<div> I know the Georgia D-STAR movers and shakers pretty well, who own REF030C (one<br>of the busiest reflectors out there) and they were enthusiastic to allow JOTA<br>participants use it for QSOs last year. I doubt they would mind its use for<br>
JOTA into the future.<br><br>Stay away from empty reflectors as they will offer nothing for JOTA participants<br>when there is a lull in activity (since, well, they are empty in general which<br>is boring for hams, much less scouts looking for action). Using something like<br>
REF030C will provide plenty of JOTA action and, when there’s a lull in<br>JOTA-specific participants there will be plenty of good hams to make contacts<br>with the scouts.<br><br>To answer your questions specifically (in the order they were asked):<br>
<br>1-Would it be useful to have a Reflector offered as a JOTA or full-time Radio<br>Scouting calling point? Does one already exist?<br><br>It would definitely be useful to have a SINGLE D-STAR reflector designated for<br>
JOTA use. Unlike the JOTA calling frequencies, where folks should call their<br>QSO and QSY, this single reflector would serve as a congregation points,<br>allowing for multiple QSOs and fun throughout the weekend. It takes the<br>
guesswork out of “where can we scare up a JOTA QSO at this time of day?â€)<br><br>2-Would it be better for teams/units to 'announce' the repeater/gateway that<br>they will be monitoring and anyone who wants to contact them simply connect to<br>
the gateway?<br><br>This would be no different than teams/units announcing the HF frequency they<br>will be monitoring despite the existence of JOTA calling freqs. In practice it<br>would work, but the reality is that most of the activity seems to center around<br>
the JOTA frequencies, and there’s a sense of excitement when tuning into the<br>JOTA frequency because you know you’ll hear oodles of stations from all over<br>the place. A D-STAR reflector would be no different. If everyone announces and<br>
keeps to their respective reflector, the potential activity and excitement is<br>diluted from the very start and won’t get any more exciting than that. My<br>suggestion is to encourage a single reflector to focus the activity in a single<br>
place. If capacity becomes an issue (and I doubt it will) then let the<br>individual JOTA participants QSY, etc. as they see fit. Everything will take<br>care of itself.<br><br>3-What have been your experiences using D-STAR during JOTA? Useful? Problematic?<br>
<br>My experience is that it’s been great. It shows off another avenue of ham<br>radio to its future – youth. The only problem has been no common reflector,<br>so activity has been diluted. The committee has an opportunity to address that<br>
very simply.<br><br>4-Are there different considerations for connections from US and non-US<br>stations?<br><br>In terms of D-STAR in general, no. Connecting to a reflector, or D-STAR<br>configuration in the US isn’t different than the same from another country. <br>
Announcing that something like REF030C is available for JOTA use is something<br>that would be understood by any D-STAR user in the world.<br><br>73,<br><br>Brian N5ZGT<br>Albuquerque, NM<br>Fellow BSA National Radio Scouting Committee member<br>
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