ISS Astronaut Gets in the JOTA Spirit

NEWINGTON, CT, Oct 21, 2005--International Space Station Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, has wasted no time in getting on the air from NA1SS as he settles in for his six-month stay in space. McArthur, who arrived at the ISS earlier this month with crewmate Valery Tokarev, has been on the air making casual contacts on 2 meters. He also thrilled several scout groups during the 2005 Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) over the October 15-16 weekend. Al Lark, KD4SFF ("scouting for fun") worked NA1SS while waiting for scouts to arrive at his JOTA operation at Paris Mountain State Park in Greenville, South Carolina. McArthur obliged Lark by sending his greetings to all scouts.

"Greeting to all the scouts worldwide. It's a thrill for us today to be participating in JOTA!" McArthur said.

Lark, who's South Carolina AMSAT Area Coordinator, says he recorded his QSO and replayed it to his scout group as well as to others he contacted during JOTA. "Everyone was thrilled to hear Bill's message from the ISS!" he said. "J, VY1JA, and the scouts in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, were especially pleased, because he said they can't receive the ISS up there." He also shared his recording and those of other NA1SS JOTA QSOs with participants in the October 16 AMSAT Net.

Steve, KB9UPS, was among the others lucky enough to snag a contact with NA1SS during JOTA weekend, Lark said. He also heard several other stations work McArthur. Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, said McArthur's JOTA participation "wowed scouts and other hams." Among others, NA1SS also worked stations in Ontario, Virginia, New York and Texas.

ISS Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR. [NASA Photo]

Ransom said he heard McArthur work special event station W4J on the second pass over the central part of North America. "He was active over the West Coast on Sunday but didn't work to many folks then," Ransom said, adding that NA1SS was heard October 17 over the US just after 1400 UTC--the start of his lunch break aboard the ISS.

Ransom said he activated W5RRR at Johnson Space Center for JOTA on HF and satellite and worked a few stations, including K2BSA and K5S, via AO-51. "I talked to scouts in the UK and Canada via HF," he added.

ARRL Education and Technology Program Coordinator Mark Spencer, WA8SME, observed that this year's JOTA was the best he'd heard in a number of years.

"Admittedly the bands were in pretty good shape," he said, "but what I observed was increased activity levels, more youthful voices on the radio, patient hams taking the time to encourage the mike-shy to get on the air and courteous hams clearing some frequency space to allow the scouts to get some solid contact. Kudos to all who participated, and to all who listened in."

A Webelos Scout makes his first Amateur Radio contact during JOTA operations at K2BSA--the National BSA station at Camp Wisdom, Dallas, Texas, with the help of Eric Wolf, KG4VPV, advisor of Venturing Crew 73. [Frank Krizan, KR1ZAN, Photo]

K2BSA reported a very successful operation at Camp Wisdom in Dallas, says Frank Krizan, KR1ZAN, who oversaw the event. "K2BSA made several successful contacts on AO-51 QRP," he said. "The crew at K2BSA held their first Radio merit badge clinic under the leadership of James Alderman, KF5WT."

ARRL staffer Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV, assists three scouts during JOTA 2005 operations from WA1BSA, set up at Connecticut's Camp Tadma. [Larry Wolfgang, WR1B, Photo]

CLICK HERE to listen to some of the recent contacts with NA1SS: [1:36]. Audio clip courtesy of Al Lark, KD4SFF.

Scott Avery, WA6LIE, reported having an enjoyable QSO with NA1SS during a pass west of California during JOTA weekend. "He was also calling CQ for JOTA and worked one other station," Avery said. "I told him to get on the air more often. He said he plans on it." Avery was so excited about working NA1SS he called his wife into the shack to listen in on the contact.

Patrick McGrane, N2OEQ, on Long Island, New York, said he heard NA1SS during two passes over the US on October 15. "I made a brief contact during a one-degree elevation pass as he passed over the New Orleans area," he said. McGrane said McArthur also told him he planned to get on the air more often for routine contacts.

The worldwide downlink frequency for NA1SS is 145.800 MHz. The voice uplink is 144.49 MHz for Regions 2 and 3 (The Americas, and the Pacific) and 145.20 MHz for Region 1 (Europe, Central Asia and Africa). There's more information on the ARISS Web site.

Additional information on Amateur Radio and scouting is on the ARRL Web site. ARRL asks JOTA participants to complete a simple survey on the ARRL Web site following JOTA. Completing this form will help ARRL see the growth and the needs of this activity.

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