CQ CQ all Amateur Radio Operators!
Venturing & Varsity Scouting NEEDS YOU!
WHY IS COMMUNICATIONS IMPORTANT TO ON TARGET?
ON TARGET is a national Venturing & Varsity Scout special high adventure
event scheduled for the third Saturday each July. Venturing & Varsity
Scout teams will choose a high point in their area (like a mountain, tall
building, or other structure) to climb, drive to, or ride to (in the case
of a ski tram to the top of a mountain). From there, they use mirrors
to signal each other. Each team communicates (and confirms mirror flash
sightings) to each other with cell phones and/or by Amateur Radio (HAM)
radios (if they can find a HAM to go with them). The contacts are plotted
on a map to see how many other teams each team can contact and how far
the mirror flashes can be relayed. A challenge has been issued this year
to go from Denver Colorado to the Pacific Coast AND from the Canadian
border to the Mexican border. To accomplish this challenge we need Venturing
& Varsity Teams with communications to man key
essential peaks - see key peaks map and chart.
WHY ARE AMATEUR (HAM) RADIO OPERATORS NEEDED?
ON TARGET teams can, and do, use cellular phones to communicate, but
on many mountain peaks there is no cellular coverage and therefore they
find that once they've reached their mountain peak they cannot communicate
with other teams to confirm their mirror flashes. This is very discouraging
to the young men in the Venturing & Varsity Teams. By involving HAM
radio operators using portable VHF radios (2 meter band handy talkies
or 2m HTs and extra batteries) with each Venturing & Varsity team,
there can be nearly 100% assurance that each team can contact any other
team that is flashing them. This is due to the fact that the radio signals
at these frequencies are line of sight and if you can see flashes from
another team and they have a 2m HT with them, both teams will be able
to talk directly to each other (barring radio problems).
Another benefit of using Amateur Radio frequencies is the many mountain-top
repeaters in the western U.S. that provide for communication capabilities
well beyond the horizon. Some of these repeaters are chained or "linked"
together to form a network of repeaters allowing radio coverage over most
of a state or across several states. For example the Snowbird
linked repeater system (also known as the Intermountain Intertie), forms
such a system that covers most of Utah and parts of Idaho, southwestern
Montana, southern Nevada, and southwestern Wyoming. This should allow
teams with HAM operators to know of other teams well beyond their visual
range and attempt to relay mirror flashes across the state or maybe even
across several states. Each state and/or repeater system will have a Net
Control Station (NCS) that will help regulate the communcations traffic
between teams. The NCS station will assign teams simplex frequencies to
meet on and communicate, and relay traffic between teams with cellular
phones and teams with HAM operators. The NCS stations will also most likely
be Regional HF/APRS Gateway stations (see links
below to each states Regional Gateway Station page for more info) coordinating
mirror contacts and communication between states. Here are some links
to the repeater systems that will be used in each state.
REMINDER TO ALL HAMs WITH ON TARGET TEAMS: Please
follow net protocol on the repeater systems and follow the instructions
of the NCS (Net Control Station)! Be sure to report back to the NCS when
you have returned to the repeater frequency from a simplex frequency.
Let the NCS know if you made a confirmed mirror contact and with what
peak. Be sure to ID with your call sign at least every 10 minutes when
operating on a simplex (or other frequency) to comply with FCC regulations.
Also be sure to leave a short pause between transmissions to allow emergency
traffic or other breaking stations to get in.
HAMs wishing to signup to help a team in there area can volunteer by
registering on the following web site:
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