Scouting, Volume 69, Number 4, September 1981 Page: 13
98, E1-E24, [16] p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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dipoles, and vertical antenna were all
erected while a donated truck hauled
in a powerful 15,000-watt generator.
The radios were set up in tents to
protect the operators from the sun
during the busy 24 hours beginning at
2 P.M. that Saturday afternoon.
The object of the contest was to
make as many radio contacts with
other operators as possible during the
allotted time, noting their states,
types of station, and number of rigs
per station.
At the start, the post had five rigs of
its own in operation, including four on
phone or voice bands and one on
novice bands, where beginners made
contacts via CW or Morse code. Un-
fortunately, within an hour, two
phone rigs were off the air, one with
an amplifier problem and the other
with a power failure. Nevertheless,
the members of 1159 struggled on,
making contacts with other operators
as far away as Oregon, California,
and New Mexico. Working in shifts,
Explorers and Advisors stayed at it
constantly until 4 A.M. the next
morning, when a thunderstorm blew
up and forced them to shut down.
"Lightning and antenna don't
mix," explained Reid Lewis, a past
president of the post and one of
several members with his own "ham"
license. "But by 6 A.M. sharp, the
camp was back on the air."
When it was over and all figures
were compiled and scribbled log
sheets deciphered, the post had made
more than 200 contacts—a highly
respectable score for their first com-
petition.
"In a way, we won a lot, even
though we weren't among the contest
winners," said J. C. Smith. "It was a
very valuable experience for all of us."
Soon after the Field Day event,
three additional members of the post
obtained their amateur licenses, large-
ly as a result of their experiences that
weekend, plus the post's extensive
training program in Morse code, basic
electronics, radio theory, and FCC
regulations.
Along with dozens of other Ex-
plorer posts, amateur radio clubs, Boy
Scout troops, and other organiza-
tions, Post 1159 will participate in
Scouting's annual Jamboree-on-the-
Air (JOTA) on the weekend of Oc-
tober 17-18.
"We missed JOTA last year, but it
will definitely be our next major ac-
tivity this year," said Smith.
As far as the number of people
involved, JOTA is by far the largest
event in international Scouting, with
hundreds of thousands of par-
ticipants. In 1980, an estimated 6,000
stations in 70 countries took part in
the two-day jamboree.
Sponsored by the World Scout Bu-
reau, JOTA is open to any Scouting
organization and any licensed "ham"
operator. So even if your post isn't as
"radio-active" as Post 1159, you can
still be involved in the fun of talking
with people you've never met in far-
away places, even in foreign coun-
tries. Just contact any "ham" radio
operator in your area. H
Exploring 13
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 69, Number 4, September 1981, periodical, September 1981; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353625/m1/65/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.