January - February 1998

The year 1998 started out with a BANG !!! as the Philippines and us Filipinos celebrate our 1000th year of independence from the hands of our colonial masters. A Big Bang! for us Amateurs as the Philippine Amateur Radio Association, Inc. provided the Ham Radio activities for the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, on the 11th National Jamboree in Clarkfield, Pampanga held last January 5-11.

We started building our ham shack and ham radio headquarters on January 3, a Saturday, wherein most of use here in District III were called to a meeting , led by PARA District III Director and VP for Luzon, Tito Alex, DU3XAN and PARA Corporate Secretary and Vice Chairman of Ham Radio Activities, Kuya Lito, DU1LIB. Our club DX3Tarlac was represented by our President Donald, DU3HXH, the EVP Larry, DU3LVC, Rev. Nestor, DY3NUA and myself. It was around 9:30am when we arrived at the Mabalacat gate of Clarkfield, the designated rendezvous and met with Tito Alex, DU3XAN, Tito Bob, DU2BOB and other amateurs whom at that time don't even know. There was a feeling of excitement as we approached the acacia trees and the jamboree site, as our fellow hams went through the long and lahar road to the ham radio hill, we took the make-shift gate. We walked through the crowd and scouts and met with Kuya Lito, DU1LIB who took us to the hill via the creek, which borders the jamboree camps and the proposed ham radio tent was not so difficult, what with fellow hams representing DX3F, DX3H, DX3NE, DX3M, DX3P, DX3WCC, DX1RVN, with Tito Gie, DU1HDG, Richard, DU1ODC and all the others helping out. After the tent, the 2 meter aerials and the huge oversize TV antenna, which turned out to be a beam for the 15 meter band, were erected. Despite the dusty lahar and ashen faces and hairs, I silently noticed that Hams young and old on common ground that day, to be of helping hand to potential next generation of amateurs and be part of history as the centennial jamboree only comes every 100 years.

We went home that dark Saturday night as the Luzon grid suffered an electrical blackout which lasted a few hours. On Sunday, DX100Jamboree, the special event callsign, officially signed on and conducted the Philippine DU net on 40 meters. on Monday, the 5th of January, our provisions ready, Cocoy, DU3JFK the club's EVP Donald and I, went back to Clarkfield to stay for the rest of the week. We brought our own tent and fixed it just beside the Ham Radio shack. It was the opening ceremonies and no harm radioactivities yet, but it was a good day to familiarize myself with my fello hams and the impressive equipments. Tito Alex, DU3XAN, brought with him two computers : a Pentium multimedia acting as our workstation and a 286 for packet radio ; a Kenwood 430S for 15 meter operation, two Icom IC28H for 2-meters and packet,. power supplies, electrical cables, tools, other devices and kitchen stuff. Tito Bob, DU6BG, brought with him his Icom 751 and accessories, which included the long wire dipole for 40 meters. The BSP made their Kenwood TS450AT available to use for 20-meter with Kuya Rolly, DU3RCM, providing the beam antenna while Tito Gener, DU3CAO brought the 5-element 15-meter beam antenna. Captain Ed, Father Dan, DU1SXW, Tito Boydel, DU3BBY, Tito Fidel 4F3FVA, Tito Bong DU3BS, Ernie DU3ETM and the rest of the DU's and 4F's were all there during the first day. We refreshed ourselves that Monday night by trying out the showers, an enclosure of nylon with no roof erected near the creek just steps away from BSPHQ. It was a cold and windy night, but as it turned out Dennis, Donald and I discovered as we got ourselves wet that the colest was just a figment of an overactive imagination. Ernie DU3ETM, Mon DU3MHN and Tito Ben DU3WCB spend the night there with us.

TUESDAY, the 6th. We were expecting a lot of scouts as we were told to handle at least 200 per half day session. Tito Alex organized and grouped us into following teams : Basic Ham Radio (lecture), CW (Morse Code), ARDF, DXing and Packet Radio. Seven of our club members arrived that morning just in time for the start of the activities. There were at least a hundred scouts and we began to display different brands of "elmering" as everybody kept themselves busy. I started out in 2 meters with about 15 scouts at my side to find hams who would cooperate with the occassion on 144.740 MHz. We took our break at about 12:30NN with only 19 meal tickets serving 30 hams. Good thing Tito Alex brought kitchen utensils and some food supply so we could cook out whatever was available. During the afternoon, scouts flooded the Ham radio shack excited and thrilled upon learning and calling out DX on the 40 and 15 meter bands. While some were working DX , others were going through CW patiently, some listening attentively to the lectures of Tito Fidel 4F3FVA and Tito Boy 4F3OM, some displaying their curiosity in packet radio, some enjoying ARDF finding out where Tarsilan imaginative endangered specie tagged with a transmitter was hidden. It was exhausting, sweat mixing up with lahar dust, heat and strong winds. During the night the shower was a relief, but much to our horror, someone went giggling and in a split second a flash from a camera. It surprised us all, nobody kner what to cover! It was a picture for the history books.

WEDNESDAY, the 7th. Donald got up early as usual to do his morning ritual, the Philippine DU Net. Breakfast was as good as it gets. The scouts were pouring in by 8 o'clock, this time I was assigned to work DX on 40 meters. We had to QSY to 7.030 MHz so that traffic will not be bothered on the calling frequency. I had to thank fellow hams who took part to help me and the scouts establish contact all over the Philippines and to Jogene DU3JGN, who made the most QSO's and QSL's. We were also able to contact Koreans, Chinese and lots of Japanese to the delight of the scouts, most of them in Grade School. The same scene was repeated in the afternoon, only there were more of them this time. The Ham Radio tent was packed with people and dusty lahar, scouts wearing masks already while we continue to tolerate. We got ourselves into ABS-CBN's Balitang "K" as Tito Bob DU6BG was interviewed. I went home that evening together with some of our club members, sparing myself from the showers as Dennis and Donald later told me it was coldest night of the whole Jamboree week.

THURSDAY, the 8th. I was back