YOTA Bulgaria 2019

The YOTA 2019 summer camp was hosted by the Bulgarian Federation of Radio Amateurs (BFRA) in August.

We sent a team of three young people to represent the UK—read about the team’s experiences in Bulgaria.

Meet the team

Timothy Hare, 2E0HTJ

I am an A level student, living in Norfolk, and discovered my local amateur radio club online whilst exploring electronics – from then on it has been a fascination of mine. In 2016 I was heavily involved in City of Norwich School’s live link up with the International Space Station, having the privilege of being the first to contact Tim Peake. Speaking to the station at the age of 15 was a fantastic experience I will never forget.

Through my sixth form I have been involved in high-altitude ballooning, learning a great deal about aerials and microcontrollers, such as the Raspberry Pi.

I am delighted to be involved in YOTA and look forward to meeting like-minded people in Bulgaria.

Jake Howarth, M0JKE

I am 16, have been in the hobby for about two years and recently acquired my full licence. I enjoy all aspects of the hobby but primarily those around construction and electronic design.

I applied to be part of the YOTA team because I wanted to further hone my skills in amateur radio and to learn how I can encourage more young people to get involved. I believe this is the only way for our hobby to continue.

I’m really looking forward to meeting team members from the other IARU R1 countries. I am also very interested in the construction events that will be taking place, as one of the main reasons I first got into ham radio was my love of building electronics.

Morgan Matthews, M6NYB (Team Leader)

I am very proud to have been selected to be the UK team leader for this year’s YOTA camp. I work in a school as a Theatre Technician as well as a volunteer for Dorset Search & Rescue.

I have been lucky enough to join several organisations that helped further my interest into amateur radio. Mid last year, I joined Dorset Raynet, which I quickly got stuck into. Since I joined, the members of the team have helped me further my knowledge more than I could possibly have imagined! I have always been fascinated by the experiments that are regularly done within the hobby and how they advance the technology industry.

I am looking forward to taking Tim and Jake over to Bulgaria and participating in an incredible itinerary and having some great experiences with the other attendees. When we come back, I want to demonstrate what we have learnt and hopefully inspire others to get involved in amateur radio.