[HCRA] [Fwd: [YCCC] K2BSA briefs]

[Steve Rodowicz]

FYI

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [YCCC] K2BSA briefs
Date: Thu, 04 Aug 2005 13:45:46 -0400
From: ray at sirois.com
To: yccc at yccc.org

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,
including John Pize KX1X of the YCCC.    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
Fort AP Hill (army base) in Caroline County 20 minutes from
Fredricksburg VA.

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.
FMI:   http://www.meritbadge.com/mb/093.htm

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
......................

Other popular activities included:  Basic SCUBA,
3 Trap Shooting areas, BMX Bike Courses,
Confidence Course (Army's obstacle course),
BikeAthalon  (biking+shooting), an instructional
Conservation Trail also got good reviews by the
scouts.

......................

If you want to become a registered Radio Merit Badge
Counsellor in you locality, please get in touch with your
local BSA Council and get on the list of approved counselors,
then hook up with local scout troop leaders to get
small groups to pass this merit badge.

Next Ham Scouting event is JOTA "Jamboree on the Air"
Oct 15th.   (You can do this by inviting scout groups to
your own shack.)    250,000 participate in this around
the world each year making it Scouting's largest
annual event.



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