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YOTA Summer Camp 2020 in Croatia

By | Publication, YOTA Croatia 2022 | No Comments

YOTA Croatia logo

HRS’s most significant project of the past few years, YOTA (Youngsters On The Air) Camp, will be held 8th- 15th August 2020 in Karlovac.

Preparations officially began on 20th January with a meeting in Karlovac. The Coordination Committee as well as workshop leaders and other project associates. All participants visited the Bedem Hostel (student centre), which offers all amenities and comfort for such an event. Eighty young people, aged 14-26, from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East are expected to attend the YOTA camp. Attendees will be staying at the hostel in double and triple rooms.

During their stay, 9 workshops will be organized: kit building, ARDF, antenna fabrication, antenna testing, telegraphy, programming, RCSCS, satellite and digital communications.

The event will be marked by a special callsign 9A20YOTA with which the youngsters will be able to operate 24/7.

Two excursions are planned: one to the island of Krk and Rijeka, which is the European Capital of Culture this year, and the other to Zagreb to visit the Technical Museum, enjoy some sightseeing and visit Sljeme the highest peak of the Medvednica mountain.

Today we present the final logo that will represent this significant project in the HRSs youth efforts as well as several social media platforms to serve as a means to share youth activity in Croatia not just for this project but for many more to come.

YCP 2020 – Applications open for LX20I, 9A1A, EC2DX

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We are pleased to announce the opening of applications for our Youth Contest Program 2020. There will follow some more activities for the second half of the year 😜

Be fast to apply for LX20I (@LX7I) in Luxembourg 🇱🇺
#ARRLSSB in March will be there very soon!
Also 9A1A and EC2DX will open their doors again … more info here 😁🇭🇷🇪🇸

https://www.ham-yota.com/youth-contesting-program/

Balkans On The Air 2020 – A YOTA Sub-Regional Ham Camp – Open for All Youngsters

By | Publication | One Comment

This event has been postponed until further notice due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

After 4 successful Serbian national YOTA camps, Amateur Radio Union of Serbia (SRS) decided to host first Balkan sub-regional YOTA event. It will be held from 3rd to 6th of April 2020. near Belgrade, capital city of Serbia. We invite all the Balkans youngsters to participate in this event and have fun weekend full of activities related to radio hobby and meet new people that share same interest. Balkans region is big so youngsters from Balkans will have priority, we will try to save some seats for youngsters from countries outside the Balkans.

Who?

Are you 15–25 years old and interested in amateur radio? You are welcome to this event. Newcomers to radio hobby are welcome. We only ask you to be a member of one of the IARU member societies.

Where?

The event will take place in the Deliblato Sands nearby Pančevo and Belgrade, Serbia. There is a youth camp complex with all required facilities (sleeping rooms, space for activities etc.).

Activities

At the moment, we are completing the full program. We can say that it’s going to be very interesting. It will be packed full with workshops and other activities, we want to introduce newcomers to hobby and also teach experienced radio amateurs some advanced stuff. Also there will be all famous Intercultural Evening – one of the most known activities form Youngsters On The Air events.

There will be at least 2 radio stations available at any time during your stay, covering HF, VHF and UHF.

You will definitely have fun and meet new people.

Costs?

Biggest part of the event is funded by IARU R1 and the SRS funds. We ask all participants to contribute a fee of €20. We recommend participating members’ societies to cover their participants’ travel costs.

Accommodation, 3 meals a day and activities are covered.

How to apply?

We have limited amount of spots available so we recommend applying as soon as possible. You can apply via this link. Applications are accepted from January 10th to February 10th.

We will send more detailed information to participants after the application deadline. Do you have any questions, feel free to contact Ljuba YU5EEA at yu5eea@sbb.rs.

See you soon!

73, Balkans On The Air Organizing Team

Upcoming Winter YOTA – PA 2019

By | Publication, Winter YOTA PA 2019 | No Comments

With only a few days left till Winter YOTA, we want to thank our sponsors to make this event possible! Young amateur radio enthusiasts coming from Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Austria, Romania, Serbia and The Netherlands will be travelling to Oosterhout, in the Southern part of The Netherlands. Listen for PA6YOTA 12-15 December and make a QSO with one of the youngsters. Follow the YOTA pages for updates on the event!

Youth on the Air Camp Coming to IARU Region 2

By | Publication | No Comments

The first camp for young amateur radio operators in North, Central, and South America is coming to West Chester, Ohio in June, 2020.

A summer camp for licensed amateur radio operators ages 15 through 25 will take place June 21 through June 26, 2020 at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester Township (North Cincinnati), Ohio, according to an announcement today by the Youth on the Air (YOTA) committee in IARU Region 2. The camp is being hosted by the museum and the West Chester Amateur Radio Association (WC8VOA). The camp, a modified version of the popular Youngsters on the Air camps in IARU Region 1 covering Europe and Africa, is operated by Electronic Applications Radio Service, Inc. (EARS). EARS is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to wireless technologies and activities. IARU Region 2 covers North, Central and South America. The camp will focus on building peer & mentor relationships and learning how to take amateur radio to the next level. Campers will attend workshops and activities in multiple STEM-related subjects, such as Radio Contesting, Electronic Kit Building, D-STAR, APRS, Satellite Communications, Building Antennas, and Radio Direction Finding and Orienteering. Campers will also build teams and contesting skills by using amateur radio at nearby Kings Island Amusement Park. A high altitude balloon launch is also being planned. Social and team building activities include a pizza and pool party, a trip to Dave & Buster’s and operation of a special event station using the call sign W8Y. The event is a pilot for what hopefully will become a future series at other locations. This is the first camp specifically for youngsters 15 to 25 living in the Americas who already have their amateur licenses.

This camp could not take place without financial and equipment support. Campers will use the latest and greatest amateur radio equipment courtesy of ICOM America, Heil Sound, X-Tronic, and R&L Electronics. Major financial supporters at the time of this press release include: the Yasme Foundation, the World Wide Radio Operators Foundation, Orlando Hamcation and Orlando Amateur Radio Club (OARC), the Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF), Dayton Hamvention and Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA), the Huntsville Hamfest, the ARRL Foundation, Southwest Ohio DX Association (SWODXA), Radio Amateurs of Canada, and Gary West, K8DEV & Dee Dee West, KA8DXE. Their financial support makes it possible for these aspiring young amateur radio operators to attend the camp at a greatly reduced cost. Clubs and individuals who wish to donate to help further defray the costs of the camp can do so via PayPal by visiting YOTAregion2.org, and clicking on the donate button. Donations can also be made on GoFundMe. More information about YOTA in the Americas as well as the summer camp can be found at YOTAregion2.org, and on YOTAregion2 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. YOTAregion2.org is also sponsored by ICOM America.

December YOTA Month activity – DYM 2019

By | Publication, YOTA Month 2019 | No Comments

The entire month of December several youngsters under the age of 26 will become active with YOTA as suffix in the callsign. The idea for this is to show the amateur radio hobby to youth and to encourage youngsters to be active on the ham radio waves.

You won’t hear YOTA stations often during the year. Thus, the only chances are the camp stations during YOTA summer and subregional camps. And of course, an extended presence during the December YOTA Month activity. Over 40 stations signing YOTA suffixes will be qrv in about 2 months of time.

Give a demonstration in a school or local club, gather together with your friends, grab a pizza and make some QSOs or enjoy a great pile-up. Let us all show this great hobby to the world. Because we know that there is youth in hamradio!

Feel free to make a QSO with the youngsters, they are happy to get some attention and exchange information. Licensed and unlicensed youth will be making QSOs, be aware this could be their first radio contact ever and give them a chance to experience a possible new hobby.

There will be an award program available as well. Work as many YOTA stations on as many bands as possible and be eligible for your Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum award for free. This program promotes the radio activity on the air waves and shows that there is and will be activity in the future. Visit our website events.ham-yota.com for more information about the awards rules.

If you are under the age of 26 get in contact with your countries youth coordinators and get on the air with these special calls during upcoming December. It will be a pleasure to work a lot of new youngsters on the bands!

We hope to crack 100.000 QSOs this December for the first time ever, so help us to achieve this goal set by the future of amateur radio – the Youngsters On The Air!

Feel free to follow the activities on our homepage as well as on our social media channels @hamyota.

73 de YOTA PR Team

OL19CAMP – Day 3

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OL19CAMP – Day 2

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OL19CAMP – Day 1

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YOTA ZS 2018 Farewell (Blog #4)

By | YOTA South Africa 2018 | No Comments

Even with the more “serious” parts of the program being over, the theme of lacking opportunities to catch sleep continued onto the last official day, with a bus leaving the hotel early again (though at least not 4:20 again).

However, it was for a program point that, in this way, has not been possible on any of the European YOTA Camps before—a safari through the South African bush. With how packed the schedule was, this also meant a first chance to get the “Africa Feeling” for the European teams, or at least get to see (South) Africa as we all imagined.

After arriving at the game lodge and splitting the participants among the available cars, we went off for a few hours, trying to see as many of the “Big Five”: Elephant, Lion, Buffalo, Rhino and Leopard. Success varied between the cars, but three of the five were seen by at least some—the ones that weren’t seen were the ones that could eat you for supper, so that maybe was for the best.

Coming back to the lodge, we were greeted by a small group (flock? herd?) of kudus (a type of antelope) and some zebras, with some participants experiencing that the latter do not like people coming up close. While most people were busy photographing and/or petting the kudus, lunch was being made, so that’s what everybody went for afterwards. With people well fed, it was time to take the 2-hour drive back to the hotel, which provided a way for people to exchange their photos of the wildlife they had seen earlier (as well as some others); in keeping with the spirit of the hobby, this was of course done using SSTV via 2m FM.

As most people used the opportunity to catch some sleep after coming back, the organisers found a great way of getting everybody awake again before dinner: a drumming activity, which consisted of everybody being supplied with a djembe drum, and then getting their hearts played out (and their hands played sore) together.

After dinner, it was time for the last official event of the camp: The Farewell Event. This included handing out the HAREC certificates to the 20 of the 25 RAE participants that passed, many “Thank you”s from participants towards the organisers and everyone else involved in the event, and of course celebration until long in the night. And, unfortunately, first hugs and tears for participants that were going to leave already very early in the day.

For everybody else, hugs and tears were reserved for the day following, with everyone getting back to the airport, after having found some way on how to get the reflector element for the satellite yagi back home.

Overall, we sincerely thank the organisers and sponsors for an outstanding event, once again setting the bar high for future YOTA Camps to come. Even with such a busy schedule (busy enough these blog posts got delayed as much as they did), we would not have wanted to miss a single one of the program points.

With all that said, all that is left is a heartfelt 73, and see everyone at one of the next YOTA events, whichever of the many it may be!