Amateur Radio will play a role in this summer’s 24th World Scout Jamboree in West Virginia, the first World Jamboree held in North America since 1983. The Jamboree has chosen the theme “Unlock a New World.” Thousands of Scouts and Scout leaders from some 200 countries are expected to attend. The Jamboree’s Amateur Radio Exhibit will use the call sign NA1WJ — North America’s 1st World Jamboree. It will be on the air during the event, July 22 until August 2, at the Summit Bechtel Reserve, hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the US. Amateur Radio testing is expected to begin as early as July 14. Operating frequencies will be posted in real time via Facebook and Twitter or via an NA1WJ email group.

“The goals of the Amateur Radio station at the World Scout Jamboree are to introduce Amateur Radio to Scouts and Scout leaders through hands-on participation in two-way communication with other stations across the globe. This activity will also serve as the Amateur Radio voice of the Jamboree,” the World Scout Jamboree Amateur Radio Exhibit Operational Vision document states. Other facets of Amateur Radio at the Jamboree will include Amateur Radio direction finding (ARDF), Amateur Radio satellite contacts, and a scheduled Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with an ISS crew member.

“We also expect to launch one or two balloons with Amateur Radio payloads and track them as they cross the Atlantic,” the vision document continues.

Organizers are encouraging radio amateurs around the globe to get on the air during the World Jamboree to help NA1WJ demonstrate Amateur Radio for Jamboree visitors.

The 2019 World Scout Jamboree operation at the Summit Bechtel Scout Reserve will take advantage of lessons learned by the K2BSA Amateur Radio operation during the 2013 and 2017 USA National Jamborees. It will also take advantage of the existing infrastructure, which includes three VHF/UHF repeaters installed by Icom America, as well as the utility poles for installing antennas. K2BSA ham gear stored in West Virginia includes antennas, rotators, and cables.

Evening operation from NA1WJ will involve at least two operators using the buddy system. VHF-UHF repeaters will offer full coverage of the Jamboree area via handheld transceivers, facilitating networking as well as emergency communication. The exhibit will include an Amateur Radio station with the special event call sign W8J.

The Demonstration Station will include multiple operating positions offering a variety of modes. These include six stations with 100 W HF transceivers, computer logging software, and large screen computer displays; two VHF-UHF stations for demonstrations and repeater monitoring, and two satellite communication systems. The antenna farm will include two HF directional antennas, three HF dipoles, three HF vertical antennas, VHF/UHF verticals and satellite antennas with azimuth and elevation control, a trailer-based crank-up tower, a five-band Yagi, a 40-meter rotatable dipole, and a 6-meter Yagi.

Each station will be able to accommodate four participants at a time, plus one control operator. The goal is to give each participant up to about 10 minutes of operating time.

The K2BSA Amateur Radio Association will host a “Radio Scouting” booth at Hamvention® (Booth 2205 in Building 2).