This weekend came and went without much incident. I hosted a Jamboree On The Air event station for my Boy Scout troop where they could talk with other scouts world wide over the radio. It was successful as our scouts got to talk with other scouts in various parts of the US and Canada.

 

The most distant scout troop we talked with was in Toronto, and the longest conversation we had was for over an hour with a troop in Santa Barbara, CA. Everyone got a chance to talk to other scouts over the radio, and since we did make international contacts, they will be getting the International JOTA patch, as well as the BSA JOTA patch. 2 patches for one event is a winner!

I did JOTA with my scouts for years in Fairhope before I moved, and this was my first time talking on HF up here. Signals propagate a bit different up here than they did in Alabama, so reaching Europe and South America was a bit of a no-go. But we all had fun and I got to spend quality time breaking in my new radio. It is absolutely amazing !!Looking forward to doing this again next year!

While I find ham radio fascinating to some extent, the kids... well they have always had the entire world at their fingertips. They can talk to anyone in the world instantly. Using HF radio, is a bit of an art form and I often compare it to an Easter Egg hunt... you just never know WHAT you'll find on the other end. 

When the boy's obligation to speak on the radio was over, I took the time to enjoy some conversation with other hams on the radio. We actually do talk about more than just radios, antennas, and nerd stuff. I spoke with a ham that had the exact same radio I did and I told him the radio was new to me, and I told him about the story of my departed friend James... and how I hoped to one day get to talk cross-country to him over this very radio with is own ICOM HF radio. Sadly, that day will never come, but James' story was spread over the airwaves to other hams listening and I hope that they too will cherish every day God has given us with our friends. I know his wife is hurting deeply for just one more day with him. I wish I would have just visited him when I had the chance this past summer.

Keep your fiends close, your enemies closer, and the people that "get you" even closer. They say you die twice. Once when your body dies, and the 2nd time when the last person speaks your name. I hope James' spirit lives on for many, many years.

We often joked about "greasy hams" because they were a bad thing and did a lot of shady stuff.... but looking back on it now, I'm proud to have been one along side my secret agent man sharing the greasiest of the greasiest ham radio ideas. 

Done with the computer for the night. Signing out.

W4IRQ, clear.