Don Burke, KB1LXH writes:
We are just [a few weeks] from the 53rd Jamboree on the Air. This year’s event will take place on October 16th.
I will be putting together a group of hams from the Taunton Area Communications Group and our friends from the Whitman Amateur Radio Club.
We will operate from Camp Norse in Kingston, MA from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday using the call sign KC1TAC. We will again be using local 2-meter repeaters and Scout HF frequencies.
Last year the 52nd JOTA Group put 238 Cub Scout, Boy Scout and Girls Scouts on air and we hope to continue with that success. These young Scouts will be the life blood of our hobby in the coming years and I need your help to make it as exciting as we can for them.
What do we need this year? Operators at camp, the use of local repeaters, and of course–contacts!
First–if you have helped out in the past or would like to help out this year, please contact me and I will add your name to the 53rd JOTA Group list. I will give you all the information needed to for a day.
Second–are you a trustee of a local repeater? Or do you know someone who is? Please Ask them if we may list their repeater as a place to make contacts during the JOTA events on Saturday, October 16th. The Whitman ARC has already said yes. I will complete a list and pass it along as the date nears. We have had a great response from our friends in the past and because of you we have been able to get every Scout on the air–some 500 boys and girls in just three years. Also, if your repeater has Echolink or IRLP, on the day of JOTA will you add “JOTA” to your station’s name description?
Third–will you be hosting a JOTA event with your Scout Pack/Den or Troop/Crew? I’d like to add your groups to our list of Scout contacts.
Maybe you don’t have a Scout connection and want to help anyway from your QTH? We still want to hear from you! Please mark your calendar for the October 16th.
Feel Free to pass this request on to your club members and ham radio friends. The bigger the list the better the time. With your help and some good weather we will have another great JOTA event in Eastern Massachusetts. Thank you for your assistance; we’ll look for you on the air.