JOTA/JOTI 2011

JOTA/JOTI 2011

Hi All,

Please click on the above image to see more pictures taken during the Jamboree On The Air/Jamboree On The Internet (JOTA/JOTI) event which took place over the weekend of 15th/16th October 2011.

What is the Jamboree-On-The-Air?
The JOTA is an annual event in which about half-a-million Scouts and Guides all over the world make contacts with each other by means of amateur radio. Short-wave radio signals carry their voices to virtually any corner of the world. It’s the shear excitement of having a live conversation with a fellow Scout or Guide at some other place in the world that attracts so many young people to this event. JOTA is a true Jamboree during which Scouting experiences are exchanged and ideas are shared. It’s a unique opportunity for each individual Scout to get the real feeling of belonging to a worldwide movement.

What is the Jamboree-On-The-Internet?
Similarly to the JOTA, the Jamboree-On-The-Internet connects Scouts using Internet techniques. The JOTI is a separate event, but held on the same weekend as the Jamboree-On-the-Air. Units can choose to take part in either one, or both events.

Basically, the aim of the event is to make contact with other Scout Groups worldwide using radio communication and/or Internet chat or voice.

During the event, which we ran from 6.30pm Saturday night through to 1pm Sunday morning, we set-up an amateur radio station inside HQ to allow us to make contact via radio communication and, we also set-up a notebook PC to allow us to make contact over the Internet, using a mobile broadband connection.

To make allowances for the different timezones across the world and to sustain interest if contacts were intermittant, we set-up camp inside HQ with the pop-up tents for a sleepover!

There was also a Wii and a DVD player plus projector on offer for further entertainment.

We asked the Scouts to bring along some food for a little midnight feasting, play games, read, chat and watch some films, as well as take part in the main JOTA/JOTI theme of the evening.

In the morning we cooked bacon and sausage sandwiches for breakfast.

As you can see from the pictures, I even put some some pioneering skills to good use by constructing two tripods and masts for the HF antenna that was raised up at the back of HQ! I also fixed up a long wire antenna to allow the Scouts to listen to another communication receiver.

The agenda for the weekend was as follows;

Arrive at our Scout HQ on Sat 16th Oct around 6.30pm

Take part in JOTA/JOTI event and other activities on offer

Sleepover in pop-up tents

Breakfast

Arrange for parents to collect from HQ at 1pm on Sunday 16th Oct

Have a load of fun for 18 hours!

During the weekend we made radio contact with other Scout Groups in Sweden, Portugal, England and Switzerland (see pictures of Gil from Portugal).

We made plenty of other contacts all over the world via the Internet.

The Scouts also did some work towards the radio communicator badge by sending messages to each other using the phonetic alphabet, using a pair of handheld radios.

The event was a great success and although most of us got no sleep Saturday night(!), we would have to say that the Scouts had a fantastic time!

We will definitely be taking part in the event again next year.

All the best,

Adam & Jason