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GOTA (Guides on the Air)    
Girl Guides on the Air (GOTA)

February 2010


Girl Guides on the Air is a special project of CLARA as well as for 'hams' who are interested or involved with the Guide and Scout movement. The idea behind it is to show the guides and their leaders the purpose of amateur radio and the usefulness it can play in many countries around the world.
See http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/hfarchibald/ for more information on GOTA.
A Guide makes a radio contact


How GOTA started:

GOTA began in 1985 to celebrate 75 years of Guiding in Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. GOTA has grown each year with more countries taking part, and most Canadian Call Areas now have an operator sponsoring the GGC suffix e.g. VE4GGC, VE7GGC. There are many Amateur Radio operators, winter camps, clubs, schools, fire halls, Red Cross, churches and Military basis involved with GOTA.

GOTA is held the third full weekend in February.

It is always a special thrill for them to communicate with guiding members around the world. After operating, all guides are given a QSL card. This is a card that  acknowledges that they have made a two-way contact with another person. After the event they are also eligible for a participation patch.

Inviting girl guides to your shack:

Some suggestions to help you organize a visit:
  • Know before hand how many girls and leaders you can handle at one time.
  • Have a map of Canada and world map to show the girls where the other station is located.
  • Show the girls 'around' your shack.
  • Briefly explain how amateur radio works and what they can expect.
  • Explain the microphone and that the receiver shuts off when the PTT is pushed.
  • Mention some of things you can do with amateur radio.
  • Have a sheet with the Phonetic Alphabet handy and have the girls practice spelling their names in phonetics.
  • Show them your QSL card and others you have received. Explain the function of the card.
  • Make sure the girls are well supervised at all times. Stress to the chaperones that the equipment is expensive and that meddling can be dangerous.
  • Have chaperones make sure no one wanders away from the shack.
  • If you know of other GOTA stations who will be participating, try to set up schedules on appropriate bands and frequencies, but don't make any promises you can't keep.
  • One hour to 1-1/2 hours is a recommended time frame for a session.
Suggested frequencies for GOTA

80 m - 3.733 or 3.933
40 m - 7.088 or 7.188
20 m - 14.133 or 14.188 or 14.288
15 m - 21.288
10 m - 28.488
2 m is OK to use
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