American Legion Post 289 conducts annual Jamboree on the Air

CLARKSVILLE, TN – American Legion’s largest Scouting event, Jamboree on the Air, was held Saturday, Oct. 21, in Clarksville. JOTA uses amateur radio to link Scouts and HAMs around the world, around the nation, and in the community. This jamboree requires no travel, other than to a nearby amateur radio operator’s HAM shack.

This year, American Legion Post 289 KC4TAL Amateur Radio Club hosted Knoxville Post #2. Vice Commander Steven Patrick and KO4JJU Amateur Radio Club also helped out. Knoxville brought in two radio stations, and they contacted many stations from Kanas and Florida. Once again, Troop 525 and Assistant Scoutmaster Nick Brooks were a great help with set up and they also helped with registration. KC4TAL Vice President John Beck donated all the food for this event.

Scouts of any age can participate, from Cub Scouts to Venturers, including girls. Once at the HAM radio station, the communication typically involves talking on a microphone and listening on the station speakers. However, many forms of specialized communication may also be taking place, such as video communication, digital communication (much like sending a message on your smartphone but transmitted by radio), or communication through a satellite relay or an earth-based relay (called a repeater). The exchanges include such information as name, location (called QTH in HAM speak), Scout rank, age, and hobbies. The stations you’ll be communicating with can be across town, across the country, or even around the world. The World Scout Bureau reported that nearly 1 million Scouts and almost 20,000 amateur radio operators participated in the 2021 JOTA, from more than 17,776 stations in 151 countries.

This was a free event held at the Troop 525 building. Jamboree on the Air is already scheduled for Oct. 19, 2024; put this on your calendar and plan on attending.

For all HAM radio operators in Clarksville, American Legion Post 289’s KC4TAL Amateur Radio Club is looking for new members. Joining fees are free, but we would love to have you join our CSM Gary W. Crisp Post 289. If you are interested, please call Ernest Schmidt, 2nd vice commander, at 931-624-8564 and leave a message.