Date: June 2024
Amount: $6,200

The North Middle School Radio Club is an extracurricular program designed for students, staff, and alumni of North Middle School in Joplin, Missouri. The club focuses on educational outreach, providing students aged 12-14 with hands-on experience in all things related to electromagnetism.

This grant aims to establish a modern DMR repeater that will enhance educational opportunities for students in the Joplin School District. The club seeks to provide access to radio and electronic science for all students, regardless of their financial background. The funding will allow the club to source the necessary equipment, which will be installed with the hands-on involvement of students and local radio club members, fostering an educational environment for all.

Update

The new DMR repeater has directly impacted 15 students in the radio club, who were actively involved in programming and setting it up. The repeater is now used by the school club and an additional 10-15 community members for both local and global communications. The goal of creating a propagation-free network for students to make contacts with like-minded hams when other methods of HF/UHF/VHF are unavailable has been achieved, with weekly informal nets and plans to expand global connections. By connecting the digital world, which students are familiar with, to the world of ham radio, the project has highlighted the exciting opportunities for innovation within amateur radio.

Learn more at http://joplinschools.org/.