Scouting on the Air: JOTA (World Jamboree On The Air)
Description
This article is from the Scouting FAQ, by Bill Nelson nelsonb@nospam.aztec.asu.edu, Soaring Golden Eagle eagle@rangernet.org and Alan Houser troop24@emf.net with numerous contributions by others.
Scouting on the Air: JOTA (World Jamboree On The Air)
JOTA is an annual event in which Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and Guides
from all over the world speak to each other by means of Amateur Radio.
Information, dates and time for JOTI and JOTA can be found at:
http://www.scout.org
As every year since 1993, a JOTI (Jamboree On The Internet) will be held
as off-stage event during the JOTA. To participate, connect to the
Internet Relay Chatter (IRC) by using the IRC client on your local
host or by telnetting to <host name to be supplied>. There will be
a channel named "Scouting" (I think) where JOTers will meet
during that time.
JOTA is a worldwide event. Units may operate for 48 hours, from
Saturday 00.00 h until Sunday 24.00 h local time. Due to the world's
time differences, this period is not the same for everyone. To
determine the times at which you can most likely contact a certain part
of the world, calculate a time difference and ask your amateur radio
operator about the radio propagation prediction (a sort of weather
forecast for radio waves).
Any authorized frequency may be used to establish a contact.
Just call "CQ JAMBOREE", or answer Scout stations who are calling
to establish a contact. National radio regulations must be strictly
observed (in most countries, a licensed amateur radio operator must
be present and a logbook must be held). To find each other easily,
listen on the agreed World Scout Frequencies listed below.
Another hint to improve your success rate: in the weeks preceding
the event, keep an eye on rec.Scouting for other stations and arrange
meeting times and frequencies with them in advance.
World Federation of Great Towers
================================
The World Federation of Great Towers (WFGT) is an organization in which
large towers all over the world co-operate for special activities. It
was founded in 1989 with the aim to stimulate communication and
exchanges of all sort between the people of the world.
The WFGT invites Scouts to take part in the JOTA from the top of their
Towers. Amateur radio stations will be installed on the towers and
professional communication facilities to contact the other towers will
be made available also.
The following towers are expected to take part: Centrepoint Tower in Sydney
(Australia), Donauturm in Vienna (Austria), CN Tower in Toronto
(Canada), Empire State Building in New York (USA), Tour Eiffel in Paris
(France), Euromast in Rotterdam (Netherlands), Ostankino Tower in Moscow
(Russia), Blackpool Tower in Blackpool (United Kingdom) and British
Telecom Tower in London (United Kingdom).
Some of these stations may use special call signs as well. It is
usually planned to establish a television link between New York, Paris and
Moscow at some time during the weekend. This will make it possible for
the Scouts at those towers to have a forum discussion. Further details
are not yet known, but can be obtained from the World Bureau's radio
station HB9S during the JOTA.
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