Glendora Emergency Response Communications

Call for Hams! Jamboree On The Air is Saturday, October 17, 2009

Aug 21, 2009

The San Gabriel Valley Council of Boy Scouts is sponsoring its third annual Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) on Saturday, October 17, 2009 at the Sonrise Christian School located at 1220 E. Ruddock in Covina,CA. The event will run from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Amateur radio operators are needed to set up and operate VHF and HF stations to help the Scouts contact other JOTAs worldwide. This year an EchoLink station will also be used to make international contacts.

What Is Jamboree-on-the-Air?

The Jamboree-on-the-Air, or JOTA, is an annual Scouting and amateur radio event sponsored by the World Scout Bureau of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.Thousands of amateur radio stations around the world participate. If the conditions are right, it is common to contact a hundred Scouting countries during the weekend.

In the United States, Cub Scout dens and Boy Scout patrols visit a local amateur's ham shack during JOTA. Many districts and councils hold events that coincide with JOTA, where amateurs set up stations giving Scouts and leaders a chance to exchange greetings with Scouts from other areas. The exchanges typically include information such as

Name
Location (QTH)
Scout rank
Hobbies
Age

Some exchanges lead to long-lasting friendships and the exchange of photos, badges, pins, and patches. The usual communications method calls for speaking into a microphone. However, the following specialized communications are also used during JOTA:

1. Slow Scan TV, or SSTV
2. Amateur TV, or ATV
3. Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio, or OSCAR
4. Packet radio, or modem communication without a phone, PSK-31
5. Radio Teletype, or RTTY
6. Earth-Moon-Earth, or EME, contacts
7. EchoLink

There will be many stations operating, including
the following:

K2BSA/5 at National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas

Additional K2BSA stations assigned to other areas,
such as K2BSA/0, K2BSA/1, etc.

HB95, the World Scout Bureau headquarters in
Switzerland

GB2GP at Gilwell Park, England

Listen for other special call signs from many countries.

Who?

JOTA welcomes participation by Scouting and amateur radio enthusiasts of all ages:

Cub Scouts
Boy Scouts
Venturers
Brownie Scouts
Girl Scouts
Former Scouts and Scouters
Amateur radio operators

Anyone interested in doing a Good Turn for Scouting and amateur radio.

When?

JOTA always falls on the third full weekend in October. JOTA will begin on Saturday, October 17, 2009, at 00:01 hours local time, and end on Sunday, October, 18, 2009, at 23:59 hours local time.

For more information contact Jim Dowdle, KG6TQT at
dowdle@roadrunner.com and refer to the articles posted under Our PDFs.

73,
N7YLA