Fullscreen HTML5Med Res (??MB)HTML4

JOTA/JOTI 2010: “The right to be heard” On October 16 and 17, up to half a million Scouts and Girl Guides from around the world will join together by radio and the internet in what has become known as JOTA – the Jamboree on the Air – and now JOTI, the Jamboree on the Internet. I n Scouting parlance, the word “Jamboree”, first coined by Lord Baden Powell, means a large gathering of Scouts, engaged in a range of activities which can be as diverse as pottery to caving to abseiling to . . . amateur radio! JOTA/JOTI brings together, electronically, up to half a million Scouts (and of course Girl Guides) from theoretically just about every country on the planet. The 2010 event is of special significance – it’s the 100th anniversary of the Guiding movement (the Scouts had their centenary back in 2007) and at the same time, the 20th anniversary of the International Convention of the Rights of the Child. In fact, this year’s theme, “The Right to Be Heard” is directly related to article 12 of that Convention. The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) is fully supporting the Scouts to by ROSS participate in JOTA. And even further, IARU 18  Silicon Chip encourages members to educate them in radio techniques so that they may operate their own station. The IARU Region 1 Conference 2008 in Cavtat, Croatia passed the following resolution CT08_C3_Rec 24: (Paper CT08_C3_39): In recognizing the importance of the JOTA (Jamboree-On-the-Air) for radio amateur recruiting, it is recommended that Member Societies encourage radio amateurs to assist boy Scouts and girl Guides to participate in the annual JOTA the third full weekend of October each year, organized by the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) and to use this opportunity to present amateur radio recruiting possibilities to the Scouts/Guides. The Wireless Institute of Australia, the peak body representing amateur radio operators in Australia (and a member of the IARU) supports and encourTESTER ages its members to in turn support JOTA. siliconchip.com.au Under the watchful eyes of Scout and Girl Guide leaders, campers put together a project – in this case, an Electronic Dice from Jaycar’s “Short Circuits II” book. The majority managed a working project at the end of the session – not too bad considering that many of the youngsters had never touched a soldering iron before JOTA! (This was the 2009 camp). Photo opposite: Flynn Jagoe VK6FFFF, from Perth, searches for contacts on the JOTA amateur radio network. Participation in JOTA can be as simple as Scouts and Girl Guides asking a local amateur operator to come to the local scout or guide hall and set up a “portable” station, supervising Scouts and Girl Guides while they use the equipment in an attempt to contact their peers. Other amateurs really get behind their local Scout and Guides and set up radio equipment on a much larger scale. Depending on the equipment being used, contacts may range from someone in a nearby suburb or town, right through to someone on the other side of the globe. The World Scouting organization has recommended frequencies, covering a range of bands, for JOTA partici- pants to use. All they have to do is get on air and call “CQ Jamboree” and anxiously wait for another Scout or Girl Guide to answer the call. (See overleaf) It’s not a contest. There are no prizes for the most contacts, although that is one of the aims of the Jamboree of the Air. All stations do, of course, have to be operated strictly in accordance with their country’s amateur radio licencing regulations (invariably, that includes having a licenced amateur in attendance at all times). . . . “like ducks to water”: the internet tent was very popular – most kids these days have an excellent grasp of technology (much moreso than their parents!). The Manly-Warringah Radio Society provided the equipment and the licenced amateurs to supervise – here with Abbey, Tia and Emma from 1st Elanora Girl Guides. siliconchip.com.au JOTA history JOTA was conceived by an English amateur operator, October 2010  19 World Scouting JOTA Frequencies Several amateur radio bands have designated frequencies where Scout stations can meet. Of course, the whole authorised band can be used for Scout contacts, however, to easily find Scout stations, particularly during JOTA, listen in on the following Scout frequencies: Band   SSB (phone)       CW (morse) 80 m 3.690 & 3.940MHz 3.570 MHz 40 m 7.090 & 7.190MHz 7.030 MHz 20 m 14.290MHz 14.060 MHz 17 m 18.140MHz 18.080 MHz 15 m 21.360MHz 21.140 MHz 12 m 24.960MHz 24.910 MHz 10 m 28.390MHz 28.180 MHz 6m 50.160MHz 50.160 MHz Les Mitchell, G3BHK, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Scouting in 1957. It is now considered the largest event scheduled by the World Organisation of Scouting Movements. In 2000, Les Mitchell wrote “Little did I think when I drew up the plans and rules for the first event in 1958 that its popularity would increase and spread around the world. Even more astonishing is the fact that after all this time it still holds its popularity and now has a participation of some half a million Scouts and Guides in over one hundred countries involving some ten thousand amateur radio stations. In fact it has become the largest international Scout event ever.” As each contact was made, they had to work out where the person was. JOTA/JOTI goes over 48 hours so there was always someone awake somewhere on the planet. Enter the internet The Jamboree on the internet, JOTI, was conceived a lot more recently, 1995, here in Australia. A Queanbeyan Rover, Norvan Vogt was on a student exchange in the Netherlands. Back in Australia a home team co-ordinated by Brett Sheffield connected Putten, Netherlands and Queanbeyan, Australia with dedicated IRC (Internet Relay Chat) servers. In November 1996 the World Scout Committee, noting that Scouting already had a considerable presence on the Internet and that there was already an informal and rapidly growing Jamboree on the Internet, decided that JOTI should become an official international Scouting event, and that it should be held on the same weekend as the Jamboree on the Air (JOTA). Today, the internet has become as much a part of JOTA as amateur radio equipment. Much more than talking! While many Scouting groups simply use JOTA/JOTI as a means of communicating around the world, many more use the JOTA/JOTI weekend as the opportunity for a Scouting Jamboree in its own right, with JOTA/JOTI activities forming but one part. Electronics and radio badges are sought-after by Scouts and Girl Guides, with many leaders themselves trained in electronics and radio – indeed, many leaders are also licenced amateur radio operators. They introduce the young Scouts and Girl Guides to electronics and often have them building their own projects as an aid to understanding. Many scouting groups offer training for older scouts and Guides to become licenced amateurs in their own right, thereby passing on their knowledge to the next generation. JOTA/JOTI on the Northern Beaches Scout leader Glenn Satchell and Girl Guide Georgia Llewellyn working away on the internet, “talking” to other Scouts/Guides around the globe. In the next tent, they really were talking! 20  Silicon Chip Here in Sydney, each year as part of the JOTA/JOTI weekend the Sydney Northern Region Scouts and Girl Guides gather for a jamboree on the banks of Narrabeen Lagoon. They are assisted by members of the Manly Warringah Radio Society who provide both equipment and licenced operators which allow a constant stream of contacts around the world. The 2009 camp, some of which is shown in the accompanying photos, was no exception. With the assistance of a new HF dipole antenna, the Narrabeen JOTA logged 45 siliconchip.com.au What’s a Scout/Girl Guide Jamboree without a bit of canoeing, rope climbing, volleyball, boomerang throwing, and . . . food! And a campfire on the JOTA weekend really capped it off. QSOs (contacts): 6 local, 25 interstate and 14 international. On the JOTI side, a network of 15 computers provided Internet Relay Chat using the Scoutlink network. As contacts were made the scouts identified the city and country and put stickers on their world map. Highlights were contacts on the Faroe Islands, Tenerife in the Canary Islands, and a lone scout on the Namibia/ Angola border in Africa. In addition, most of those attending received instruction in electronics and soldering, then attempted to build an Electronic Dice (from Jaycar’s Short Circuits). Some found it a bit challenging: at the end of the session about 70% were rewarded with a working project, while the rest completed the task at a later event. The North Harbour Water Activities team took the Scouts and Girl Guides canoeing on Narrabeen Lagoon and along Middle Creek. In the spare time there was a water slide, swimming in the lake, boomerang throwing and a clever radio wide game. A movie and campfire on Saturday night topped off the weekend. (The JOTA camp website http://jota.uniq.com.au has lots of JOTA and JOTI-related information). Incidentally, we understand that as part of the 2010 JOTA/JOTI, one of the aims is to teach Morse Code – via the vuvuzela (might be a good reason not to travel to Narrabeen on the third weekend in October?). SC Radio, Television & Hobbies: the COMPLETE archive on DVD YES! NA MORE THA URY ENT QUARTER C NICS O R T C E OF EL Y! R O T IS H This remarkable collection of PDFs covers every issue of R & H, as it was known from the beginning (April 1939 – price sixpence!) right through to the final edition of R, TV & H in March 1965, before it disappeared forever with the change of name to EA. For the first time ever, complete and in one handy DVD, every article and every issue is covered. If you’re an old timer (or even young timer!) into vintage radio, it doesn’t get much more vintage than this. If you’re a student of history, this archive gives an extraordinary insight into the amazing breakthroughs made in radio and electronics technology following the war years. And speaking of the war years, R & H had some of the best propaganda imaginable! Even if you’re just an electronics dabbler, there’s something here to interest you. • Every issue individually archived, by month and year • Complete with index for each year • A must-have for everyone interested in electronics Please note: this archive is in PDF format on DVD for PC. Your computer will need a DVD-ROM or DVD-recorder (not a CD!) and Acrobat Reader 6 or above (free download) to enable you to view this archive. This DVD is NOT playable through a standard A/V-type DVD player. Exclusive to SILICON CHIP ONLY 62 $ 00 +$10.00 P&P HERE’S HOW TO ORDER YOUR COPY: BY PHONE:* (02) 9939 3295 9-4 Mon-Fri BY FAX:# (02) 9939 2648 24 Hours 7 Days <at> BY EMAIL:# silchip<at>siliconchip.com.au 24 Hours 7 Days BY MAIL:# PO Box 139, Collaroy NSW 2097 * Please have your credit card handy! # Don’t forget to include your name, address, phone no and credit card details. siliconchip.com.au BY INTERNET:^ siliconchip.com.au 24 Hours 7 Days ^ You will be prompted for required information October 2010  21