K2BSA Amateur Radio Association

Icom Sponsors Jamboree 2013

Jim, K5ND — Fri, 18 May 2012 02:25:08 +0000

Icom America and the Boy Scouts of America today announced a sponsorship agreement for the K2BSA operation at the 2013 National Scout Jamboree. Icom will be the exclusive amateur radio transceiver and repeater sponsor for the Jamboree. In addition, Icom America will sponsor an amateur radio station loan program for local Boy Scout councils beginning this year.

You can see the full press release at this link Icom America announces K2BSA sponsorship and on the Boy Scouts of America website.

This is yet another major step forward in the advancement of Radio Scouting.

Morse Code Interpreter Strip

Jim, K5ND — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:51:35 +0000

Today the Boy Scouts of America introduced a Morse Code Interpreter Strip for wear on youth and adult uniforms to designate those who are proficient in Morse Code. It denotes their availability for emergency communications and other types of supporting communication for Scouting and the community.

The patch design spells out the word M-O-R-S-E in Morse Code.

The full announcement is at this link Morse Code Interpreter Strip Requirements

Jamboree Plan V7

Jim, K5ND — Wed, 02 May 2012 10:26:27 +0000

The leadership team for the K2BSA operation at the 2013 Jamboree has completed version 7 of the operations plan. A great deal of information has been added on the Radio Merit Badge, Demonstration Station, and ARDF-Foxhunting. In addition, the full plan has been updated to include information gleaned from a March 2012 meeting at the Summit.

You can download it at Jamboree Plan Version 7.

The K2BSA Jamboree leadership team that contributed to this plan include Ron Wood, K0BRO; Bill Bode, N4WEB; Keith Kaiser, WA0TJT; Russ Mickiewicz, N7QR; and Jim Wilson, K5ND.

Radio Scouting IRLP

Jim, K5ND — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 23:16:46 +0000

Radio Scouting and Jamboree on the Air now has a common meeting place for IRLP (Internet Radio Linking Project) contacts. Scouts and Scouters may simply connect an IRLP node to Node 9091, which is a dedicated Topic Channel for Radio Scouting. If you’re looking for a contact, after connecting make yourself known by IDing and indicating your interest in a Radio Scouting or JOTA contact. Remember, “live” repeaters are involved, so please use proper identification procedures.

If no one is available, it’s OK to remain connected. The next person to connect will similarly ID and a QSO can be established. Since this is a single channel, it’s recommended that once contact is made, the two stations mutually agree on IRLP nodes, disconnect from the Topic Channel and connect to the agreed upon nodes. For detailed information on available IRLP repeaters in your area, how IRLP works and operating guidelines, visit www.irlp.net

A recommended time for calling has initially been established for 1800Z (1100 PDST, 1400 EDST). This time was selected for weekend activities, such as Radio Merit Badge events, as well as contacts during Summer Camp. Another suggested time is 0100Z (1800 PDST, 2100 EDST). The evening schedule should accommodate most scouts and scouters during the evening hours. The Radio Scouting/JOTA Topic Channel is available for use 24/7.

The Topics Channel will initially be set up for IRLP only and will soon have connectivity via EchoLink.

For more information about Topic Channels, see http://www.irlptopics.net/

The K2BSA Amateur Radio Association sincerely appreciates the resources provided by Kent Johnson, W7AOR, on the Western Reflector Annex, to Michael Bloom, W7RAT, for coordinating this Channel, and to the Oregon Internet Radio Group for implementing the Topic Channels Project.

Submitted by Frank Krizan, KR1ZAN

Donate

Jim, K5ND — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 02:50:08 +0000

We’ve recently established a bank account along with an account with PayPal. We can now accept your donations online via your PayPal account or any credit card. If you’re interested in financially supporting the mission of the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association in serving Scouting and amateur radio, we welcome your donations. As a 501c3 organization, your donations are tax deductible. You can donate here.

Mobile Version Part 2

Jim, K5ND — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:59:14 +0000

Updated the Mobile version with Plugin Buddy’s Mobile plug-in. It primarily allows a custom theme around the mobile site. It works reasonably well. I crafted a header for the mobile version and updated some link colors, etc. I hope this proves more valuable for those of you accessing the site with your mobile phones.

Mobile Version

Jim, K5ND — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:00:37 +0000

Not too long ago I created a mobile version of this website using the WordPress Plugin WP Touch. I did not spring for the WP Touch Pro version, which adds a number of templates and other features. I did find that the free version suited my needs, which are mostly to provide a mobile version to those who are operating from smart phones that cannot readily display the graphic elements of the website.

However, I’ll note that on my own iPhone the website displays pretty well without a mobile version. You do have to expand sections of the page to enlarge the type for reading, but you can see the images, layout, etc. My feeling is that the mobile version is of the most use for the blog portion of this site, where you can read and comment on the posts.

At any rate, I hope that the few visitors who need a mobile version find this helpful. Drop a comment and let me know.

K2BSA and ARRL Kid’s Day

Jim, K5ND — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:38:02 +0000

This past January 8th, Tom Scheussler, N5HYP, set up HF, VHF, and satellite operations using K2BSA/5 from the National Scouting Museum in Irving, TX. He forwarded an audio file that recorded several QSO’s with amateur radio satellite AO-27. This file was added to one he provided from similar satellite QSO’s during a Radio Merit Badge Class in September 2011. Check it out at our On the Air page. The Scouts are having great fun on the air and you can tell that those who are contacting them are having just as much fun.

Thanks, Tom, and the National Scouting Museum for your great support.

K2BSA Board Meeting

Jim, K5ND — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:51:16 +0000

The K2BSA Amateur Radio Association Board met yesterday, January 24, 2012. They reviewed the financial statement for 2011, noted that reports had been filed with the IRS as well as an update with the ARRL. They also reviewed reports of website and social media activity, Jamboree 2013 efforts, call sign use by Scouting events, and the 2011 Jamboree on the Air. They spent a significant portion of their meeting discussing future goals of the organization.

In other news, a K2BSA Logbook of the World account has been established and every effort will be made to add logbook information for the use made of the K2BSA at Scouting events and in particular recording all contacts at the 2013 National Jamboree.

2011 JOTA Report

Jim, K5ND — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:56:23 +0000

The final USA report for the 2011 Jamboree on the Air has been filed with the World Organization of the Scouting Movement. The great news is that 68 stations reported 3,000+ Scout participants. This is up 600% over 2010. Moreover, this is clearly a fraction of the actual number that participated in the USA given that 200 stations registered JOTA operations before the event.

You can see the full 2011 Jamboree on the Air report here. Congratulations to the National Radio Scouting Committee and all those who took time to organize a local JOTA event.