JOTA - October 18 & 19
BSA Council List - Print and use this list to help your JOTA program. Use your council number when making contacts.
The Idea
It all started in the fall of '07 during Jamboree on the Air, JOTA. My local camp, Muskingum Valley Scout Reservation, is a mouthful to say over the radio. Many scout camps around the country have names that are easy for the local scout/ham but troublesome for the out of town visitor on the airwaves. So an idea started to form. Why not assign an ID number to each camp like IOTA has islands? All B.S.A. councils are already assigned a number so half of the job is done.
Here are some ideas that we have put together.
1. We don't want to make it cumbersome to administer, so that we can keep it free. Along that line, we might just have a volunteer coordinator for each country to assign ID numbers. To begin, a voluntary registration system will be used.
2. For a camp numbering convention, the following is possible:
a. International standard country data processing code; USA, FRA, GBR, as a prefix?
b. 3 digit number corresponding to the council in the US or scout group district or whatever overseas.
c. Letter suffix for each of their camps beginning with A. The suffix "T" (temporary) would be reserved for multiunit gatherings (Council or district camporees, "rallies", Cub Scout Day camps, etc.) held at parks, etc. Many overseas scout organizations don't have permanent campgrounds like us. The "T" suffix would be reused for any temporary event within a council.
d. For National or World Jamborees, the identifier would be the 3 letter prefix of the country hosting it followed by the 4 digit year. For example the recent World Jamboree in the UK would be GBR-2007, and the last BSA national one would be USA-2010.
3. we will promote the core principal of Scouting to the ham community and not require physical QSL cards or checking. A Ham would simply certify that "On my Honor, I have made the following contacts with Scouts, Guides or Scouters at the following Camps and thus qualify for the SCOTA 10 Award" (or whatever). They would submit their application electronically via the web and get a color PDF of their award to print locally in return. Thus no postage or costs.
4. Contacts only count if the ham talks to a registered Scout, Guide or Scouter at the camp. Thus a non-Scouter ham who wants to "activate" a camp will need to offer the Scouts there a chance to talk on the radio instead of just running it like a contest.
5. Offer an easy award of 10 camps to start with endorsements at 25, 50, 75, 100, 200, etc.
Timeline
2008 - Fall - Complete the scheme of identification. Layout the rules for camp registration including how to register and what information is needed.
2008 - Winter - Promotion of the program to the B.S.A. and ARRL and others.
2009 - Summer - Adoption of program by B.S.A. for 100th anniversary in 2010.
2009 - Fall - Awards and worldwide promotion for 100th anniversary.
2010 - Summer - Used at National Jamboree.
Needs
- A person with artistic ability for logo design.
- Person with good contacts at national B.S.A. headquarters, ARRL and International scouting organizations.
- Other needs to be determined.
Last updated 8/26/08
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