Get set for AJ2007 - The 21st Australian Scout Jamboree

The 21st Australian Scout Jamboree (AJ2007) will be held at the Elmore Field Day site on 2-13 January 2007. The Scout Radio and Electronics Service Unit (Scouts Australia, Victorian Branch) is coordinating the establishment of an Amateur Radio Station with the special event callsign VI3JAM, marking the first on-air Australian celebration of the centenary of Scouting.

Work has progressed over the last 14 months to ensure a state of the art shack is provided, together with information and encouragement for some 13,000 attending Scouts to enjoy and to further an interest in our hobby.

The Scout Radio and Electronics Service Unit (SRESU) have secured a sponsorship agreement with Icom Australia to provide all amateur transceiver equipment for the shack.
This agreement sees Icom loaning nearly $30,000 of equipment to the Scouts of Australia for use at the Jamboree. The state of the art Icom transceivers, receivers and amplifiers will definitely add an attractive and "high-tech" element to the station which will appeal to the scouts attending, and should guarantee some great contacts on the Amateur Bands.

The SRESU have designed, engineered and built an antenna farm that will see VI3JAM active on nearly all bands, as well as EchoLink, IRLP and SSTV. This has also been achieved through the generous support and sponsorship of Strictly Ham Pty. Ltd. as well as donations from various members of the Scout Radio and Electronics Service Unit. Several working-bee's have been conducted in order to implement the required antennae for the station.

QSL Cards have also been designed and produced with thanks to Minuteman Press in Box Hill South, and BKB Internet has come on board with free web hosting of vi3jam.com and loan of computer and networking hardware. Marketing of the event has been aided greatly by the Wireless Institute of Australia and Amateur Radio Victoria with donations of promotional material on amateur radio.

The SRESU is now in its final stages of erecting antennae, finishing the aesthetic components of the shack, and finalising the ARISS QSO with the International Space Station which is the major highlight of this project for the Scouts at AJ2007. All aspects of this project to get the shack on-air are now in-hand and under the direct control of the Scout Radio and Electronics Service Unit, who look forward to many QSO's over the Jamboree period from the Icom Amateur Radio Station at the 21st Australian Jamboree - VI3JAM.

Hayden McManus VK3FRST
VI3JAM Station Coordinator
Scout Radio & Electronics Service Unit

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