NC Scout of the Brushbeater blog will be holding his RTO course in Hamilton, MT (south of Missoula), on Sept. 8-9, 2018 and again Sept. 15-16. There will also be an advanced class held on Sept. 13-14.
EDIT: The 15-16th class has been cancelled because of a lack of sign-ups.
Click here for registration information.
The Radio Telephone Operator (RTO) Course is designed to take the individual of any and every experience level and teach them the basics of effective small unit communications in a field environment. Students will learn what it takes to set up a plan and implement communications in an improvised setting be it anything from a retreat to a security patrol to regional communications networking groups. A heavy emphasis of the course is on improvisation and antenna building- each student will construct antennas from improvised materials which they keep. This is NOT a “ham radio” class. No equipment or previous experience is required; only a notebook and a good pair of shoes. It is the only course of its kind offered anywhere, in a friendly, laid back and respectful environment.
This class will teach students the basics of communications at the Team or Squad Level in the field. Topics of instruction include:
- Identifying Equipment Requirements
- Writing a Signals Operating Index
- PACE Planning for Communications
- Basic equipment capabilities
- Traffic handling
- Improvised antenna types, uses and construction
- Setting up and running an NVIS HF station
- Message Formats
- Setting up and communicating from a Hide site
Two day course will culminate in an field training event running a TOC station and Hide site in the field. Students will each build an antenna and demonstrate competency in team communications basics during the field exercise. Amateur Radio license qualification is helpful, but not required. This is NOT a ‘ham radio’ class but each student will come away with a basic understanding of a team’s communications needs in a tactical environment and how to best meet them under less-than-ideal circumstances. No equipment is required for this course; however, if students want to get field practice with their own gear, it is highly encouraged but done so at their own risk. Instruction is completely off-grid.
RTO Course: $300 per Student in advance or $350 at the door
The Advanced Course picks up where the RTO Basic Course leaves off, with training focused on:
- Advanced SOI/CEOI Planning
- Planning & Coordinating Transmitting Sites/Directional Transmitting
- Uses of Resistors and Constructing Directional Wire Antennas
- Data Bursts
- Advanced HF techniques
- Basic Signals Mapping and Communications Intelligence
Advanced RTO Course: $300 per Student in advance or $350 at the door
$50 deposit required for the in advance class prices by August 15th.
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