Activities not on air or online

The below activities are examples of activities that can be done at jota/joti when youth members are not on the radio or internet talking to other scouts and guides from around the world

Each Activity has a rating of Expertise Equipment and Difficulty attached to it along with required equipment and Potential Safety concerns relating to the activity Expertise 1 to 10: How much technical expertises required by the person running the activity (10 being a person suitably trained or with Esperance). Equipment 1 to 10: Amount and complicity of equipment required (10 being highly technical equipment that may need to be custom built, or will require a large financial out lay) Difficulty 1 to 10: How hard it is for a person to run the activity


Index

Radio Activities

Blind sheep dog trials

FM Fox hunt

Walking Around with CB's

Battleships

Headcam

Lego puzzle

Pacman

Visual Communications

Semaphore flags

Morse code with Light

Marine Flags

Sign language

Hints (video charades)

Navigation

Map and compass

GPS

Human-Robot

Pokemon Go

Misc Activities

Alarm!

Answer phone game

Infrared hunt

Tower building

Electrical First aid

Metal detector

Basic electronics

QSL cards

Minefield Game

Audible communications

String phone/pipe phone

Big Ear

Solar phone

Voice over laser

Morse code with Sound

Ambulance Dispatch

Codes

Book Cipher (Award book)

Code wheels

Phonetic alphabet

10 Code

Q Code

Computers

Kim’s games with computers

Data protection

Fix the keyboard

Google Earth recognition game

Game systems

Lan parties


Radio

Base ideas are based around radio activities but do not require licensed radio equipment

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Blind sheep dog trials

(Expertise 2, Equipment 4, Difficulty 2 )


Using CB or cheep kid’s radios a blindfolded group is guided around an obstacle Corse by a sighted person that must stay outside the Corse and not touch the blindfolded group, The activity is a trust exercises and a lesson in team work and giving clear instructions over a communicators system, Suitability: Cub’s , Scouts, Venturers, Rovers Note: the difficulty of the Corse can be changed for different Ages


Equipment required:

Minimum of 2x Hand held CB radios or Cheep kids radios

Misc obstacles

Safety concerns

1. As a number of participates are blind folded the coarse must be clear of obstacles that may coarse injury if fallen on or tipped over. Care must be taken when deciding what obstacles are placed in the course, slopping ground and uneven ground should also be avoided

2. Some youth members may become angry at other youth members and physical or verbal altercations may happen when they Esperance difficulty

3. Security of signals is important if using Cb’s, as some CB users like to try and jam other users for their own fun, other CB users may use colourful words that is unsuitable for youths ears. It is recommend that radios with CTCSS are used

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FM Fox hunt / RDF

(Expertise 8, Equipment 8, Difficulty 7 )

Hide a fm fox transmitter (Kit from electronics shop) and have the kids find it using a Fm radio receiver, the signal and sound will get stronger the closer they are to it, The fox can be stationary or moving but it is recommended that the fox be moved each session as to stop the youth members from giving the location away to others. The aims of the activity is to promote team work and methodical collecting of information to archive a goal.

Suitability: Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Note: the difficulty of the Hiding place can be changed for different Ages, camouflage of the fox may also be used for Venturers and Rovers

Equipment required:

Minimum of 1x Fox Transmitter (can be made from kit or obtained form specialist radio shops)

Fox receiver (with direction antenna is recommended)

Safety concerns

1. As the number of participates are searching an area hazards in the search area should be inspected and addressed.

2. Supervision required of participates is recommend, be it direct or indirect

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Walking around with cb’s

(Expertise 2, Equipment 4, Difficulty 1)

This activity may sound strange but it dose work, just giving radios to youth members for some reason is very interesting to the youth members. For this activity you divide the youth members into two groups each group gets a radio and they just talk, it is very common for them to want to run around for no apparent reason. It is recommended that a leader monitor their on air conversation, and pulls them into line if they get out of hand, some Scouts International Team interesting dynamics come into play the more radios used at once. This activity promotes team work and makes youth members more comfortable with communications equipment

Suitability: Joeys, Cub’s , Scouts

Equipment required:

Minimum of 3x Hand held CB radios or Cheep kids radios (the more radios the better)

Safety concerns

As the number of participates may be running around an area hazards in the area should be inspected and addressed. Supervision required of participates is recommend, be it direct or indirect Security of signals is important if using Cb’s as come CB users like to try and jam other users for their own fun, other CB users may use colourful words that is unsuitable for youths ears. It is recommend that radios with CTCSS are used

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Battleships

(Expertise 2, Equipment 2, Difficulty 2)

In this activity Youth members will layout their fleet and then use either phonetics, or Morse Code to communicate with their opposition to sink their fleet.

Teams are formed and each one is equipped with a communication device. Each team takes a Battleships worksheet. Quickly place your ships on the board by drawing them on the top grid. Aircraft carriers take 5 positions, Battleships 4, Cruisers 3 and Frigates 2. ( You only have 4 ships). The first one to place their ships signals AR, Once the opponent also signals AR, you take it in turn to fire on your opponent. The first person to have signalled AR goes first. Players call grid locations in phonetics and opposition team notifies them of a hit (H) or miss (M) and marks it off on sheet. First team to sink all of the opposition’s ships is the winner

This game can be played with a variety of options. For the beginner use phonetics either in person or over radio. For more competent youth, get them to use morse. This can be either in person or radio by saying dah’s and dit’s or using a Morse Code buzzing key. Another option is to use a larger grid system.

Suitability: Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

Enough printed sheets for each player. If you are prepared with lots of sheets it may be possible to have multiple games going at once using different modes.

Supply of pens or pencils.

Radio or Morse Key per team.

Grids Small Large

Code sheets Phonetic Morse

Safety concerns

Security of signals is important if using Cb’s, as some CB users like to try and jam other users for their own fun, other CB users may use colourful words that is unsuitable for youths ears. It is recommend that radios with CTCSS are used

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Headcam

(Expertise 2, Equipment 7, Difficulty 5)

In this game you carry out a series of tasks blindfolded and with a camera on your head. This could be walking a set course or feeding someone a chocolate sandwich. Your friends will help you. The will be watching on TV and giving you instructions on a walkie-talkie.

Suitability: Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

You will need to prepare some technology in advance

• An old safety helmet with a wireless camera

• The receiver should be connected to a small TV

• Walkie talkies

• A blind fold

• Any items needed for the tasks

Safety concerns

1. As a number of participates are blind folded the coarse must be clear of obstacles that may coarse injury if fallen on or tipped over. Care must be taken when deciding what obstacles are placed in the course, slopping ground and uneven ground should also be avoided

2. Some youth members may become angry at other youth members and physical or verbal altercations may happen when they Esperance difficulty

3. Security of signals is important if using Cb’s, as some CB users like to try and jam other users for their own fun, other CB users may use colourful words that is unsuitable for youths ears. It is recommend that radios with CTCSS are used

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Lego puzzle

(Expertise 1, Equipment 4, Difficulty 3)

The game is played with 2 teams or individuals. Each team is given an identical set of lego and a radio. One team builds (the builder) and another copies the model (the copier) The builder makes a small object from the lego blocks and the copier tries to recreate it This may sound very easy, but they can’t see each other!, Using the walkie talkie the builder gives instructions to the copier telling him where the next lego brick should go. Do they both look the same when finished? When they have finished, swap roles so both experience the difficulties of the other role.

Tips and variations

For younger children: use a small number of identical lego or duplo bricks. Give the builders a ready made model. To keep it interesting for older children add extra bricks, or use different bricks in each set, so they have to work out the size of the bricks not the colours…, No walkie talkies? They can sit back to back to play or you can divide the room with a sheet.

Suitability: Cub’s , Scouts, Venturers

Equipment required

• 2 identical sets of lego bricks (of other construction sets) per pair or group

• Walkie-talkies* or other means of communication so teams can speak but not see each other

Safety concerns

Very miner safety issues with this activity, tips and slips may be present

Security of signals is important if using Cb’s, as some CB users like to try and jam other users for their own fun, other CB users may use colourful words that is unsuitable for youths ears. It is recommend that radios with CTCSS are used

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Pacman

(Expertise 2, Equipment 6, Difficulty 5 )

This game is another where pairs give each other instructions using a walkie talkie. It resembles the old computer game Pacman.

Game plan: Set up a maze like field using coloured tape which resembles a simple pacman maze. In pacman there are also dots. in the game these are represented by water balloons The idea is that 2 or 3 teams play against each other. One member of each team is blindfolded and is given a bucket and a walkie talkie with headphone or earpiece. Each team should be guided through the maze and ‘eat’ as many dots as possible (put the balloons in the bucket) They may not cross the lines. Just like a real Pacman but without the monster to eat you up.

Equipment required

• per team 2 walkie talkies with an earpiece or head phones

• per team 1 blind fold

• per team 1 bucket

• a lot of water balloons

• tape to set up the maze

• tent pegs to fasten the tape to the ground

A pacman maze

Safety concerns

1. As a number of participates are blind folded the coarse must be clear of obstacles that may coarse injury if fallen on or tipped over. Care must be taken when deciding what obstacles are placed in the course, slopping ground and uneven ground should also be avoided

2. Some youth members may become angry at other youth members and physical or verbal altercations may happen when they Esperance difficulty

3. Security of signals is important if using Cb’s, as some CB users like to try and jam other users for their own fun, other CB users may use colourful words that is unsuitable for youths ears. It is recommend that radios with CTCSS are used

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Visual Communications

Thiess base ideas are based around Visual communications but do not require licensed radio equipment

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Semaphore flags

(Expertise 2, Equipment 4, Difficulty 1 )

Youth members Use red and Yalow flags to send messages to each other over a distance,this activity requires two sites within visual range of each other.

Suitability: Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Click hear to Download Chart

Equipment required:

Minimum of 4x Red and yellow Flags

Paper and pens

Safety concerns

As the Flags are going to be moving around it is important for a safe distance to be maintained between the youth member using the flags and others so as to reduce the risk of other being hurt by the flags being moved around

Supervision of participates is recommend, to vet the message content and deal with behaviour issues, it is recommend 2 leaders are involved in this activity one placed at each end of the communications

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Morse code with Light

Expertise 3, Equipment 6, Difficulty 2 )

Use Morse code to send signals with light to each other over a distance, this activity requires two sites within visual range of each other. (can use flash lights at night or very bright lights in daylight, do not use any 240Volt or AC powered equipment as light sources to remove the risk of electrical hazards or burns)

Suitability: Cub’s , Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Click hear to Download Chart

Electrical Drawing Click for Larger View

Equipment required:

Minimum of 2x light sources that can be turned on and off quickly without damaging the source (such things a torches / or custom made lights, in day light led flood lights or car head lamps can be used Note that using head lights installed on a car is not recommended as this can drain the battery and introduce the risk of the cars brakes being realised by accident by a youth member.)

Paper and pens

Safety concerns

If using bright lights it is recommended that youth members are not allowed to look directly into the signal lights at close range to avoid damage to eye site both temporary and long term.

Supervision of participates is recommend, to vet the message content and deal with behaviour issues, it is recommend 2 leaders are involved in this activity one placed at each end of the communications

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Marine Flags

(Expertise 3, Equipment 5, Difficulty 2 )

Marine Flags are a way ships sometimes communicate short messages to all around, as an activity youth members can use 2 flag poles away from each other to send short messages to each other using marine flags, it is also possible to combine this base with tower building, the flags are normally placed in a string to make up words.

Suitability: Cub’s , Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Click hear to Download

Equipment required

2x towers/flag poles or alike, any structure will do as long as it is safe and has the ability to raise and lower the flags

2x sets of marine flags (4 sets works well)

Paper and pens

Safety concerns:

Depending on what sort of structure you are using to support the flags, issues of stability and height safety make become apparent, each issue will need to be addressed before running the activity

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Sign language

(Expertise: 5, Equipment 1, Difficulty 6)

Communicate between two or more persons using sign Language, each person should be given a chart of Sign language and given time to practise it before the two people exchange their messages, message content should be vetted by a leader

Suitability: Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

2X Sign Language charts

Pen and paper

Safety concerns

Very miner safety issues with this activity, tips and slips may be present

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Hints (video charades)

(Expertise: 3, Equipment 3, Difficulty 5)

The first member of team A mimes a task in front of the camera, whilst the team B has to guess the answer. If its guessed correctly points are given to both teams according to the list below. Giving points to both teams means they don’t try to cheat by deliberately miming badly.

Points:

<30 sec 20 points

30-60 sec 10 points

60-90 sec 05 points

People miming use the normal charades gestures and rules. If necessary put up a poster showing the normal gestures and their meanings. On an international event this can be done in more than 1 language. Leaders should think up a number of words or sentences at the start. These can be adapted to the theme of the event or the location. They can write these down on post-its or scrap paper

Possible Categories:

• Knots

• Scouting

• Future

• Books

• Films

• TV

Suitability: Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

2-way picture and sound connection (eg skype video speak)

Safety concerns

Very miner safety issues with this activity, tips and slips may be present

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Navigation

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Map and compass

(Expertise 7, Equipment 2, Difficulty 8 )

Use a map and compass to navigate an area (see scout leaders hand books for more information)

Suitability: Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

1x Compass

1x map

1x a coarse to navigate

Paper and pens

Safety concerns

As the number of participates may be running around an area hazards in the area should be inspected and addressed.

Supervision required of participates is recommend, be it direct or indirect

The risk of participates getting lost also needs to be addressed

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GPS

(Expertise 7, Equipment 6, Difficulty 8 )

Same as map and compass but with a GPS, may also be combined with a treasure hunt or Geocaching

Suitability: Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook (with a pen or pencil). The geocacher enters the date they found it and signs it with their established code name. After signing the log, the cache must be placed back exactly where the person found it. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers (Tupperware ammunition boxes or similar) or can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little financial value, although sometimes they are tsreigntpimoienntitnalg. Geocaching shares many aspects with benchmarking, , orienteering, treasure-hunting, letterboxing, and waymarking.

Equipment required

1x GPS

1x map

1x a coarse to navigate

Paper and pens

Safety concerns

As the number of participates may be running around an area hazards in the area should be inspected and addressed.

Supervision required of participates is recommend, be it direct or indirect

The risk of participates getting lost also needs to be addressed

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Human-Robot

(Expertise 2, Equipment 7, Difficulty 4 )

You could also call this a parking aid for the blind..Using ultrasonic sound waves which are out of the range of human hearing we can measure the distance between you and the wooden planking or obstacles in front of you. Note that the distance is only measured at the height of the sensor. You will hear a beeping signal through the head phones when you get close to an object which will warn you to go the other way.

Suitability: Cubs, Scouts

Equipment required

To build the human robot you need the type of circuit which is sometimes used as a parking aid in caravans camper vans, or cars. You build this into a box and attach the head phone socket. Attach a strap so the box you can hang around the participants neck at about chest height. You also need a blindfold, headphones and an obstacle course made from wooden panels or similar.

Safety concerns

Take care that there are no obstacles lower then the height of the sensor which could cause accidents.

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(Expertise 2, Equipment 5, Difficulty 2 )

Pokemon go is a online treasure hunt activity which has taken the world by storm large numbers of kids and adults are playing this game. A pokemon hunt may be organised around your camp site and / or local area.

more info at Pokemon go web site

Suitability: Cubs and above

Equipment required

GPS equipped Smart phone / tablet

Internet connection to device

Safety concerns

As participants will be walking around looking at devices someone always needs to be on the lookout for danger. It is recommended that this be done as a patrol activity so that someone alls always looking out for the group. If going off site and walking around the local area an adult leader should be with each group, the cost of data used should also be taken into account. It is recommended that if walking around the local area members should be in uniform (may be a good member ship drive opportunity). Private property should be respected. Only allow participants to enter public areas or locations with the permission of the property owner. Also if walking around local area traffic and other hazards should be investigated

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Misc Activities

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Alarm!

(Expertise 2, Equipment 6, Difficulty 4 )

Try to negotiate a circuit through a room or area which is set up with infra red motion sensors. Every time one of the sensors goes off you get a penalty (points or time added). This is an challenging game requiring good strategy and tactics. The person who manages to do the circuit without tripping the sensors (or with the lowest number of penalties) and in the fastest time is the winner.

variation: Try to open a safe in a room without tripping the sensors

Suitability: cubs, Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

• Motion sensors preferably battery operated

• A place to set up the sensors

• Various objects/obstacles to form a circuit

Tip: Try and find a firm to sponsor the sensors or give you second hand ones which they have removed when upgrading security.

Some examples of motion sensors

Safety concerns

Very miner safety issues with this activity, tips and slips may be present

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Answer phone game

(Expertise 4, Equipment 9, Difficulty 7 )

Teams have to search for a telephone number. The numbers are hanging up in pairs at various points around the grounds. You can use a variety of techniques (descriptions, map coordinates, etc) to give clues for the locations where numbers are hidden. The teams use these clues to search for the hidden numbers. At the destination they must complete a series of small challenges to find out the correct number sequence. They are also allowed to guess the number by randomly placing the pairs of numbers they collected. They then ring the number. If they get the wrong number they will hear the wrong answer phone message . The game ends when a group gets the correct number with the correct message.

Suitability: cubs, Scouts

Equipment required

• several answer phones/VOIP programmed with messages*

• a phone/VOIP phone

• ... various points in the grounds with descriptions (..x tel.nr)

• min. 10 challenges at destination

• answer form

*If you haven’t got sufficient answer phones it might be possible to send a text to a mobile phone instead but you would need to ensure the wrong numbers don’t work!

Variation 1

Teams do a treasure hunt and find the numbers. At the end they are asked questions and gain numbers for every correct answer. The correct number gives the correct message.

Equipment required

• as above

• Treasurer hunt

• Quiz questions

Variation 2

A coordinates game: A map is printed with 100 squares: 10 horizontal and 10 vertical. The youth are given the first 2 numbers of the phone nr. Where the numbered lines meet (like map coordinates) they find the next 2 numbers... They carry on until the have the whole number and then they can ring the answer phone!

Equipment required

• X times coordinates on the map (half the amount found in the phone nr).

• map.

Safety concerns

As the number of participates may be running around an area hazards in the area should be inspected and addressed.

Supervision required of participates is recommend, be it direct or indirect

The risk of participates getting lost also needs to be addressed

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Infrared hunt

(Expertise 1, Equipment 6, Difficulty 1 )

Remote controls for TV’s etc work with invisible lights. This invisible light is infra red light. However if we look through special equipment we can see infra red. Use the equipment to work out which of the remotes are working, because only those will give out infra red light When you’ve found all the working remotes write down the letters on the back and decode the word

Suitability: cubs, Scouts

Equipment required

• Infrared camera or a video camera which can be used to look for infra red.

• Various remotes, some working and some not: all with letters on the back.

Safety concerns

Very miner safety issues with this activity, tips and slips may be present

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Tower building

(Expertise 5, Equipment 2, Difficulty 3)

Build a tower to hold a antenna or person who is going to send some sort of signal, Youth members may be asked to design the structure after being told what it must hold this can lead to some interesting ideas from the youth members. Note this activity may also count towards construction challenge badge as well as communications challenge badge

Suitability: Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

Poles

Rope

General Construction Materials

Antenna to mount or person to stand on tower (note safety harness or fall arrestor system may be required for person standing on tower over 1.2 Meters)

Safety concerns

As highs and temporary structures are involved the risk of accidents is high in this activity, risks need to be addressed constantly evaluated the two biggest one are falling and collapse of the structure

Direct subversion of participates is recommend, be it direct or indirect

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Electrical First aid

(Expertise 7, Equipment 2, Difficulty 6)

First aid simulation around electrical emergences, such as house hold electrocution, fallen power lines, lightning strike, and so on with the theme of injures by electrical or electromagnetic exposure (Note electromagnetic exposure includes ionising / non ionising radiation and visible light)

Suitability: Cub’s , Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

Training First aid kits

Appropriate Props for the simulation I.e a old fuse box / simulated radiation source / power cord (unplugged)

A person to play casualty

Safety concerns

Very miner safety issues with this activity, tips and slips may be present

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Metal detector

(Expertise 2, Equipment 7, Difficulty 2)

Use a metal detector to find what areas of a metal hidden with in tarp that has a grid on it, and fill in a sheet showing where the metal is, big washers can be used no aluminium can be used

Suitability: Cub’s , Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

1x metal detector

2x Tarps

An assortment of metal to detect

Maker pens

Paper

pens

Safety concerns

Very miner safety issues with this activity, tips and slips may be present

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Basic electronics

(Expertise: XXX, Equipment 5, Difficulty XXX) Note XXX = Variable depending on the project

Make a small Electronic kit, can even be made of wood with a few batteries nails and a light, may even be able to use and electronics trainer (a toy sold at some hobby shops that lets you place wires to all sorts of different electrical things) or even a kit from jay car or alike

Suitability: Cub’s , Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

Hand tools

Possible soldering ions

Testing equipment

Possible Solder stands

Project

Safety concerns

Quite variable depending on the project issues may included burns from soldering ions / crush or cut injuries from hammers and hand tools, an inspection needs to be conducted before starting this activity and safety issues may be constantly looked for while in oppression.

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QSL cards

(Expertise: 4, Equipment 2, Difficulty 3)

QSL cards are a record of a communication between two sites on air Meany amateur radio operators collect theses cards, the idea of the activity is for the youth member to try and work out were the two stations were located in the world when they made the contact, this can be achieved by looking at a amateur radio map of the world and reading the call signs of the two stations

Suitability: Cub’s , Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

Amateur radio map of the world (may be available on line or a amateur radio operator may lend you one).

QSL cards (amateur radio operator may lend you one’s or you could make some).

Safety concerns

Very miner safety issues with this activity, tips and slips may be present as well as paper cuts

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Minefield Game

(Expertise: 4, Equipment 7, Difficulty 6)

This can be a very exciting evening game which makes the preparation time well worthwhile.

To play this game you need to be able to build 4 or 5 mines. This can be done by using infrared motion sensors often used by security firms.

It may be possible to get these second hand from a security firm as they often need replacing when standards change. Screw the sensor to a piece of wood. Drill some holes in the wood so you can easily hang them up in trees using string. It is easier to screw a connection strip* onto the wood rather than opening up the sensors to make the connections. * see photo Sometimes you will need to add an extra relay if the relay inside only has a ‘circuit breaker‘. Connect the sensor to a buzzer or siren so you can hear when someone comes too close to the mine. Use a battery from a motor bike or alarm system to provide the necessary power. If you are close to your hall hut you could use adaptors, but you would need very long cables and these are difficult to conceal. You can paint the mines black You need to play this in the dark or a bush area so you can’t see the mines hanging up..

Set up a 15 x15 metre area in the bush with string or tape. On one side set up a tarp or similar to prevent the teams seeing into the pay area from the outside. At the other side hang up a torch or lamp to show where the exit is.

Preparation: The mines should be hung in the trees so it is impossible to cross the play area in a straight line without being detected by a mine. Setting up takes a fair amount of time because you have to check that there is actually a way to get through the minefield without being detected. If the overlap is too big you can make the mine’s range smaller by hanging the detector so it tilts down, or hanging it lower, or by sticking tape over part of the window.

Method: The team assembles behind the tarp and can’t see the playing area. The first person enters with the task of reaching the other side. Naturally he will trip a mine within the first few feet, and the buzzer will sound. He then returns and tells the others that you cant go more then ‘8 steps forward’. Now the second can try. He or she will try to go left or right after step 7 until he or she also gets hit by a mine. He or she returns and tells the others what he or she has found out and 3rd person can try. The game is about giving correct information. The group which completes the task in the smallest number of turns gains the most points.

Suitability: Cub’s , Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

Mines as described above

String or tape

Tarp or black plastic sheeting

Torch or lamp

Safety concerns

1. As the number of participates are searching an area hazards in the search area should be inspected and addressed.

2. Supervision required of participates is recommend, be it direct or indirect

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Audible communications

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String phone/pipe phone

(Expertise: 1, Equipment 1, Difficulty 1)

Make and talk on a sting phone (two cans and a bit of string) siring must not touch any thing apart from cans and must be tight or message will not get throw or you can make a pipe phone of 90mm or bigger pipe that can be used to carry sound signal around an area.

Suitability: Cub’s , Scouts

Equipment required

2x cans

String

Or

Pipes of 90mm or grater enough to cover the required distance.

Safety concerns

Very miner safety issues with this activity, tips and slips may be present as well as cuts form the meat cans if not cut correctly it is also possible for cote hangering on string line

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Big Ear

(Expertise: 1, Equipment 7, Difficulty 1)

With the Big Ear you can almost hear each other thinking! Using a large parabola (dish). A microphone and headphones you can hear whispers from the other side of a field

Theme: ‘Dr Zendium’s’ thoughts are still hanging around in the air. Try and catch them with the thought microphone. Everyone can have a turn.

Game plan: The group needs to be in a quiet place on a field. Several helpers stand around the edge of the field. They have a list of words and have already decided who will say each one The first child puts on the head phones and starts to listen. The base leader calls out that the first word should be given. The designated person whispers that word. The other helpers should mime along so it isn’t obvious who is speaking. If the child hears the word they say so and it is written down and the next child has a turn. If they don’t hear it at first the word is repeated getting louder each time until the word is heard. Hearing the sound is more important then points.

points: 4 points for every correct word

length: everyone should get a turn, but don’t take more then about 5 minutes.

Suitability: Cub’s , Scouts

Equipment required

• A foot or stand for the dish

• Satellite type dish

• microphone, amplifier and headphones

• pen and paper

Safety concerns

Very miner safety issues with this activity, tips and slips may be present as well as cuts form the meat cans if not cut correctly it is also possible for cotehangering on string line

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Solar phone

(Expertise: 5, Equipment 8, Difficulty 5)

Click for larger view

Use the above set up to send a audio message using sun light

Suitability: Joys, Cub’s , Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

Above pictured set up (may need help of an electronics person to build receiver unit)

Safety concerns

Very miner safety issues with this activity, tips and slips may be present a second hazarded is the reflected light from the transmitting stand persons near this activity should be informed not to look directly at the light

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Voice over laser

(Expertise: 8, Equipment 8, Difficulty 7)

Use a laser to communicate voice signals; this can be done in two ways 1, by converting voice to digital and Turing the laser on and off using the signal. 2. Changing the intensity based on the volume of the voice. The laser can be sent throw the air or fibre optic cable. For this activity it may help to get a person has a high level of electronics training to construct the equipment.

Suitability: Cub’s, Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

Sender unit (may need help of an electronics person to build)

Receiver unit (may need help of an electronics person to build)

Safety concerns

Slips tips and slips may be present, A visible laser should always be used and care must be taken that persons near this activity should not to look directly at the laser

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Morse code with Sound

(Expertise 3, Equipment 6, Difficulty 2 )

Use Morse code to send with sound, can use wires between Sites or loud sounds from speakers (Note: be aware of the amount of local noise pollution when doing this)

Suitability: Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Click hear to Download Chart

Electrical Drawing Click for Larger View

Equipment required

2x Morse keys

For Wired system:

Wire long enough to reach the distance

2x Buzzer

2x Battery

For Speaker system:

2x Speakers

2x Tone generator (may need help of an electronics person to build)

2x Battery

Safety concerns (Scout Safe)

Slips tips and slips may be present, Volume of speakers should also be set so there is no risk of hearing damage for booth short term or long term exposure as well as to minimise environmental impact

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Ambulance Dispatch

(Expertise 2, Equipment 7, Difficulty 3 )

have your group will play ever drive or dispatch to direct a Ambulance to a accident site as quickly as you can using Radio microphones the teams will take turns of driving or Directing. Directors can only give instructions such as forward to Next Street left or right at Next Street. The drives must follow the dispatcher’s direction and can tell the dispatcher if they encounter traffic along the way or road blocks. This Activity is to teach the youth how to use the microphone and radio edict correctly. this activity has two sites which are not to be seen by each other. the person operating the base will place the crash seen on the dispatchers map in a random place the dispatcher is given a unit to act as the ambulance which is placed on the map at random, the Drivers get traffic and road blocks added to theirs and a random start location. The dispatchers first task is to find were the ambulance is then they need to direct the Drivers to the scene of the accident

Suitability: Cubs, Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Pictures of Equipment Click for Larger view

Electrical Drawing of Intercom

Equipment required

A Intercom system such as pictured above

2x Maps

Road blocks

Matchbox Cars

Safety concerns

Slips tips and slips may be present (Mainly the cable between the unit)

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Codes

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Book Cipher (Award book)

(Expertise 1, Equipment 1, Difficulty 3 )

A book cipher is a cipher in which the key is some aspect of a book or other piece of text; books being common and widely available, users of book ciphers take the position that the details of the key are sufficiently well hidden from attackers. It is typically essential that both correspondents not only have the same book. Traditionally book ciphers work by replacing words in the plaintext of a message with the location of words from the book being used. In this mode, book ciphers are more properly called codes. It is suggested that the award book is used but other books can be used and youth try and craft a message in the format [Page, Paragraph, line, word] all in number resulting in a code like so 12 2 3 6. Other may then try and decode the message, the coded message may even be sent to others by way of other communications systems, Note that this is classified as a encoded message and cannot be sent over amateur radio

Suitability: Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

Award book or other book

Paper

Pens

Safety concerns

Slips tips and slips may be present

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Code wheels

(Expertise 1, Equipment 2, Difficulty 2 )

Have the Youth members construct code wells as pictured above and develop their own codes get the youth members to send messages to each other/ or encode and then decode a sentence. The code may be sent using Morse code or over flags or such (May be incorporated with other activities)

Suitability: Joy’s, Cub’s, Scouts

Equipment required

The sheet with the artwork on it pictured above or you can Download it hear

Stiff card

Writhing implements (Pens/ pencils)

Cutting implements

Pins or (other ways of fixing the two parts together so they can spin)

Printer (to print out the sheets)

Safety concerns

Slips tips and slips may be present

Cutting implements are uses so care and supervision must be present so youth members do not cut them self (for young kid the cutting can be pre done by leader)

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Phonetic Alphabet

(Expertise 1, Equipment 1, Difficulty 1 )

Sometimes when talking on the radio, it is difficult to understand the other person. Sometimes there is interference or perhaps you just can’t quite ‘read’ the other persons accent. In theses instances it helps to spell important words, the trouble is that many letters sound the same – Like ‘C; ‘B’ ‘D’ and ‘V’. To make things clearer, we use whole words to stand for each letter this is called the Phonetic Alphabet. You may get Youth members to spell their name or resight a sentence using Phonetic alphabet this can also form part of badge work for the communication badge.

Suitability: Joys, Cub’s, Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

A Alpha N November
B Bravo O Oscar
C Charlie P Papa
D Delta Q Quebec
E Echo R Romeo
F Foxtrot S Sierra
G Golf T Tango
H Hotel U Uniform
I India V Victor
J Juliet W Whiskey
K Kilo X X-ray
L Lima Y Yankee
M Mike Z Zulu

Equipment required

Code sheet above or Download it hear

Safety concerns

Slips tips and slips may be present

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10 code

(Expertise 1, Equipment 1, Difficulty 1 )

The development of the 10-codes began in 1937, when police radio channels were limited to reduce use of speech on the radio. Credit for inventing the codes goes to Charles "Charlie" Hopper, communications director for the Illinois State Police, District 10 in Pesotum, Illinois. Hopper had been involved in radio for years and realized there was a need to abbreviate transmissions on State Police bands. Experienced radio operators knew the first syllable of a transmission was frequently not understood because of quirks in early electronics technology. Radios in the 1930s were based on vacuum tubes powered by a small motor-generator called a dynamotor. The dynamotor took from 1/10 to 1/4 of a second to "spin up" to full power. Police officers were trained to push the microphone button, then pause briefly before speaking; however, sometimes they would forget to wait. Preceding each code with "ten-" gave the radio transmitter time to reach full power. Ten-codes, especially "ten-four", first reached public recognition in the mid- to late-1950s through the popular television series Highway Patrol, with Broderick Crawford. Crawford would reach into his patrol car to use the microphone to answer a call and precede his response with "10-4". Ten-codes were adapted for use by CB radio enthusiasts. The 1975 hit song "Convoy" by C. W. McCall depicting conversation among CB-communicating truckers put phrases like 10-4 meaning "understood" and what's your twenty? (10-20) for "where are you?" into common use in American English. A 1978 movie Convoy, loosely based on the song, further entrenched ten-codes in casual conversation. Scouts and Guides may use 10 code to pass a massage or complete a task out just as a mach the response to code activity

Suitability: Cub’s, Scouts, Venturers, Rovers


10-1 = Receiving poorly

10-2 = Receiving well

10-3 = Stop transmitting

10-4 = Message received

10-5 = Relay message to _____

10-6 = Busy, please stand by

10-7 = Out of service, leaving the air

10-8 = In service, subject to call

10-9 = Repeat message

10-10 = Transmission completed, standing by

10-11 = Talking too rapidly

10-12 = Visitors present

10-13 = Advise Weather/Road conditions

10-16 = Make pick up at _____

10-17 = Urgent business

10-18 = Anything for us?

10-19 = Nothing for you, return to base

10-20 = My location is _____

10-21 = Call by telephone

10-22 = Report in person to

10-23 = Stand by

10-24 = Completed last assignment

10-25 = Can you contact _____

10-26 = Disregard last information

10-27 = I am moving to channel _____

10-28 = Identify your station

10-29 = Time is up for contact

10-30 = Does not conform to ACMA rules

10-32 = I will give you a radio check

10-33 = Emergency Traffic

10-34 = Trouble at this station

10-35 = Confidential information

10-36 = Correct time is

10-37 = Wrecker needed at

10-38 = Ambulance needed at

10-39 = Your message delivered

10-41 = Please turn to channel

10-42 = Traffic accident at

10-43 = Traffic tie up at

10-44 = I have a message for you

10-45 = All units within range please report

10-50 = Break channel

10-60 = What is next message number?

10-62 = Unable to copy, use phone

10-63 = Net directed to

10-64 = Net clear

10-65 = Awaiting your next message/assignment

10-67 = All units comply

10-70 = Fire at _____

10-71 = Proceed with transmission in sequence

10-77 = Negative contact

10-81 = Reserve hotel room for ______

10-82 = Reserve room for _____

10-84 = My telephone number is ______

10-85 = My address is _____

10-91 = Talk closer to the microphone

10-93 = Check my frequency on this channel

10-94 = Please give me a long count (1-10)

10-99 = Mission completed, all units secure

10-200 = Police needed at _____


Equipment required

Code sheet as pictured above or Download from hear

Safety concerns

Slips tips and slips may be present

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Q Code

(Expertise 1, Equipment 1, Difficulty 1 )

The Q code is a standardized collection of three-letter message encodings, also known as a brevity code, all of which start with the letter "Q", initially developed for commercial radiotelegraph communication, and later adopted by other radio services, especially amateur radio. Although Q codes were created when radio used Morse code exclusively, they continued to be employed after the introduction of voice transmissions. To avoid confusion, transmitter call signs are restricted, By the 1970s, the Post Office Handbook for Radio Operators listed over a hundred Q codes, covering a wide range of subjects including radio procedures, meteorology, radio direction finding, and search and rescue. Some Q codes are also used in aviation, in particular QNE, QNH and QFE, referring to certain altimeter settings. These codes are used in radiotelephone conversations with air traffic control as unambiguous shorthand, where safety and efficiency are of vital importance. A subset of Q codes is used by the Miami-Dade County, Florida local government for law enforcement and fire rescue communications, one of the few instances where Q codes are used in ground voice communication. Many codes have no immediate applicability outside one individual service, such as maritime operation (many QO or QU series codes) or radio teletype operation (the QJ series). Many military and other organizations that use Morse code have adopted additional codes, including the Z code used by most European and NATO countries. The Z code adds commands and questions adapted for military radio transmissions, for example, "ZBW 2", which means "change to backup frequency number 2", and "ZNB abc", which means "my checksum is abc, what is yours?" Used in their formal "question/answer" sense, the meaning of a Q code varies depending on whether or not the individual Q code is sent as a question or an answer. For example, the message "QRP?" means "Shall I decrease transmitter power?", and a reply of "QRP" means "Yes, decrease your transmitter power", whereas an unprompted statement "QRP" means "Please decrease your transmitter power". This structured use of Q codes is fairly rare and now mainly limited to amateur radio and military Morse code (CW) traffic networks. Scouts and guides may use Q code to pass a massage or complete a task out just as a mach the response to code activity

Suitability: Cub’s, Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

Code sheet Downloaded from hear

Safety concerns

Slips tips and slips may be present

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Computers

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Kim’s games with computers

(Expertise 3, Equipment 4, Difficulty 3 )

The youth members reassemble a computer after viewing a identical assembled one for a set time period, The youth members then reassemble the dismantled computer and try and start it up

Suitability: Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

2x identical computers

Safety concerns

Slips, trip and falls

Computers run on 240volts ac which can be fatal if touched, persons running the activity must make shore that power cannot be applied to the computer until such time as they have checked it and attached the power them self, the computer should also be looked over by the person before applying power to make shore things are done correctly and that damage is unlikely to be done to the computer, Anti static straps are recommend for the youth to were before touching the computer to reduce the risk of damage to the computer. It may be advisable to have this activity supervised by persons who have Esperance with computer repair

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Data protection

(Expertise 1, Equipment 2, Difficulty 1 )

We can’t imagine a world without computers, mobile phones and ipods. But how well do you protect your data from the elements?

Split into 2’s or 3’s. Each small group is given an old but working data carrier with something on it!

Every data carrier is packed up separately by a team and then subjected to 3 tests

1) being hit by a large hammer

2) put under a shower or other running water for 30 secs

3) 30 secs in the fire

Take out the data carrier after each test to check if it is still working Which team can make the best ‘data protector’ and which type of data carrier is most robust?

Suitability: Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

• stopwatch

• a wide variety of packing materials like wood, nails, tacks plastics, tinfoil.

• Per team an old CD, USB stick,MP3 stick Sim card or memory card. (You could ask people to donate these as many people have obsolete items at home,)

• Apparatus to read the type of data carriers you are using

• A large hammer

• A shower, tap or watering can

• A fire

Safety concerns

Slips, trip and falls

Hand tools

Fire

flying debris from broken items

Smells and fumes from burning plastic

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Fix the keyboard

(Expertise 3, Equipment 2, Difficulty 4 )

Take an old standard keyboard and remove all the keys using a screw driver. Place all the loose keys in a container. Let the participant replace all the keys as quickly as possible in the correct places. The participant who repairs the key board correctly in the shortest time is the winner

Suitability: Cubs, Scouts

Equipment required

• Old keyboard (without multimedia keys)

• Stop watch

Safety concerns

Slips, trip and falls

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Google Earth recognition game

(Expertise 3, Equipment 2, Difficulty 4 )

Using Google earth links 'fly' to famous buildings like the Eiffel tower or the Statue of Liberty. The participants have to answer questions about the object, eg giving the name or location.

Suitability: Cubs, Scouts

Equipment required

• Google Earth

• Make links in advance using (.kmz) files so you can easily fly from object to object

Tip: you can easily make this into a quiz for 2 teams

Safety concerns

Slips, trip and falls

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Game systems

(Expertise 2, Equipment 3, Difficulty 1 )

Having youth members playing game systems such as PS3, Nintendo, Xbox and such is ok activity especially if they promote communications between youth members 2 or more player games are good, It is advised that the games have some sort of education value and not used as just a time filler. Racing games are good and can be shared between two or more patrols and a prise can be awarded to the patrols with the best scores at the end of JOTA-JOTI

Suitability: Cub’s, Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

Gaming systems

Games

Safety concerns

Slips, trip and falls

The rating of the games must be taken into account and the policies for movie rating also apply to games.

There may also be the risk of flying controller and pulled wires due to frustrations. Sum gaming systems designs such as the wii or wii U tend to lend them self to this needs to be controlled to make shore no injuries occur or items broken

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Lan parties

(Expertise 4, Equipment 6, Difficulty 3 )

Youth members can participate in lan parties while at JOTA-JOTI, playing of games over the computer network and sharing of ideas is a great way to encourage communications games such as minecraft are good examples of this

Suitability: Cub’s, Scouts, Venturers, Rovers

Equipment required

2 or more Computers

A Network

A Game or activity to do on the computer

Safety concerns

Slips, trip and falls

Content of the lan party need to be monitored as there is a tendency for copyrighted material to be illegally transferred and copied at such event leaders need to look out for this sort of thing.

The rating of the games must be taken into account and the policy for movie rating also apply to games.

There may also be the risk of flying controller and pulled wires due to frustrations as well this needs to be controlled to make shore no injuries occur.

As some games require connection to the internet contacts with others and conversions need to be mounted as per policy.

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