As a young ham, it can be challenging to know how to get more involved with the hobby. Even if you’re interested in exploring unfamiliar aspects of the amateur radio world, it often feels hard to break into each specific realm.
Youth On The Air (YOTA) is a group that aims to help young people become involved with unfamiliar aspects of the hobby and make them aware of opportunities and subsections of ham radio they may not have been exposed to.
Typical YOTA camps consist of a blend of new and returning campers ages 15 through 25 from varying backgrounds and experience levels in amateur radio. Most, if not all, of the sessions and activities at YOTA camp are led by other young operators, easing the intimidation factor of being Elmered by an older ham.
In the Americas, camps are held once a year and applicants are chosen to attend from North, Central, and South America. The location of the camp changes year to year based on what clubs or groups offer to host the campers and staff for the week.
Editor’s note: This year’s camp in Denver, Colorado, is already underway—look for an OnAllBands article from KE8LQR about her experiences coming soon.
In 2023, YOTA camp was held in Ottawa, Ontario. In addition to being the first camp held outside of the United States, it was the first camp that hosted campers from IARU Region 1 (Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Northern Asia). With one camper from Germany and another from Croatia, the campers had the opportunity to learn about the culture of YOTA in IARU Region 1 through sharing tips on operating, ham radio travel stories, and even some foods and candies from each country.
We started the week of camp Sunday evening with an opening ceremony that incorporated the national anthem of each country represented by a camper. This led us to a tour of the shack after going over the rules and expectations for the week. After the shack orientation, we all attended a “northern lights” show about the history of Ottawa at the Canadian parliament building. Afterward, we headed back to the Carleton University campus where we were staying.
We started Monday morning with our first session: kit building! We built dipoles and tiny 3D-printed straight keys from kits donated by Joe, K0NEB, both of which we would get to use during a Parks On The Airâ (POTA) activation later in the week. Many campers attending YOTA camp didn’t have any soldering or kit-building experience, so there were two kit builds to choose from based on experience level. In the beginner kit, campers learned about proper soldering technique, from how to hold the iron to avoiding cold solder joints. In the more advanced build, campers learned about surface-mounting of components and other techniques. During this session, I learned ways that I could improve my soldering skills as well as how to go about designing and building a simple dipole antenna.
After our kit builds, we had lunch in the dining hall and then came back for a session on D-STAR led by Icom representative Rose, VA3RZZ. Once we had learned about D-STAR and programmed the ID-52A handheld transceivers that Icom lent us for the week, we had the option to attend a session on digital modes or contesting. I chose the contesting session, where we learned about the World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) from one of the youth competitors who had recently attended. We then had an informal “Train The Trainer” (TTT) session, where we shared our experiences in amateur radio, particularly those pertaining to getting people interested and involved in the hobby. After our TTT session, we took turns operating in the shack and got to know each other a little better.
The schedule for Tuesday was fairly similar but with a few different sessions, including a high-altitude balloon (HAB) launch and a POTA activation. During the HAB launch session the campers took part in every step, from putting together the payloads to launching the balloon. I learned about what typically goes in a balloon’s payload, including a camera, parachute, GPS tracker, and an APRS beacon. We tracked the balloon for the rest of the week using the APRS signals it was transmitting.
For the POTA activation, we packed up the IC-705 transceivers provided by Icom, antennas, and some of the keys we had built and took them to a park near the university. We paired up and started putting together our stations from the equipment we had assembled. I hadn’t done a POTA activation before, so I learned quite a bit about the process, starting with how to get our antennas into a tree. I also learned what a typical POTA exchange consists of and how to call CQ so that more POTA operators in various parks would respond. After we began operating, we quickly found what parts of the band would yield the most success and shared those spots with each other so that we could all make as many contacts as possible. After the POTA activation I led a session on CW, where I discussed how to start learning code and why I enjoy this mode. Then we played a few games of “CW battleships.”
We started Wednesday with a session on satellites from Ruth, KM4LAO, one of our staff members. She gave us an overview of how satellite operations work and talked about some of her most memorable contacts. Then we took our arrow antennas to the park and waited for the next satellite pass. When it finally came around, Ruth led us through everything we needed to say in a typical satellite contact, including our grid square information. After our satellite session, we headed to a nearby water park for the afternoon where we had the chance to break off into smaller groups and chat about our favorite parts of the week. After a few hours there, we returned to the shack at the university and spent the rest of the evening operating and socializing.
Watch KM4LAO show campers how to make satellite contacts in the video below:
Thursday began with the second half of our POTA activation. We packed up our equipment—this time with a much better idea of what to expect, what we should take with us, and how to set up everything. After a very successful activation, we left campus for a tour of the Diefenbunker Cold War Museum, where we learned about the Cold War from Canada’s perspective. We got to see what a radio room during that era would have looked like, and some of us even got to operate from it with the radios that they had set up. We returned to the university campus and ended the day with the options of a session on amateur radio direction finding (ARDF), shack time, pool time, or just social time.
Watch the video below highlighting some of Thursday’s activities from YOTA Camp Ottawa:
On Friday morning, we had a session on SSTV (Slow Scan TV) followed by a tour of the university’s engineering building and operating some satellite passes during lunch. Then it was time for everyone to move their stuff out of the dorms and say goodbye to all of the friends we had made throughout the week before flying or driving home.
Although camp was over, the friendships that were made lasted far longer— some of the campers are still in touch with each other and travel to meet up at various amateur radio events.
Our week of camp together felt far too short, but we had a blast and all learned something new about amateur radio that we could take back to our home clubs to help Elmer others.
