December is Youngsters on the Air Month (YOTA Month). Listen for stations on the air with YOTA as the call sign suffix.

“The idea for this is to show the Amateur Radio hobby to young people and to encourage youngsters to be active on the amateur bands,” said Tomi Varro, HA9T. “This is a great moment to show Amateur Radio to the world and to invite newcomers.”

YOTA is primarily an International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 (Europe and Africa) activity, but youngsters from the US in Region 2 (the Americas) have attended YOTA summer camps, which are held in a different country each year. Varro said both licensed and unlicensed youth will be making contacts. “Be helpful on the bands — maybe these young operators are just making their first ever contacts,” he advised.

YOTA stations are, in general, operated by individuals 25 or younger. The operating event takes place for the entire month of December UTC.

As part of YOTA month, Bob Johnson, W9XY, and Ken Claerbout, K4ZW, will travel to Ethiopia to team up with the club at the Addis Ababa University, Institute of Technology and club station ET3AA. For more updates, visit YOTA’s Facebook page.