Radio Scouting
Radio Scouting at Troop 893
Radio technology is all around us all the time. It opens our garage doors and makes the cell phone in your pocket possible. It allows us to see through objects and study stars on the other side of the galaxy!
Radio Scouting at Troop 893 promotes the use of radio to supplement outdoor scouting activities and to provide service to our Troop, District, and Council as well as our Chartering Organization, and the our larger community.
Scouts can explore radio technology in a number of ways:
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Earn the Electronics and Radio Merit Badges
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Participate in Jamboree on the Air and talk with others across town or across the country!
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Use radios during hikes, campouts, Eagle projects, or community service to facilitate communication
The Troop owns several hand held UHF/VHF radios and holds a license for dedicated UHF and VHF frequencies. There are also several active scouters that hold amateur radio licenses and are active in the local amateur radio community. Contact us if you are interested in learning more or want to get involved!
Jamboree-On-The-Air
Troop 893
Jamboree-on-the-Air
2024
Saturday, October 19th
from 11:00AM to 4:00PM
Centreville United Methodist Church
Picnic Pavilion (Activity Field)
6400 Old Centreville Rd, Centreville, VA
Jamboree-on-the-Air, or JOTA, is the largest Scouting event in the world. It is held annually the third full weekend in October. JOTA uses amateur radio to link Scouts and “hams” (aka amateur radio operators) around the world, around the nation, and in your own community. This jamboree requires no travel, other than to the Troop 893 JOTA Station at the CUMC Activity Field.
Stop by and talk on a radios to scouts or amateur radio operators! Stay for a little or stay for alot. It is all for fun and to connect with others nearby and far away!
Once at the JOTA radio station, the communication typically involves talking on a microphone and listening on the station speakers. However, other forms of specialized communication may also take place, such as digital communication (much like sending a message on your smartphone but transmitted by radio), or communication through a satellite relay, or an earth-based relay (called a repeater). The stations you’ll be communicating with can be across town, across the country, or even around the world! The World Scout Bureau reported that the 2017 JOTA-JOTI had over 1.5 million Scout participants from more than 160 countries!
For 2024 we will have 5 activities at our JOTA station for scouts to enjoy:
- Introduction – what is electronics and radio?
- Very High Frequency (VHF) communications via repeaters for local/regional coverage
- Centreville Days direct VHF radio link
- Digital Packet Radio & Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) – local and via the International Space Station (!)
- High Frequency (HF) communications for long distance
- Radio direction finding – TBD
JOTA is also a great introduction to the Radio, Electronics, and Digital Technology merit badges! (With your counselor’s approval you may complete requirements 7 and 9.(a).(6) of the Radio Merit Badge – bring your blue card!)
Scouts that are interested should sign up here: Troop 893 JOTA Sign Up
Scouts and adults – your help is needed! If you are interested in assisting in set up and station operations please contact ASM Shawn Morrow at shawnm@ieee.org. If you have completed the radio or electronics merit badges, or are interested in doing so, you are qualified to help!
We are looking forward to seeing you at our JOTA station, or talking with you on the air!
Additional information regarding JOTA can be found at the following links:
ARRL: http://www.arrl.org/jamboree-on-the-air-jota
K2BSA: https://k2bsa.net/jota/
World Organization of Scouting Movements: JOTA-JOTI.org https://www.jotajoti.info/about
Electronics & Radio Merit Badge Workshop
This workshop is for scouts (& scouters) with a genuine interest in electronics and radio rather than just adding to your merit badge count. A secondary goal of this workshop is to provide a foundation in electronics and radio for scouts (& scouters) interested in obtaining their amateur radio license. In addition to the merit badge requirements, we will review terminology and principles useful for preparing for the technician amateur radio license. This is not a amateur radio license exam class. However, the information needed to complete both merit badges is also needed for the amateur radio license exam.
The workshop will be run similarly to the troop’s merit-badge university. Attendance at all sessions will be needed to earn both merit-badges. We will complete requirements for both merit-badges. Some requirements will need to be completed by scouts on their own. There will be no make-up sessions and scouts will have to work with a merit-badge counselor on their own to finish any incomplete requirements. There is a minimum number of scouts that need to sign up to make it worthwhile for this workshop to be conducted.
The Merit Badges:
The Electronics merit-badge is a great lead-in to the Radio merit badge. Scouts will learn to solder and will need to complete a basic electronics project. The recommended project is a limited run, custom designed FM transmitter kit for this workshop. This kit is a simple FM transmitter that can be received by any commercial FM radio. You will need basic soldering and electronic tools to assemble the kit. The Radio merit-badge will include a field trip and get-on-the-air session (JOTA). Requirements for each merit badge may be reviewed here: Electronics, Radio.
The next running of the workshop is planned for fall 2024. Contact us for more details.
