PRINCETON, NJ – On Saturday, January 10th 2009, 56 Boy Scouts from Central New Jersey Council earned their Radio Merit Badges at the David Sarnoff Library in Princeton, New Jersey. This was the fifth year that the Library and Sarnoff Corporation hosted the popular event, run by amateur radio operators from the Delaware Valley Radio Association and the David Sarnoff Radio Club.
The Scouts attended classes on Radio Theory, Electronic Circuits, Electrical Safety, Radio Careers and Amateur Radio Operation. They spoke via Amateur Radio to hams across the country and on board the battleship USS New Jersey. They also saw demonstrations of the Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS), sent their names in Morse Code, and learned how Amateur Radio provides essential communications for the American Red Cross and other agencies during disasters.
The highlight of the day was when local ham radio operator, Dr. Greg Olsen, KC2ONX, described his voyage to the International Space Station and how he used Amateur Radio to speak to students from earth orbit. He described how he earned his Amateur Radio license in his youth and how he persevered in his studies and work to earn his PhD in Materials Science and make the trip into space. His talk showed how high you can really go as a ham radio operator if you never give up!