Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) hosts international youth event including contact with the International Space Station.
Eighty young people from 26 countries are coming to the UK for a week to take part in the
seventh prestigious YOTA (Youngsters on the Air) summer camp. Hosted by the RSGB at
the scouting activity centre at Gilwell Park, near London, it will be a week packed with a
variety of events and a chance for the young people to forge international friendships.
The youngsters will take part in fun and challenging amateur radio activities, visits to
Bletchley Park and the National Radio Centre, Ofcom’s Spectrum Management Centre in
Baldock and also the London Science Museum. They will also have the amazing opportunity
to use amateur radio to speak directly to astronaut Paulo Nespoli, IZ0JPA on the
International Space Station (ISS) and see him via live video by Amateur TV.
Steve Hartley, G0FUW, RSGB Board Director and YOTA Project Manager said: “We are
delighted to have the honour of hosting YOTA’s seventh international summer camp and are looking forward to welcoming so many young radio amateurs from around the world.”
The young radio amateurs are aged 15 – 25 and will travel from a diverse range of countries including Croatia, Tunisia, South Africa and Japan. During the week they will be split into five streams, each one led by a member of the RSGB’s Youth Committee. They will do a variety of activities including Summits on the Air (SOTA – operating amateur radio from a summit), making a CW transceiver kit, sharing something of their own country’s culture and operating the Gilwell Park amateur radio station GB3GP. The SOTA activity will be led by Lauren, M6HLR who at the age of 12 is the youngest person to have completed a SOTA activation from all 214 Wainwrights.
During the week clubs across the country, supported by the RSGB’s Regional Team, are
holding a series of local events to enable as many young people as possible to try amateur
radio for the first time.
Amateur radio is a popular technical hobby which has many links to the STEM (science,
technology, engineering and maths) curriculum. The Society works to make it accessible to
everyone and is dedicated to encouraging more young people to enter STEM-related
careers through an enjoyment of this wide-ranging activity.
ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) is working with NASA to facilitate the ISS contact and a live web cast of the contact will be streamed by the British Amateur Television Club (BATC) on the RSGB’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/theRSGB
Milo Noblet, 2E0IL, UK Youth Team Leader said: “The contact with an astronaut on the ISS
will be one of the highlights of the week. We know from our experience of the amateur radio contacts with Tim Peake last year, it will be something special for everyone to remember.”
