“We've got scouts, we've got a special event call sign, and we'd love as many hams as possible — near and far — to come find us on the air.” That’s how Sal Mancuso, W6SAL, is promoting Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) 2026 on behalf of the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council of Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts of America). JOTA is an annual worldwide event, on the air and on the internet (as JOTI), with the goal of promoting friendship and global citizenship via amateur radio and the internet. This year’s event will be held from October 16-18, and now is a good time for radio clubs and individual hams to reach out to local scout units to set up JOTA experiences.

For Mancuso, it has meant getting a special event call sign — K6S — and setting up a public demonstration station on October 17 for scouts from throughout the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council. The council serves 10,000 youth across Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties in California. “We'll have approximately seven licensed operators of varying license classes (Technician through Extra) on hand, running HF, VHF, and UHF simultaneously, all signing K6S,” explains Mancuso. “Scouts will be hands-on at the mic and keyboard the whole time — this is their event, not just something they're watching … We'll be active on HF SSB and FT8, with packet possible as well.” Planned HF SSB frequencies are 7.090, 14.290, 18.140, and 28.990 MHz, but Mancuso noted that “We'll also be posting our actual live frequencies on Spotted Hams as the day goes, since real-world band conditions may shift our plan a bit.”

More information on setting up a JOTA/JOTI operation may be found at www.jotajoti.info. ARRL has resources to assist volunteers who are working with scouts, including a flyer promoting Radio Communications for Scouts (PDF) and the ARRL Radio and Wireless Technology Patch Program. For additional ideas, visit www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-and-scouting.