Glendora Emergency Response Communications

GERC Operators Participate in Jambroree On The Air

Oct 23, 2007

Congratulations and kudos are due to Jim Dowdle, KG6TQT, Valle del Sol District Boy Scout Commissoner for his work in organizing the recent Jamboree On The Air for Boy Scouts. The daylong event was held on Saturday, October 20 at Sonrise Christian School in Covina. We had a huge soccer field on which to set up antennas.

About 30 Scouts were in attendance at different times thoughout the day. All of the Scouts were able to get on the air, and a few were able to make some DX contacts as well.

Don Hayden, KF6HZX and Matt Hayden KD7YFT had the Scouts help them set up two 30 foot masts with a G5RV multiband dipole antenna and a 40 meter dipole antenna and worked with the Scouts on the IC-718 HF rig. Richard Anderson, KG6TRD set up a Kenwood TM V-7 dual bander and did a great job coaching the boys at the two meter station all day. We originally intended to set up a second HF station, but we didn't have enough hams to run the equipment that Keith Hanks, KG6TPU had loaned us.

Each Scout had to make at least one contact as a requirement for the Radio Merit Badge and the hams who they called were all very patient and friendly with the boys. Ed Mosbrook, KC6OZA, a former Scout Advancement chairperson was exceptionally encouraging to the scouts, and in fact stayed on the air from Fountain Valley until his battery was almost depleted in his truck. Phil Barnes-Roberts, WA6DZS in Pasadena and Rich Koch, KG6MXP in Altadena were excellent with the Scouts as well.

Additionally, my sons Don and Matt deserve kudos for the back breaking work of handling the truck load of my equipment and setting up and taking down the antennas, canopies, tables and chairs and working with the Scouts too. Technically speaking the G5RV dipole antenna worked surprisingly well at Sonrise. We heard stations as distant as Japan.

Gary Watson, KG6RED, Keith Hanks, KG6TPU and two gentlemen whose names I don?’t know also helped at the event.

Hats off to Dave Truax, KK6VR, Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 446 for his hard work in acquiring the location and working with the Scouts all day.

Unfortunately,the HF bands were fairly noisy, but some of the DX contacts the boys made at the JOTA were:

N6RL - Troop 505 Modesto, CA (40 meters)
K5WL ?– Plano Texas (20 meters)
N0PUI ?– Le Seur Minnesota (20 meters)
W0BLK ?– North Dakota (20 meters)
KD7VDF ?– South East Idaho (40 meters)
WA0ONE ?– Vancouver, WA (40 meters)
WV6X ?– Auburn, CA (40 meters)

All contacts were made on the JOTA frequencies:

80 meters, 3.740 MHz and 3.940 MHz
40 meters, 7.270 MHz
20 meters, 14.290 MHz
17 meters, 18.140 MHz
15 meters, 21.360 MHz
12 meters, 24.960 MHz
10 meters, 28.390 MHz

Unfortunately there was one ham from Maine on 20 meters who must have had a beam and a big amplifier and he was ?“rag chewing?” and not allowing Scouts anywhere to call each other on the call in frequency.

I hope that the Valle del Sol JOTA will become an annual event and that many more GERC hams will participate. Recommendations for next year's JOTA are:

1)Consider an overnighter Friday-Saturday JOTA. That way there would be much more time for the Scouts to get on HF. 80 meters usually opens up at night.

2)More HF stations are definitely needed as the JOTA becomes more popular. Each station should have a set up crew of no less than 3 adults, and at least two hams per station to work with the boys through out the day.

3 Consider contacting Ed Wright, KB6THO to bring his old NATO Unimog radio truck to the JOTA as an extra added attraction.

4)Also consider contacting the SGV Red Cross on Workman Ave. to see if their ham group would bring their HF beam antenna trailer to the JOTA and run an HF station for the Scouts. Although the dipoles worked well, a 20 meter yagi on a rotator would have pulled in many more contacts.

Photos of the 2007 JOTA are posted on "Our PDF's"

73,
Mark Hayden, N7YLA