Back in March 2014, The Algerian and Tunisian Member Societies have signed a cooperation agreement to reinforce relations through joint activities. Part of the agreement was to exchange visits and conduct DXPeditions.

The idea of arranging a DXPedition in Algeria in 2019 was appreciated by both societies. Preparations started end of October 2019. The idea was to activate Algeria on low bands and benefit from the low solar cycle conditions. 

We wanted to make this DXPedition a good opportunity to boost youngsters interest in the hobby so we involved 4 youngsters in the event; Sarra 7X2QV (23 years, YL), Lotfi 7X2QC (24 years), Marwa 3V8CB (24 years, YL) and Ahmed 3V1B/KG5OUE (22 years). Three of these youngsters were in YOTA events held by IARU. 
The involvement of the youngsters was from the preparation work to the stations dismantle. In addition to being on the air, everyone had something to work on. 

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The rest of the team included Afif 7X2RO (co-Leader), Ash 3V8SF/KF5EYY (co-Leader), Mohamed 7X3TL (27 years), Redha 7X5QB and Abdelghani, 7X2TT/M0NPT. The responsibility of these OMs was to drive the event and prioritize knowledge transfer over being on-the-air.

The Tunisian team flew from Tunis to Algiers. They arrived late on December 28^th to Bejaia city joining the Algerian Team. We immediately started putting up antennas. 

Abdelghani 7X2TT kicked off operation through Eshail and continuously making demonstrations and providing information to the youngsters on satellite operation and set up. 
The rest of the team built a 26m high inv‑L for 160, a full Quarterwave vertical for 80, a 2 element Fritzel yagi for high bands, a 7 elements yagi for VHF, a K9AY receiving loop, a GP for 30m then adding a coil for it to operated on 40 as well. 
We did our best to operate 2 stations at a time. We had a quite few technical issues but we overcome them.

Part of the DXPedition objectives was to socialize and build a strong team capable of making bigger plans in the future. Although we ended up with 5800 QSOs in 4 days, the operating schedule was intentionally not made tight. 

On December 31^st, we had a nice BBQ dinner together insitue that we really enjoyed!

The log inluded QSOs split as follows: 38% CW, 55% SSB, 7% FT8. It was nice to see youngsters favoring SSB operation over FT8.
We had 1121 QSOs on 160m and 798 QSOs on 80m. 356 US stations and 30 JAs worked on 160. 

The DXPedition team highly value the support we got from NCDXF, LSDXA and MDXC along with some other individual hams. This support is a solid investment into the future of ham radio hobby. We urge all DXPeditioners to involve youngesters in their future trips and do their best to make it easy and least costly for them. 

Written by Ashraf Chaabane, 3V8SF/KF5EYY

Nordics On The Air in Norway Easter 2020 – a YOTA sub-regional ham camp – open for all youngsters

This year, the annual Nordics On The Air ham youth camp will be held in Norway during Easter, the 10^th-13^th of April 2020. We invite all the Nordic youngsters to take part in a fun weekend full of radio related activities, meeting new friends and having a great time! Since this is a sub-regional YOTA camp, we have a few seats reserved also for you outside of the Nordic countries!

What will we do?
The program is mainly centered around amateur radio activities, introducing newcomers to the hobby as well as advanced exercises for seasoned radio amateurs. In addition to get the opportunity to go on air from the LA1YOTA station the program also includes an Intercultural Evening – one of the most beloved activities known from former annual Youngsters On The Air events. Do you want to advance your knowledge about the hobby? What about operating LA1YOTA? If that sounds exciting we encourage you to join us!

Where?
The event will take place in Camp Killingen, Killingsholmen, an islet south-west of Oslo. The campsite is on the south side of the islet where we are mostly to ourselves, surrounded by nature.

We want you to come!
NOTA is a camp for youngsters by youngsters. You all are welcome to join us. If this is your first youngster activity in the hobby we especially encourage you to apply and also if you have never been to a NOTA or YOTA sub-regional camp before! You don’t need to already have an amateur radio license, just be enthusiastic about the hobby! The goal of camps such as these is to activate youngsters in the sub-region. Please note that we prioritize participants under 26 years of age.

Applying through your own IARU member society
The application to participate has to go through your country’s member society (e.g. SRAL, SSA, NRRL, ÍRA, EDR). Applications are accepted from January 9^th to February 9^th. The amount of attendees is limited, so we recommend contacting your member society quickly if you are wondering whether to participate! If you are not yet a member, now is a good chance to join!¹ Some of you might be contacted about NOTA by your association.
Please contact your national member society for applying.

Fees and further info
There is a symbolic participation fee of 20 euros / 200 NOK including all meals and accommodation. We recommend participating members’ societies to cover their participants’ travel costs.

More detailed info will be sent to the participants soon after the application deadline. With any further questions, please contact us at nota@​nrrl.​no.

Stay tuned!

73, we hope to see you in April!
The Nordic NOTA organizing team

¹ About International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member societies
IARU member societies in the Nordic countries are:
Denmark: EDR, edr​.dk
Faroe Islands: FRA, fra​.fo 
Iceland: ÍRA, ira​.is, e‑mail: ira@​ira.​is
Norway: NRRL, nrrl​.no, e‑mail: yota@​nrrl.​no 
Finland: SRAL, sral​.fi, e‑mail: nuoriso@​sral.​fi 
Sweden: SSA, ssa​.se, e‑mail: youth@​ssa.​se

All other IARU member societies worldwide can be found at iaru​.org/​m​e​m​b​e​r​-​s​o​c​i​e​t​i​e​s​.​h​tml. See the web page of your home country’s association on how to join it. Youth memberships are usually not costly and IARU member societies warmly welcome you aboard! If you have trouble contacting your association or need any assistance with applying to NOTA, don’t hesitate to drop us an email. We’d be glad to help.

Just in the beginning of 2020 it’s time for a new Kidsday. Kidsday is generally on the first Saturday in January and the third Saturday in June. This event is especially created to promote Amateur Radio to youth. This is a moment where you can share your amateur radio hobby with your family, grandkids, friends, scouts or even to the general public. This day can be the first time for youth to experience a real radio QSO, hopefully they get interested in becoming a licensed amateur radio operator.

You could make use of this suggested exchange: Name, age, location and favourite colour. Be sure to work the same station again if an operator has changed. To draw attention, call “CQ Kids Day.”

Suggested frequencies IARU R1:
10 Meters: 28.350 to 28.400 MHz
15 Meters: 21.360 to 21.400 MHz
20 Meters: 14.270 to 14.300 MHz
40 Meters: 7.080 to 7.120 MHz
80 Meters: 3.650 to 3.750 MHz

Other suggested frequencies by ARRL:
12 Meters: 24.960 to 24.980 MHz
17 Meters: 18.140 to 18.145 MHz
40 Meters: 7.270 to 7.290 MHz
80 Meters: 3.740 to 3.940 MHz

Are you taking part in Kidsday? Share your experience with us by email, via facebook or Instagram @hamyota_offical.

Visit the ARRL website for more info.