10/28/2007 | W2KGY United States Military Academy, West Point, Hosts 50th Scouts' Jamboree on the Air

Jamboree on the Air turns 50


On a bright, picture-perfect West Point afternoon on Sunday, October 21, Girl Scouts from Troops 118 and 126 and Boy Scouts from Troop 23, as guests of the United States Military Academy Amateur Radio Club, W2KGY, broadcast from the radio shack high atop Bartlett Hall during the 2007 Jamboree on the Air (JOTA). JOTA is an annual event during which Scouts meet other Scouts around the world through amateur radio contacts. This year was a milestone, as it marked 50 years for the program.

During JOTA, Scouts engage in QSOswhich are conversations in the short-hand code of ham radio operatorswith other Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and civilian operators all over the world. The purpose is to meet each other, exchange ideas, learn from each other, and gain a mutual understanding. Though the intent is to try to make international contacts, the High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) radios used by the club are dependent upon atmospheric propagation conditions in the ionosphere. Sunday, the Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts were able to talk to ham radio operators in Germany, the Czech Republic, Canada (Yukon), Washington, California, Texas and Florida.

Using the call sign 2CX, the first amateur radio station at West Point was established in the 1926 by Lieutenant William Holmes Wenstrom, a member of the Department of English. In 1936, the Cadet Radio Club was organized under the direction of Lieutenant Edward C. Gillette of the Department of Chemistry and Electricity. This year, JOTA activities were led by LTC Tim Schmoyer from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, the clubs Officer in Charge, whose personal call sign, W2JIG, is the very same one used by Lt. Gillette. Cadet members of the Radio Club on hand for instruction and assistance were Mike Weigand, Wiley Grant, Thomas Dean, Rob Corless, Christopher Kieschnik, and Andrew Thompson.

In addition to using proper radio call signs and procedures, the Scouts learned safety precautions around electrical equipment and radio antennas. Scouts even strapped on the appropriate safety gear and climbed the radio antenna mast on top of Bartlett Hall. During the Wednesday Scout meeting just before JOTA, fourteen Boy Scouts also received instruction on the spectrum of radio frequencies and the fundamentals of electronic circuitry, which enabled them to earn the Radio Merit Badge.




Story by Boy Scout Troop 23 and Girl Scout Troop 118 and 126

Photos by COL John Smith and Mrs. Rachel Schmoyer -- KB3PDB