Young Radio Amateurs from around the World Gather for YOTA Summer Camp
08/12/2019
The 9th annual Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) Summer Camp opened over the weekend with pomp, circumstance, and celebratory dancing. This year’s Summer Camp is taking place in Bankya, Bulgaria, under the sponsorship of the Bulgarian Federation of Radio Amateurs (BFRA), Bulgaria’s International Amateur Radio Union member-society. After welcoming words from BFRA and IARU Region 1 representatives, the YOTA participants joined local residents and a performing troupe in dancing to traditional Bulgarian folk music. Approximately 80 young radio amateurs from 28 countries arrived in Bankya — near Bulgaria’s capital of Sofia — on August 11. They’ll be engaging in a range of activities, from operating the camp station LZ19YOTA, to building kits and antennas, sightseeing, and getting acquainted.
Young Amateurs Gather at YOTA
“There is unfortunately no team from Region 2 (the Americas) taking part this year,” IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group Chair Lisa Leenders, PA2LS, told ARRL. “Most [participants] are from Europe, but also South Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, and New Zealand.” Participants all are under the age of 26.
Given the international nature of Amateur Radio, cultural exchange won’t be in short supply. The typical YOTA intercultural evening, group work, and the Train The Trainer program — instituted at last year’s Summer Camp — will also take place.
Youth teams are attending from Albania, Algeria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Kosovo, Lithuania, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, The Netherlands, Tunisia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
The YOTA Summer Camp in Bulgaria continues through August 17. Last year’s YOTA camp was held in South Africa.
Source: ARRL
posted by Kevin in GERATOL NET NEWS and have Comments Off on Young Radio Amateurs
It’s an awesome tool for keeping track of your progress toward completing several awards, such as the Board, Gold Board, Platinum and Net 500 awards to name a few. The program was created and developed by our Chairman, W0FP – Frosty. I never did ask Frosty what GNEC stands for, but perhaps he can reply to this POST and let us know. My guess would be “GERATOL Net Endorsement Compilation” ha ha Maybe someone else can take a guess as well.
The program must be used in conjunction with WinEqf logging software. You need to log your QSO’s made on the net, or in Extra Class SSB portion of 80M into WinEqf to have the GNEC program functional. Both WinEqf and GNEC are available as downloads off the GERATOL Website.
In addition to tracking award progress, you may use GNEC for keeping tabs on your progress toward completing the 38 challenging Endorsements offered by the net.
Below is a screen shot of a typical GNEC “Front Page” which gives you a glimpse of the Endorsements completed in RED. The Endorsements in ORANGE mean that only ONE appropriate contact is needed for completing that particular Endorsement, and the YELLOW reflects the need that TWO more appropriate contacts are necessary. GREEN buttons reflect multiple appropriate QSO’s are needed for completion.
GNEC Reflecting Endorsement Status
When you click on one of the Endorsement buttons, such as Endorsement #2 in YELLOW above, where you must contact stations in the lower 48 states with “N” one by two call signs, you see the screen shot below:
As is obvious, this operator needs to work two more stations with “N” 1×2 call signs, one from Idaho and one from Oregon to complete this Endorsement. Another nice feature of GNEC is the ability to print out these various reports, so you know exactly which call signs you need, as they check in every evening.
While there are numerous other great features associated with GNEC, two I will mention are at the bottom of the Front Page. Those are the “Update GERATOL Numbers” button and the “Update Director Numbers” button. Hitting those gives you a running total of the numbers you have worked, and more importantly, those you still need.
If you have not already done so, give GNEC a try. It’s a fun and very effective way to track your Award and Endorsement progress on the GERATOL net.
Of course, you may find both the GNEC program, and WinEqf available on the tool bar at the top of the GERATOL home page. Simply go to “Files” then “Additional Aids and Forms for the GERATOL Net” Once you click on that, the files may be found and downloaded off that page. Good luck.
What if there was a voluntary list to subscribe to. When someone needs a state they look on the list and request the volunteer to check in to help them make a contact. It might help to get some of the hard to get states to drop in occasionally.
Our Featured member this month, is none other than one of our longest standing GERATOL members and most experienced Net Control Operators; Harv – AA4HF, GERATOL # 329.
We all know Harv by his distinctive operating style, which is a reflection of his status as a true Southern Gentleman. Whether greeting a mere handful of check-ins, or dealing with a work list a mile long, Harv’s professional demeanor and calm approach is a reflection of the experience the GERATOL NCS stations like AA4HF bring to the net each evening. Harv first assumed the NCS reins as a substitute net controller on the GERATOL Net, back in the early eighties. Following that, he served as a regular NCS in the mid eighties, starting on Monday nights, then moving to the Tuesday evening early net. Yes, we used to have an “early” net and a “late” net, when conditions were much better.
Harv was first licensed in 1958 as KN4YPT. Many of the “old timers” recall the “N” in the prefixes, which were often part of our first call signs, as Novice operators. Some “N” calls remain, but most 2×3 “N” calls are a thing of the past. Harv is one of the (W.A.L.) or Worked All Licenses gang, going from Novice all the way to Extra Class.
As is the case with many early Ham Radio enthusiasts from the 50’s and 60’s, Harv’s first Ham Station consisted of a separate Transmitter and Receiver. In his case, his first station consisted of a homebrew single 6L6 15 Watt CW transmitter, in tandem with an Allied Ocean Hopper regenerative receiver.
Remember the “selectivity” on that type of vintage receiver? Amazing we still made QSO’s using receivers like the Ocean Hopper or the National NC-60 Special or even the Lafayette HA-63, to name a few, but we did. His antenna was a long wire double dipole 80 over 40, but also loaded up on 15 as well. Also, like many of us, he had an Elmer who lived nearby. In his case it was Bob, W4ORH. It was, and is to this day, the Elmers who keep Ham Radio alive, and who play a huge part in keeping young folks interested in our hobby.
Example of an “Ocean Hopper” Receiver
As often is the case, “life” got in the way of Hamming for Harv, and due to the fact back in the period he was first licensed, “proof of operating time” was a requirement for renewing your ham license. Unfortunately since he was unable to get on the air while he was in college (University of Tennessee at Martin) in order to fulfill the “on the air time” required, he could not renew his license. Regardless, we still view Harv as one of our “50” Years as a HAM gentlemen. His interest in Ham Radio never died however, and in the early seventies he once again became a Novice operator. Realizing Novice privileges were not going to suffice, he quickly upgraded to Advanced and Extra the following year.
Harv, AA4HF Station Today – a long way from his first station !!
Harv completed his first Worked All States in 1958. At that time, only 48 states were required, since HI and AK did not enter the union officially until 1959 !! Imagine that !! How many others got their first Worked All States only using 48 states ?
Leave a “Comment” on this POST and let us know… If you need help on how to place a “Comment” just send me a note via email to n1kl @ arrl.net.
His first DX QSO was with a German station, DL1IB, which took place on March 3, 1959. He received his GERATOL # 329 directly from the ARRL in 1979. In addition to his GERATOL # 329 and Director’s # 37, Harv is also a recipient of the GERATOL Hall of Fame Award, the 25th Anniversary Award as well as the very seldom given, GERATOL Phoenix Award. The Phoenix Award is something only four other members, in addition to himself have achieved.
AA4HF – Harv’s Mix of New and Old Ham Gear
Other Ham Radio related activites for Harv included some public service work, handling health and welfare traffic during weather related events. In addition, he operated via the Military Affiliated Radio Services (MARS) conducting phone patches, voice and digital traffic for over 40 years.
Outside of Amateur Radio, Harv’s interest include music, hunting, fishing and motorcycles in his younger days. He served as a Manager of Engineering and as an Inormation Technology Director. He has also taught programming languages at the local community college at night for several years. He’s been retired now for 17 years, but does operate a computer systems and a network support business, which he says is just enough to keep him off the streets and out of the poolroom !! Hi Hi
Congrats to Harv on his distinguished Ham Radio career, and thanks to him for his dedication to the GERATOL net over the years, and as our longest standing Net Control Operator on the net. Feel free to post a comment, expressing your thoughts about Harv’s Featured Member article. My thanks to Harv for providing me with the information necessary to complete this POST.
Congratulations to Al – N3NH and to Tom – N1TL on receiving their QCWA numbers in February !
On behalf of the GERATOL Net Community, congratulations to both of you on your 25th anniversary as Ham Radio Operators, and your recent membership in the organization that recognizes that milestone, the QCWA !
This month we have the pleasure of featuring one of our most regular check-ins to the net each evening, WW8X, Joe Loverti, Sr. from Ohio.
Joe has had an interest in radio since the day he built a ‘foxhole’ radio consisting of a coil of wire wrapped around a Quaker Oats cereal tube. Being able to hear radio stations like KDKA or WSM with just that coil in a simple circuit that included a pencil lead attached to a safety pin that danced across a razor blade is a thrill that’s stayed with him through the years.
Joe – WW8X G# 2599
Instead of doing his high school homework, he spent many late night hours DXing the AM broadcast and shortwave bands with his Mom’s old Philco console radio, which he recently restored.
I would be willing to bet, many of us GERATOLers gained our initial experience in radio, the very same way. Many of us East Coast broadcast band DX chasers would tune in KDKA as well, along with WLS in Chicago and WOR in New York. If you were one of the Broadcast Band listeners back in the day, what were the “far away” stations you tried pulling in at night, and what type of receiver did you use ? Feel free to leave a “comment” to this post to let us know.
Joe’s Current Station
Joe enlisted in the Navy and learned CW at Radioman “A” School, in San Diego. He says the training he received gave him an ‘unfair’ advantage for getting his ham ticket and also helped him pass the Extra Class code exam – since 20 wpm CW was the mandatory speed for graduating out of Radioman school.
He got orders to COMCARDIV 3 (Commander Carrier Division 3) at NAS Alameda, in 1964. And, soon went to sea on a number of memorable “WestPac tours” serving aboard a few US Navy aircraft carriers, which included the USS Hancock (CVA-19), USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) and the USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) among others. One interesting assignment as an admiral’s staff radioman was standing watch as an operator on the highly secure, radioteletype, Fleet Flash Net, while the ship conducted operations on Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin.
After the Navy, his marriage to Paula (his best friend of 50-years), his education and trying to start a commercial art career took him away from radio for a few years. Eventually, his interests with radio returned in 1976 and he received the novice call WN8CDW, which later changed to WD8CDW when the FCC dropped the Novice designation.
Like many hams, Joe has always enjoyed building Heathkit gear and his first ham station was comprised of a Heathkit DX-60B, an old Hammerlund receiver along with other items he picked up at a small nearby hamfest (better known as The Dayton Hamvention). Imagine how cool that must have been, having Dayton Hamvention right in your back yard ? He later built two Heathkit amplifier kits: an SB-220 and SB-1000, after upgrading from a ‘rock-bound’ novice and getting his Advanced ticket by taking his exam in Columbus, Ohio before the FCC, as many hams did back in those days.
Heathkit DX-60B
Living in Miamisburg, Ohio (hometown of the Drake radio company) he is also fond of Drake gear, (As evidenced by his QSL card below) in particular, the venerable Drake C-Line twins along with a solid-state Drake SPR-4 receiver. Eventually, he upgraded from a dipole with a feed line out of his basement window, to a Mosley Junior Tri-bander on a small 40 ft. tower and earned a DXCC with about 150+ confirmed countries. One of many fond memories of DXing was the time he wondered why the DX station’s signal went up in strength as he turned the beam 180 degrees away from them until he released his working those VKs and ZLs via the ‘long path’. Or, the time he started a huge pile-up on 15 meters after working VR6TC, Tom Christian, on legendary Pitcairn Island. Today, Joe says he still has very little trouble working most stations that he can hear with his roof-mounted, Hygain 5-band trapped vertical, Icom 7300, AL80-B, Flex 3000 and a couple of vintage Kenwoods (TS-520S and TS-830S), despite the fact that Miamisburg sits down in a river valley.
Joe’s QSL
Well as any ham father might do, Joe tried to get his son interested in the hobby at an early age, but as a youngster, he showed little interest – until one night in his early 20s, while serving in the US Coast Guard onboard the USCGC Spencer. While standing a 12-hour radio watch, Joe Jr. heard his dad WW8X and a ham friend chatting away on 80 meters. He recalls that was the moment the “ham radio light got turned on”. It was hearing those familiar voices, loud and clear in the middle of the Caribbean – thousands of miles away from home that worked its magic on him. It was then that Joe Jr., now WS8X, a familiar signal on the Geratol net, not to mention one of our NCS operators last season, decided to begin studying for his own ham license.
Joe’s Son, and active USCG Member, Joe – WS8X G# 2607
Joe Sr. has many interests besides ham radio and is often torn between where to spend his spare time. At age 72, he continues to work full-time from home as a graphic designer for Siemens. He has a personal website at www.caneflyrods.us dedicated to building Spit Bamboo Fly Rods. And he also likes restoring vintage radios, painting watercolor pictures, woodworking and putting miles over the pavement peddling his bicycle. Once he even went as far as logging 60 solo hours flying a Cessna 150 before deciding he didn’t really want to be a pilot after all!
One cold December evening in 2010, he stumbled upon the Geratol net and was very impressed by the friendliness and warm welcome he received and decided to stick around for “just a little while”, and went on to earn his own Geratol number “2599” in 2011. The Geratol net has become a special “go-to” place when he wants to play radio, and like his son, enjoy hearing those familiar voices from far away. With WW8X, the magic of that simple ‘foxhole’ radio has really never gone away.
I would like to personally thank Joe for the outstanding bio material he provided, so we could publish this feature article on our website. As many of you may agree, we are truly blessed on the GERATOL Net with some pretty amazing operators, and just plain great folks in general. Joe, WW8X is a prime example. He checks in often, puts Ohio in many, many logs each and every season. Congrats on your Ham Radio and personal achievements Joe, and thanks for being part of the GERATOL Net gang !!
Kenny, WV1Y from Rhode Island, continues to recover from his injury, but is finally out of the rehab center, and back on the air from his home QTH.
Ken asked me to post a note of appreciation to all the GERATOLers who sent him cards and good wishes as he was recovering in rehab.
From Ken, WV1Y
The GERATOL bunch is a great group of folks, and your cards and letters to Ken really cheered him up at time when he needed it most !! Well done folks !!!
To all GERATOLers, aspiring GERATOLers, SWL’s and anyone else reading this POST on the GERATOL Website, we wish you a healthy, happy and great “hamming” new year in 2019 !!!
“Ho ! Ho ! Ho ! This is Santa on 3.668 !! Merry Christmas to all GERATOLers young and old, those with Numbers and those still working toward their numbers !!”
“But remember, if you have not checked into the net this year, Santa is telling you that your getting COAL in your stocking, and my reindeer will make sure to accidentally “clip” your dipole or vertical antennas !! Ho ! Ho ! Ho !
“Just kidding, have a great Christmas Holiday, and Happy New Year to all GERATOLers !!” Ho ! Ho ! Ho !
