Why Radio Sea Scouting ?

Many ask, “What has Amateur Radio got to do with Scouting?” Historically, Scouts were involved in Amateur Radio from the start. The first Scout troops were formed in 1908 and amateurs started experimenting with radio well before the First World War.

The wireless is an excellent interest for boys and Girls and encouraged them to take it up. It is an essential form of communication for use in emergencies. Some troops even had mobile stations using their trek carts, in addition to the equipment in their Scout hut. Marine Radio is a good example used by all Ships in the deep Oceans for the Communication. SEMAPHORE, MORSE CODE are the basics of the Sea Scouting. Wireless Communication is an Important part of the syllabus of SEA SCOUTS AND GUIDES.

Ocean Cadet Academy HAM Club with Call Sign VU2OCA is the Club Radio Station for the in hand Training of the cadets of Sea Scouts and Guides – India.

The World Scout Jamboree at Sutton Park in 1957 was the first Jamboree to have an amateur radio station.

It gave Scouts attending the Jamboree the opportunity to pass messages to less fortunate Scouts at home around the World.

Following the experience at the Jamboree, it was decided to try to continue using amateur radio to enable Scouts to greet Scouts in other countries and the idea of Rally on the Air (ROTA) was formed. ROTA grew steadily until it became the largest event in the Scout calendar with 500,000 worldwide. The growth in computer communications has led to a similar event, Rally on the Internet (ROTI), on the same weekend each year.

Every World Scout Jamboree since 1957 and many smaller camps have had an amateur radio station where the participants could talk to other Scouts for example here They show how amateur radio can be used to present the international aspect of Scout programme. Radio waves do not stop at national borders and so given reasonable conditions one can make contact with people in other countries during an international evening. It is an opportunity for Scouts to use their language skills and they frequently plot the contacts on a World map learning the location of many countries in the process.

What does ROTA mean and what are the goals?

Rally on the Air (ROTA) offers scouts the possibility to get worldwide in radio contact with other scouts without spending much money or time - by amateur radio. Together with radio hams and their equipment and antennas it is possible for scouts to get worldwide in contact with other scouts - depending on operating mode - either by talking, writing or even picture-exchange.

These contacts very often lead to border crossing friendship.

With the appropriate short-wave equipment and fitting antennas there is no problem to get in contact with scouts in the USA, Brazil, Africa or even Australia and Asia. With VHF equipment you can talk to regional areas. The only problem is, that only a few scout groups in Germany have their own equipment or even the necessary licenses.

This problem can easily be solved, if you get in contact with local radio hams and ask them to participate with their equipment. Nearly every ham will accept if he has got time and the equipment, otherwise he will ask another ham to help.

If there is no nearby living ham known to the scouts he can ask the national Radio Society or the Sea Scouts society (more information in appendix).

ROTA is not a contest to get in contact with many different scout stations in many different countries, it is an informal getting-together using radio. Everybody can switch on or off whenever he wants.

It is not enough to find a radio ham and arrange a date and then wait and see what happens.

To have pleasure and to understand what will happen, it is necessary in advance to learn about radio contacts and to prepare oneself.

At the same time ROTI will take place in the internet

When will ROTA take place

ROTA takes place every year.

On the third weekend in October.

16th to 18th October 2020

16th to 18th October 2021

Start is always at 00:01 local time

Stop is 23:59 local time.

Radio hams normally use

UTC - Universal Time Coordinated

Example Germany

For ROTA local time is used to get in contact with different local areas.

Looking at the world-time-zones map you can find out which scout groups already have started.