[ARRL-OK] K2BSA Information

[ClayMayrose at aol.com]

Briefly:
The K2BSA operation at the National BSA Jamboree
was headed  up by Ray Moyer WD8JKV and many
others on his experienced management team who  have
been to previous National Jamboree operations.    Many
of  us were experienced in Radio Scouting on a smaller scale.
But we were  first-timers to such a huge Jamboree event 
like this one... where 40,000  scouts were at
the base.

52 hams who are also registered scouts  or
Scout Leaders were on the K2BSA staff for this operation.    
We were each on one or more of the following teams:

K2BSA Demo  Team
License Prep Training Team
Radio Merit Badge Team
VE  Team

Some worked as demo/operators in the K2BSA station tent.
HUNDREDS  of scouts EACH DAY would come to this
tent for a 20 minute demo/hands on  experience with
Ham Radio.  For most of them, it was their first  
exposure to the hobby-service.
We had dedicated stations for 10m, 15m,  20m, 80m, 
40m, 2m+440 repeater, ATV
on several bands, one ATV was  attached to a
Radio Controlled car "Rover" that the boys could 
navigate  remotely, Several Satellite contacts were
made.  (The sched with the ISS  was cancelled due
to the extra workload the crew is dealing with up
there  surrounding possible damage to the orbiter.)
Hundreds of scouts each day got  their tour and
hands-on demo or qso by this team.   There was  
even a laser unit to show which had been used
in some mountain topping  qsos.
There was a long list of equipment loaners/donors and 
station  sponsors.   We had a 5 element 20m monobander
which performed great  for us in this period of low
sunspot activity.

Over 325 hams came by  K2BSA tents and signed in.
These were scouts or leaders who were  participants
who were hams, but not a part of the K2BSA staff.
A 7:00pm  net on the K2BSA repeater each night 
had a large number them checking  in.

Another team was the Merit Badge team.
This group broke the merit  badge down into
3 one-hour parts (Theory, Practical, and Amateur  option)
and helped over 400 boys earn their Radio Merit Badge.
Over 100  "partials" were also given out for the
boys to complete back  home.

Several individuals teamed up to teach daily
4 hour crash course  + 4 hour review+practice
test sessions for Scouts and leaders who  wanted
to get their license.   Many succeeded.

Six evening  VE Sessions were conducted on-site with 
well over 200 indivuduals signing up  for exams.
Over 100 new hams were licensed at the Jamboree,
plus several  upgrades were issued.
One night there was over 80 examinees to handle,
and  the session went later than 10pm.
There were about 20 ARRL VE's among the  K2BSA staff
to assist in this testing effort, in many cases after putting  in
a full day's work with the boys program.

Larry Wolfgang WR1B of the  ARRL was among
the many experienced scout leaders and Ham operators
on the  K2BSA staff.

I was not the team's statistician, so my numbers  above
are not exact.  But at each morning's
K2BSA Staff Meeting we  would brief each other with
the numbers we had.   So, I can pass on  the above info
as an accurate picture of the operation.

There were no  injuries or health issues surrounding
the K2BSA operation.  It was a  safe week for all
those participating in our part of the  operation.

Challenges included:  HEAT & Humidity, No A/C,  
sheer Number of participants,
Transportation delays around the Jamboree's  
many venues,  All the K2BSA TX, Fans, Lights, and support
gear  running on one 20 amp circuit breaker.

Luxuries included: Shower and  Laundry facilities were nice.  
Electricity in our sleeping tents.   
Most of us brought fans to help us get cool on our
cots at  night.

The Jamboree was a great thing to be a part of... a great  
experience.   I particularly enjoyed my shifts on the
Merit  Badge team, and engaging the scouts with this very
stimulating subject  matter.

Ray Sirois N1RY