and Murray will talk offline.
| Formation | Bayside District Cubs |
|---|---|
| Section | Cubs |
| Date | TBC, morning/afternoon weekend activity |
| Location | |
| Lead | |
| Assist | Kent (PA equipment) |
| Contact | Karl Donald |
| Overview | See Appendix 2 |
- No further planning required by our team at this stage.
- Looking more like occurring during Term 1, 2023
| Formation | 4th Brunswick Scouts |
|---|---|
| Section | Scouts |
| Date | Monday evenings, 7pm - 9pm |
| Location | |
| Lead | |
| Assist | |
| Contact | Kim Anderson |
| Overview | 30 - 40 scouts. "We'd love to run a fox hunting night or electronics kit building night." |
- Luke/Andy will contact Kim to see if they would be interested in us providing electronics kits for the Unit to run a night.
- Possibly include other radio/electronics activity sheets.
| Formation | 1st Wheelers Hill Scouts |
|---|---|
| Section | Scouts |
| Date | |
| Location | |
| Lead | |
| Assist | |
| Contact | Brooke Whiteside |
| Overview | Looking for "a few radio activities" on a Saturday. "How long do these activities take?" |
- Luke will contact.
| Formation | 6th Box Hill |
|---|---|
| Section | Scouts |
| Date | |
| Location | |
| Lead | Daniel |
| Assist | |
| Contact | Esta Wiese |
| Overview | "I was wondering if you're free any Saturday afternoon between 3-5pm during this term (except 14/5, 21/6,28/6) or next term (except Aug) to run a session... It would be great to follow up from last year's zoom session! I have 8 scouts" |
- Request received via Daniel. Aiming for a Term 3 session.
| Formation | 1st Nunawading |
|---|---|
| Section | Scouts |
| Date | Thursday 11th August |
| Location | |
| Lead | Daniel |
| Assist | |
| Contact | Matilda (Scout) |
| Overview | Request for fox hunting night |
- Request received via Daniel.
- Andy will liaise with Murray and Daniel regarding fox hunting gear logistics.
| Formation | 1st Alfredton |
|---|---|
| Section | Scouts |
| Date | Term 4? |
| Location | Ballarat District |
| Lead | TBA |
| Assist | |
| Contact | Sarah Brackenridge, AGL/SL |
| Overview | Request for Radio Team visit to a Scout night, details to follow |
- Luke is in contact at the moment, details to come.
- Could possibly involve Ballarat Amateur Radio Group building upon contact from them late-last year.
- Aim for an activity pre-JOTA to build relationship in the lead up to the event.
Amateur Events
- Upcoming:
- Remembrance Day (Saturday 13th/Sunday 14th August 2022)
- Karl is considering doing something at 1st Sandringham and may invite other groups if there is interest building upon success of John Moyle Memorial Field Day.
- Karl and team came 11th in the 6 hour QRP HF phone category with 70 points, which the Cub/Scouts were amazed at.
- Philip is hoping to participate in RD too.
- International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend (Saturday 20th/Sunday 21st August 2022)
- Neil will be at Apollo Bay with MERC.
- ALARA Contest (Saturday 27th August 2022)
- Would be good to get some youth involved and on the air.
- Gemma is hoping to be at Mafeking for ALARA.
- Remembrance Day (Saturday 13th/Sunday 14th August 2022)
Training Courses
- Marine SROCP Course on Sat 9/Sun 10 July 2022 at GSWAC, Sandringham cancelled due to low numbers.
- Marine SROCP Course scheduled for Sun 7 August 2022 will run. Course code: 106754
- 7 people.
- Suggested dates:
- Sat 27 – Sun 28 August – AOCP(F) Course including ALARA Contest on Saturday Evening
- Aiming for a residential course at Pax Hill.
- Seeing if we can run this at Ballarat to link in with previous activity request from 1st Alfredton.
- Sat 10 September – SROCP at GSWAC, Sandringham
- Sat 27 – Sun 28 August – AOCP(F) Course including ALARA Contest on Saturday Evening
Program Support
- Cuboree 2023 - Murray Taylor
- Looking for some form of radio activity for 30 min sessions with 3 sessions each evening for 4 evenings.
- Cubs in Patrols of up to 10 with leader would book to complete the activity.
- Murray has requested the Storm Hut.
- Maree Pascoe (VK3FMJO) would be good to have on board, Murray will talk to Maree.
- Mallee Mud Camp (Friday 4th - Sunday 6th November)
- The State Leadership Team has asked if we would be able to provide support for a STEM activity at MMC at the end of this year, with some financial support to assist delivery of program available if required. EOI requested.
- We will reach out to Jason Govan.
- Glenn may be able to assist.
- Luke is not looking to lead but willing to assist.
- This camp is Rover-run for Scout section.
- Fox hunting gear available.
- VKS737 Renewal
- Kent would appreciate the renewal being processed ASAP, required by the start of August.
- Philip can assist Kent with programming the Barrett 950 radio.
Support Development
ScoutHike Collaboration
No progress on this at this stage.
New Licencee 'Welcome pack'
- Lead: Neil
- This would be a beneficial asset for the multitude of courses looking to be completed in the later half of 2022. If anyone has any ideas or resources please get in touch with Neil.
- Daniel has some useful assets that can support this.
- Neil will look into this and update back in August.
Some subsequent discussion was held around offering a handheld radio for purchase as part of foundation courses.
- Mafeking Amateur Radio Group have included a Baofeng in a package with the course and this has been popular as a good entry point.
- This meant that attendees walked away from the course with a radio they could use to listen straight away, and they were ready to transmit from day one of receiving their license.
- "It took the intimidating process of choosing a radio out of the picture and was a recommended option by trusted amateur operators."
- "It also took the intimidation of 'don't break my expensive new toy' away. Since it was so cheap, didn't matter."
- Some discussion was also held on Baofengs as an entry point radio versus TYT DMR radios. It was decided that these are possibly overcomplicating the entry level radio but we could offer the TYT as a next step with a recommended codeplug made available through the RadioActiveScout website.
- It was agreed to purchase a small stock of dualband Baofeng radios to have in stock for upcoming foundation course. We will purchase 15 and aim to keep 12 to 15 in stock.
Upcoming Support Events
- Operation Night Owl (Saturday 17/Sunday 18 September) Location TBC
- Enquiry made by Sandra Sunkel, coordinator, to enlist assistance from Scout Radio Victoria. Email acknowledged, awaiting a phone discussion to confirm requirements.
Program Enrichment
- Review of Star Trek: Survival discussion.
- Discussion held earlier in the meeting.
Additional Business
- Neil asked if we wish to submit a repsonse to the ACMA regarding upcoming fee changes.
- The license is not changing, but exam fees are increasing from $118 to $264
- Luke will discuss with assessors within our team.
- Closes at ACMA on 25th July.
- Gemma thanked Luke for leading us on the "out of this world" camp that was Star Trek: Survival.
Meeting Closed: 9.31pm
Next Meeting: Tuesday 9th August 2022, 7.30pm
Appendix 1
|
Scout Radio & Electronics Service Unit |
Finance Report - July 2022 Meeting
Prepared Tuesday 12 July 2022
Account Balances
| Account | Balance on Tuesday 12 July 2022 |
|---|---|
| STEM - State Radio (Bendigo Bank) | $7,134.10 |
| Cheque Account (ANZ) | $0.00 |
| Savings Account (ANZ) | $0.04 |
| Total | $7,134.14 |
Outstanding Items
- Awaiting payment from Mafeking Amateur Radio Group for VK3SCM
- Awaiting payment from Mafeking Rover Park for VK3RMP
- Awaiting payment from Sandringham Cubs for Activity Night
- Awaiting payment from Sandringham Scouts for Activity Night
- Awaiting payment from 19th Camberwell Cub Unit - Monday Night for Activity Night
- Awaiting payment from Hoadley Hide for fuel purchased at event
- Awaiting payment from Mafeking Amateur Radio Group for amateur radio course fee contribution
- Awaiting payment from Douglas Ahearn for amateur radio course fees
- Awaiting payment from VicRovers for works on trailer
Savings Account (013599 268169069) - ANZ
| Date | Description | Debit | Credit | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Jun '22 | Opening Balance | $0.04 | ||
| 12 Jul '22 | Closing Balance | $0.04 |
Cheque Account (013599 268166933) - ANZ
| Date | Description | Debit | Credit | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Jun '22 | Opening Balance | $0.00 | ||
| 12 Jul '22 | Closing Balance | $0.00 |
Scouts Victoria STEM - State Radio (633000 190363002) - Bendigo Bank
| Date | Description | Debit | Credit | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Jun '22 | Opening Balance | $7,127.94 | ||
| 1 Jul '22 | Interest | $0.06 | $7,128.00 | |
| 11 Jul '22 | Anders Hamilton Amateur Radio Badge |
$6.10 | $7,134.10 | |
| 12 Jul '22 | Closing Balance | $7,134.10 |
Appendix 2
Activities: Details for upcoming activities
Moreland Darebin District Joeys Day/1st Reservoir (Phillip Bailey)
Activity ideas:
+ Using conductive play dough to build simple circuits
+ Playing games such as battleships or hangman with a twist by using the Phonetic Alphabet and learning some simple radio procedures along the way
+ Building a simple skill tester and using it to compete against others
+ Fox hunting - patrols of hounds hunting out hidden radio transmitters using sniffers (specialised radio receivers coupled with a directional antenna to sniff out a signal).
+ Teaching component identification and using circuit building blocks to create simple circuits.
+ Potentially an SSTV activity - trial run for VicJam activity
- There will be other sections attending, Cubs and Scouts so we have been asked to target the 5-9 year old age group in designing the activities.
- It is expect there to be approximately 150 children in Joeys and Cubs attending
- The location will be around the Pascoe Vale swimming pool, either on the grounds around the swimming pool or in the park next door
- Contact is Alison - District Leader
*Update, Tuesday 8th February 2022*
- Neil spoke to organisers tonight
- Now proposing a date in May
- Ideas include fox hunting, conductive play dough, hands on activities
- May extend activity to four-five hours
- No clarity yet on numbers of youth members, duration of rotations, etc.
- Original concept was to get as many youth members to experience radio in some form as possible
- Neil will suggest Saturday 28th May, and find out -
- How many sessions?
- How many youth members per session?
- How long is a session?
- Neil will liaise with Luke. Luke/Andy will advise pricing for this activity.
- Luke will advise Sarah of request and explore possibility of STEM Youth Council running an activity.
Bayside District Cubs
Original Request:
In our last Seeonee we discused plan for full 2022, our prior approach to a distrct activity day is no longer going forward so I proposed we look at something completly different. I've proposed something around general radio/comms/tech... we have Southern FM pretty close to us and a Venturer involved in that. I'm thinking something around a wide range of radio/comms activities... through a number of bases.
Radio Cubs Bayside (have them prep some music, news weather reports etc to share with those on site... normally its a parent free afternoon - but I'm thinking we link it as a broader social to help encourage more involvement and they can be entertained. Remote Control split challenge of Cubs controlling something remotly by sending messages/commands (have a few ideas to try out at my group first - having been playing with SSTV, could do something with that - i.e. a radio to send the images and a rx ht mobile phone with deocder)
Activ8 activity that Luke,Matt etc ran at 1st Sandy for the Scouts
Fox Hunt around the area... we don't have a confirmed base for the event, but Cheltenham hall and park might work really well. .... plus some others....
Currently looking ahead to term 3 - I need to come up with a bit more of a plan to share at our next seeonee...
Appendix 3
Activity requests to follow up
New activity requests received this month are provided within the agenda body under Program Planning.
1st Upwey Scout Unit (Tim Allchin)
- Lead: Kevin & family
- Assist: Dan
- Nothing further has been heard from the group regarding a pre-JOTA activity.
- Contact the group again in 2022 to see how we can assist with program delivery.
Original request:
Thanks for all your work! We would like to have a radio night at our hall on Thursday 2nd or 9th September this year (2021). We have had a number of these nights over the years as our introduction to JOTA which we have attended for many years. These nights have generally been a series of rotational activities including fox hunting, radio battleships, mast erection and talking over a short wave radio. We start opening parade at 7.30 but arrive at 6.45-7pm to setup and finish with closing parade at 9.20. There is generally a window of 90 minutes for the rotations.