K2BSA Amateur Radio Association — dedicated to amateur radio within the Scout movement. Providing information to support all Radio Scouting activities.

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Radio Merit Badge Numbers 2021

The Radio Merit Badge numbers have been posted for 2021. With declining membership along with a pandemic, the numbers hit 3,550 in 2020 but showed an encouraging rebound in 2021 to 4,439.

Here’s the full chart beginning in 1950. Click on the image for a larger version.

K2BSA 2023 National Jamboree Team Application

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I have had many emails regarding recruitment of the 2023 K2BSA Staff at the National Jamboree (July 16-29, 2023). While the operation plan is not fully solidified at this point, I wanted to start to collect applications so I can fill the staff and leadership positions and see what additional competencies we can bring to The Summit.

Please read and review the full information, pricing, and policies regarding serving on the National Jamboree Staff (JST).

https://jamboree.scouting.org/jamboree-service-team/

The K2BSA Application does not guarantee you a position on the JST, but it will start the necessary dialog for the selection process. As well, there are steps that you need to complete on your own in the JST registration process and council approvals that determine whether I will see you in the hiring queue.

https://k2bsa.net/k2bsa-2023-national-jamboree-staffing/

Please only complete the staffing application if you are planning on registering as JST or have already registered. I hope your interest in serving on the JST goes beyond the scope of K2BSA, but we’d be grateful to have us as your first selection! National Jamborees are an amazing experience as Staff and we’ll be having a lot of fun finally being able to return to The Summit!

73 de NE4RD

Bill

K2BSA Operation at National Jamboree 2023

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There has been a lot of interest in the upcoming National Jamboree located at The Summit in West Virginia next year, and indeed there will be a K2BSA operation at the event.  We are working on preliminary details of the operation while the National Jamboree Staff get the staff registration open to all.  We are all excited to get back to The Summit and share the magic of Amateur Radio with Scouts and Scout Leaders.

If you are interested in serving on the staff of K2BSA, now is the time to finish getting that Extra Class license and go ahead and update your Youth Protect Training.  We will provide a link for prospective applicants to go through an interview process.  In the meantime keep an eye on the main site for the Jamboree and familiarize yourself with Jamboree Service Team.

 

#JOTAJOTI 2021 is this weekend!

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Jamboree on the Air and Jamboree on the Internet is this weekend, so be prepared!  Here’s a few tips from participants over the past few years:

  • If there are too many stations on or around the frequency, take that fancy circle knob on the radio and move the VFO away to find a clear frequency.
    • Official Frequencies such as 14.290 are really just references that point you to the upper end of the SSB section in the band.  Don’t rely on waiting your turn or possibly creating QRM, move up or down the band and find a clear spot to call “CQ JOTA”.
  • If the band conditions sour on HF, move to VHF or Digital Radio (D-Star, Echolink, M17, WIRES-X, DMR, etc).
    • While D-Star (REF033A) reflectors and Echolink (JOTA-365) ( channels are well known, some of the other digital modes aren’t quite as visible to knowing where to connect to.  Search your channel list for JOTA and you may find some in there like on Brandmeister where we see Global Channels for JOTA on 907 and 9071-9078.  Do you know of more, please share on social media with hashtags of #JOTAJOTI and #hamradio.  We try to keep our list up to date here.
  • If your scouts are having an event somewhere in town where you can setup a quick portable demonstration station, then load it up and head over!
    • Although you should have already planned this months ago, sometimes it’s fun to be spontaneous and just be present!
  • Most importantly, just have fun!
    • Even if no scouts show up, it’s a great time to get on the radio and help other stations show the magic of amateur radio to the youth!

We did publish the JOTA-JOTI newsletter that should have hit your inboxes today.  If you didn’t get a copy of it, you can check it out here.