[SJRA-Members] GOTA operators for Field Day

[Bob Applegate]

Hi,

I’m not very active in the club meetings so maybe this was discussed, but Boy Scout Troop 26 from Medford is planning on camping at the Field Day site next weekend.  They’ll set up Saturday afternoon and spend the night.  The boys are working on several merit badges while at the site.

First and foremost for them is being at an emergency preparedness exercise, as this is a requirement for the Emergency Preparedness merit badge… that’s one they can use for earning their Eagle rank, so they’re focused on meeting that requirement.

If they get on the air and make some contacts, that will also fulfill a requirement for their Radio merit badge.

The younger guys need lots of camping nights and food preparation for the earlier rank advancements.

So, while the boys are there for Boy Scout reasons, they are also VERY anxious to get on the air!  I assume they’ll mostly be on the GOTA station, but if you happen to see some of them that seem like natural contesters, feel free to put them elsewhere.  

This is an excellent opportunity to introduce ham radio to a group of young people.  Have a spare set of headphones around so they can sit and listen, especially at the CW stations.  I’ve taken my KX3 on a number of camping trips and summer camps, and found that the boys were more interested in CW than voice… go figure.  They’d tune a station, watch the CW decode, and within a few minutes started copying some slow code on paper because they’d already picked up a number of characters.  Young minds and good hearing… a perfect combination!

All of these guys are very local so they’re also potential SJRA members.  Explain ham radio, assure them they can easily pass the test, convince Mom & Dad that it doesn’t take thousands of dollars to get started.  Get them hooked now on ham radio and it could be a life long hobby!

73

Bob - K2UT
Section Youth Coordinator, SNJ
Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 26 (these