FINAL COUNTDOWN TO BOY SCOUT JAMBOREE
PAUL/ANCHOR: It's time to set up for the National Boy Scout Jamboree.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Stearns, NE4RD, will be on the scene
throughout the event, and filed this report as preparations entered
their final stages.
BILL'S REPORT: This week in Radio Scouting we are traveling to the Summit!
Myself and over 5,000 other adult Scouters will be making our way to the
Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia, to setup for the National Boy
Scout Jamboree. The K2BSA team arrives loaded and ready to begin check-in
and setup on Saturday, July 15th. We hope to start station testing as
early as July 16th. Scouts start arriving around the 19th.
This is where you come in, as the amateur radio community, we are asking
for meaningful and engaging contacts for the Scouts visiting the station.
We expect to have around 4,000 of through the demonstration station
throughout the week. We want this not only to serve as a requirement of a
merit badge for those that need it, but as an experience and introduction
to a new and exciting hobby.
I spoke with Russ Mickiewicz, N7QR, about his role and setup of the
stations at National Jamboree:
RUSS: "My name is Russ Mickiewicz, my call is N7QR. I was originally
licensed from the Midwest as WA9SSR back in '66, and my job in the
Jamboree is the technical crew for K2BSA. I have one person on my staff,
Jason Miller. Between us two, we sort of shepherd the rest of the
operations people, we get the labor from wherever we can find it, and
essentially put the radios together, put the antennas together, get all
the feedlines together, and set up around six stations. We'll have a VHF
station, and about 4 HF stations, and maybe a rover station, that can do
other things like Echolink. Another part of my job is if anything breaks,
if we can put it back together again or smoke gets out, we try and put it
back in the box, so that we have stations operating all the time. Then, at
the end we'll run around for a couple days boxing it all up, putting it in
the trailer, and back where they store it.
BILL: I will be making sure that we continue getting the message out about
this event, while we're on the ground in West Virginia. We'll be posting updates
on our website k2bsa.net, our twitter feed @K2BSA_Scouting, our Facebook Page
@K2BSA, and rumor has it that we'll be featured live on the
W5KUB Youtube channel. All of our operating frequencies and modes will be
updated on a special page on our website at www.k2bsa.net/jamboree-live.
We hope to work you on the air.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association, this
is Bill Stearns, NE4RD.
**
NEW LICENSES ISSUED IN SCANDINAVIA
PAUL/ANCHOR: There are a whole bunch of new hams in Scandinavia calling
QRZ. As Amateur Radio Newsline's Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, reports, testing in
Sweden and Norway has gone well.
JEREMY'S REPORT: Norway and Sweden have welcomed some new amateurs on the
air, following their successful completion of exams in those two countries.
The Norwegian Radio Relay League reports that 21 new license-holders are
now ready to get on the bands, following exams given this spring. The
newly minted amateurs are as young as 15, and and the eldest is 60. The
Norwegian exam contains 28 questions, and although only one of those to
sit for the test in Norway failed to get a passing grade, the league notes
that the candidate scored close enough for brighter prospects next time
around.
Meanwhile in Sweden, the airwaves now have 64 new hams calling CQ. The new radio
operators gained their licenses during the first six months of the
year, and all but three have opted to become members of the Swedish
national radio society, the SSA. June was among the busiest months of the
testing season in Sweden, and the results speak for themselves.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.
(SOUTHGATE)
**
OKLAHOMA CITY HAMFEST A HAM HOLIDAY
PAUL/ANCHOR: It looks like Amateur Radio Newsline anchor and correspondent,
Don Wilbanks AE5DW, is about to make some news himself. He's a man with a
plan - and a plane ticket - and he's heading back to his home state of Oklahoma.
Don, is THAT what they call a "ham holiday?"
DON/ANCHOR: That's right, Paul! I'm doing the Steve Miller thing and
getting on that big ol' jet airliner to Oklahoma City for Ham holiday, the
OKC hamfest. They've invited me to be a guest speaker at their bar b q
buffet banquet on Friday night, July 21st, and I'll be hanging around the
hamfest Saturday the 22nd, taking in a few forums, and just enjoying being
back home in The Sooner State! So if you're in or near the Oklahoma City
area, I invite you to Ham Holiday, the Oklahoma City hamfest, July 21st
and 22nd! Everything you need to know is at hamholiday.com. I hope to see
you there!
PAUL/ANCHOR: Another member of the Newsline crew, Mike Askins, KE5CXP,
will also be appearing at the hamfest. They'd love to meet you.
--- SBBSecho 3.01-Win32
* Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - wx1der.dyndns.org (57:57/10)
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