[BikerJoe]

The problem is that we aren’t video games or TV or mp3 players and that when you go out on a trip with us, you actually have to do something to take care of your own comfort.

Boy, you guys are strict :-) When I was in Scouts (in the '70's), I would take my little portable shortwave with me to see what I could pick up at night. But, of course, we DID make latrines and get dead trees for firewood and hike (and hike and hike, we were a hiking troop) and cook our own food, etc.

These days, I look at our military in Iraq demanding bottled water and remember our canteens and lister bags.

[RonF]

If some Scout came to me and said, “Mr. F, I want to work on my Radio MB at camp - can I bring a shortwave?” I’d be more than happy to approve it. But then I could make a teaching moment out of it, talking to the kids about the difference between daytime and nighttime radio propagation, the ability to use shortwave to listen to news from foreign countries, etc. It would be something to bring the kids together and interact with the world, rather than separate and withdraw from it.