Mount Vernon Iowa's Boy Scout Troop 40 participated in our second JOTA during our October campout at Camp Waubeek, northeast of Cedar Rapids Iowa.  Six boys and four adults participated.

Immediately after breakfast Saturday morning, we set to putting up the multiband wire dipole, using a bow and fishing arrow to loft a leader line over nearby treetops. Boys pitched in setting up table for the operating position for the HF rig, an IC-735.  Power was provided from a 12 volt car battery. A boy-powered generator improvised from a discarded exercise bike was employed to keep the battery charged, and let the boys waiting to talk have a productive activity!

The weather was clear, cold, and windy, but the propagation was superb.  Contacts were made on each band from 40 through 10 meters, with stations from England, Germany, Florida, Utah, Alaska, and others.  We also heard stations in Austria, Croatia, Venezuela, Cuba and Japan.  We were all impressed by the hams around the world who took time to welcome our boys to the adventure of amateur radio!

After lunch Saturday, each built his own crystal radio, winding coils on a cardboard form, and assembling the electrical components on a breadboard using screws and fahnestock clips.  When finished, we hooked the radios up to the HF dipole and ground to try them out.  Jaws dropped as the sounds of the Iowa football game broadcast came through the earphones of their simple receivers.  This was radio magic in action!

With a forecast of evening showers, we tore down the station after supper Saturday, and concluded the evening listening to recordings of old-time radio shows on the scoutmaster's portable satellite radio.

All in all, it was great fun.  Sunday, when the boys returned home, they were bursting with excitement to tell their parents about all the contacts they had made, and interesting people they had met on the radio.  One could not have asked for a better introduction to amateur radio.

73 Dave Cripe NM0S