San Antonio Hams

To all radio operators,

I am posting this report of two “missing” Heath Kit SB-220 amplifiers and some other ham radio equipment that was recently “borrowed without permission of the owner”.  One of the Heath Kit SB-220 amps has WA5JDU call sign edged on the bottom plate.

In addition, I’m also looking for a “missing” ICOM 766 PRO loaded with filters and a “missing” 30S1 Collins AMP., TS-430S, TS-440s, and other miscellaneous items. I have most of the serial numbers for the missing ham radio gear.

I would ask that anyone who knows anything about this “missing” equipment to please contact me via e-mail at n5wsw@yahoo.com.

No Charges, will be filed on those who purchased the equipment, but I would ask for a signed statement of whom you purchased in from, there is an on-going investigation regarding a complete Amateur Radio Station.   Just want to confirm who you, purchased the equipment from and who you paid.

Thank you, all!

Don, N5WSW
n5wsw@yahoo.com

The San Antonio Central Texas Traffic Net has been restored and operating on 443.025 with a PL of 82.5. The Net requires activity and support to restore to full operational capability and recognition. Even if you do not have traffic to pass, please sign in for the count to help get the net back off the ground.  The repeater is located at the San Antonio American Red Cross HQ on the east side of San Antonio.

Do you have a message that’s just got to get through?  Is that special someone waiting to hear from you?  Well, come on up to the Alamo Traffic Net and let us help.  We have connections to the outside world through the 7290 Traffic Net, the Texas Traffic Net and even the CW traffic.

Call us on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays at 1900hrs, on 443.025 + 82.5.  We use the standard ARRL Traffic format so keep your message short (25 words or less) and sweet.  When you call, use ITU phonetics for your call sign and we’ll talk to you.

There will be some future nets to train on the proper method to pass traffic and opportunity for people to sent some messages out to learn and operate.

BTW, you don’t have to have a message, we’d just like to hear from you.  Come on up and get on the count.

History: In years past, the Central Texas Traffic Net was held nightly on the 147.14 Buzzard’s Roost repeater located east of Canyon Lake. However when the repeater’s aging Heliax (coax) deteriorated to the point of making this strong repeater almost worthless in coverage area, the net was discontinued.  Several other repeaters were tried, but none had the coverage area (from Austin to San Antonio and beyond), so eventually the net was dropped.  The Daytime Texas Traffic Net continues to be on HF 7.285 in the mornings (Monday thru Saturday, 8:30-9:30am CT).  More information can be found on Facebook or  their website… http://www.daytimetexastrafficnet7285.org/

John was born 9/3/1947 & raised in Beverly Hills California. He had 2 brothers Tom Orton & Jim Orton & a sister Victoria Orton.  A daughter Tina Marie Orton, and nieces and nephews.

He went to Beverly Hills High School, then transferred to Belmont High School in Los Angeles where he met at the time & went steady with who would one day be his wife, Karen in 1965. He graduated from Beverly Hills High in 1967 & moved to the Bay area in Northern California, he attended Cabot College.  His career as an Aero Space Engineer took him everywhere from the West Coast to Korea.

John had various interests during his lifetime, he loved trains, sail boating, surfing, hiking, motorcycling & riding his mountain bike plus gardening…but what he loved most was Ham Radio.  In California he was known on the radio as “WA6BOB”.

See his ham radio website  here… http://w5jbo.weebly.com/

In March 2010 John retired from Space Vector in Chatsworth, California and moved to Texas where he met up again with his now wife Karen and they were married in January 2011, after 44 years of loosing track of each other.

John got back into radio again in Texas and acquired a new handle of  “W5JBO” he got into contesting, was always asked to help out with testing, he would volunteer to put up other operators antennas & would also volunteer to do radio repairs in our garage.  Read the rest of this entry »

Members of SARO and other hams helped out again at the annual Battle of the Bands Festival, sponsored by the Battle of Flowers Parade organization.   SARO was the coordinating club for communication shadows at this event.

The following 7 hams worked this event…

• Joe Bruno, W5AUQ – Announcer Shadow
• Eric Olson, WB5ZJQ – Dignitary Entrance Shadow
• Sharon Olson, KB5KZD – Band Starter Shadow
• Wendell Peters, AA5VN – Producer Shadow
• MaryAnne Horn, N5MYN – Operations Shadow
• David Besing, KD5MTJ – Medical Shadow
• Lee Besing, N5NTG – Security Shadow

I took some photos and video of the event, but haven’t had time to do any editing of the video.  But I did find out the organizers posted the full length video from the event on YouTube (was supposed to be on Ustream.tv), so you can now watch it there. I’ve been told that I was spotted in the video out on the north end of the field taking my own videos. I was wearing my lime green / orange reflective vest and dark pants that day.

Here is the video from YouTube…

Read the rest of this entry »

Never to early to put it on the calendar!

Local Time: 1800 hrs Friday December 5th to 1800 hrs Saturday December 6th, 2014

This annual event is always the first Friday / Saturday of December each year.  Ham Operators, operating from their local National Weather Service Offices around the country, are trying to contact as many other NWS offices as possible during a 24 hour period that runs from 6pm CDT Friday until 6pm CDT Saturday.  Modes used include HF Voice, EchoLink, and IRLP.

Access is limited at the local NWS office due to space constraints and the fact that the meteorologists are actively working in the same room, so the noise level and disruption factor is a concern.

Operators are scheduled to work in groups of no more than 3 in multiples of 2 hour shifts!

All classes of licensed Amateur Radio Operators are encouraged to participate.  This is a great opportunity for Technician class operators to get some HF time in the early morning shifts with a General or Extra class on the roster!

All equipment is on-site and set up except for headphones!  Highly recommended!

Visitors are limited to those who RSVP before the event! No drop in visitors!  Please, if you would like to come by just to visit, you MUST be on the roster!

To volunteer for a 2 hour shift or more, Contact event coordinator Louis – K5STX at k5stx@k5stx.net or k5stx@hillcountryreact.org!  Sign up early, the based slots go fast!

Title: Tejas Trails – Cactus Rose 100/50 Ultra-Marathon
Location: Hill Country State Natural Area – Bandera County, TX
Link out: Click here

Description: Public Service Event coordinated Hill Country REACT and supported by Highland Lakes Amateur Radio Club and other Amateur Radio Operators from around the state.
Amateur Radio Operators provide voice and data communications between Race Central and 2 remote check points along the course. As this event has grown substantially since it’s inception, reliable communications for Safety and Logistics has grown in importance. Amateur Radio Operators are challenged during this 36 hour long event, having to provide everything to keep their stations up and running, with no permanent infrastructure to support communications.

We utilize 2m and 70cm voice, as well as packet communications for various needs during this event.

As with all Tejas Trails events, the recognition and appreciation of all the volunteers, especially the communications group is heartfelt, from top to bottom of the organization and the participants. Having worked various types of events throughout the years, the Tejas Trails group knows how to take care of it’s volunteers.

Individuals interested in assisting or more information should contact coordinator Louis – K5STX at k5stx dot net or 830-305-2889
Start Date: 2014-10-25
Start Time: 05:30
End Date: 2014-10-26
End Time: 17:30

This year the San Antonio area volunteers staffed 6, of the 35 SAG Vans, to help out during last weekend’s BPMS150.  Five of the six were ham radio operators. We had a couple other SAG Teams scheduled, but they unfortunately had to drop out for various reasons.

We picked up our vans at CAPPS Van Rental near the SA Airport, filled up the gas tanks at the nearby Valero, and headed to Houston after we got all of our equipment hooked up inside.

The event was extremely windy both days, but we did not get any rain until we reached Bastrop around noon. Fortunately the forecast for nasty weather (rain & temperature drops) did not materialize, so the riders only had to contend with that wind (gusting up to 30+ mph).

Here are the names & call signs (if applicable) of our 6 SAG Teams.

• SAG 11 – Charlie KC5NKK & nephew Jason
• SAG 12 – Lee N5NTG & David KD5MTJ
• SAG 18 – Joe W5AUQ & grandson, Tristan
• SAG 19 – Russ K5FJR and Duane
• SAG 24 – Jeffery & Mary Anne N5MYN
• SAG 27 – Mark & Barbara Brigance

Be sure to watch the video I just uploaded to YouTube.com.

I put one typo in the headers to see if anyone was watching it! 🙂

Spring is in the air, and that means our public service events have started up again, just like Spring flowers.

Help is needed for all of these events.  Contact person will be listed for each event below. Don’t wait to be asked, volunteer now!

• April 19th – Bexar County ARES – HT Rodeo. See link to story already posted.  Pre-register by sending your name and call sign to HTrodeoRSVP@gmail.com.  Only those pre-registered by April 12th will be able to participate in the weeklong Roundup event leading up to the rodeo. Details on how to participate will be return emailed. Bring your HT to the event -preferably charged up and ready to rodeo!
• April 27th – Fiesta Wildflower 100 Bicycle Tour.  This is a one day, Sunday event, starting / ending at Morgan’s Wonderland, near Wurzbach Parkway & Thousand Oaks, on the NE side of San Antonio.   Routes go up toward Canyon Lake and over past New Braunfels toward Seguin.   Hams are needed to staff around 9-10 rest stops, plus net control. We’ll have motorcycle marshal support on the course, but no active SAG support (unless the organizer changes their normal operations).  Rumor has it that the event organizer will be reimbursing fuel expenses by the hams and motorcycle marshals who support the event.  I’m still trying to confirm that rumor (that I got from one of the organizers).Please contact Lee Besing N5NTG direct via email at info@sanantoniohams.org with “Fiesta Wildflower 100” in the subject line. Cell contact is 210-771-7075 (voice / text okay).
• May 3rd – Bulverde 5k/10k Senior Citizens Run.  This is a half day (morning) event held in Bulverde, Texas, starting / ending at the Bulverde Senior Citizens Center next to the Fire Station on Cougar Bend & FM1863. Around 8 hams are needed for this event.  Hill Country REACT is coordinating the event. This is a mobile /  HT event using a local repeater.Please Contact Charlie Land KC5NKK via email using kc5nkk@hillcountryreact.org with “Bulverde Run” in the subject line.
• May 10th – American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure.  This is a one day Saturday event, with the start/finish at Retama Park (loop 1604 & IH-35). We expect 4 different routes this year, instead of 5, but the coverage area is still spread out.  We anticipate having around 9 break points, plus 10 SAG vans that need Ham teams to drive / navigate. We’ll also have the Safellite Auto Glass cars helping out on the shorter routes as usual.     We need hams for break points (rest stops), SAG drivers and net control help.  We normally have APRS coverage for this event, but that hasn’t been locked down yet due to personal health issues affecting our usual APRS team from Austin. No background check or DMV check required, but drivers will need to provide copies of their current valid drivers licenses.Please contact Lee Besing N5NTG direct via email at info@sanantoniohams.org with “Tour de Cure” in the subject line. Cell contact is 210-771-7075 (voice / text okay).
• May 25th – 4th annual American Hero 25k Relay Run.  This annual event has a new location on the south side of town. This is a one day Sunday event. The start / finish will be at the Texas A&M University – San Antonio Campus, near south Loop 410 and Zarzamora (Address is on University Way).  Unknown route at this time, but it will be a 5k looped route, that the participants will run 5 times. Since it’s a relay run, some of the runners will be relay runners while others run the full length.   Last year it lasted until around 2pm.   This will likely be a simplex mobile to mobile or HT operation since repeater coverage in that area is very skimpy.  See http://americanhero25krelay.org/ for event details.  I expect to need about 8-10 hams to cover the route.Please contact Lee Besing N5NTG direct via email at info@sanantoniohams.org with “American Hero 25k Relay” in the subject line. Cell contact is 210-771-7075 (voice / text okay).

I’ve replaced the older calendar of events application that I had been using, with a new version.  I feel the new version will be easier and more intuitive for users to add their own events to the calendar.  All users, who have been bumped higher than the default “subscriber” level, should be able to add their own events.

With this new version, if you have a repetitive event (like a monthly meeting, etc.), you can create the first event, then return back to that event and change the date and click the “COPY” button at the bottom of the input screen.  That will duplicate the entry and place it on the date chosen.  I’ve started entering dates for most of the local ham clubs, but it becomes such mind boring / dumbing work after awhile, that I took a break.  I’ll resume when I have some more spare time.

I will be adding in future public service events as well as posting the info to the BLOG area (where you are reading this article).

Volunteers are always needed, so don’t hesitate about raising your hand. Prior experience is not a requirement, as we all started out with the same amount of experience in the beginning, that being “none”.  We’ll place you in a position or with another more experienced ham, according to your comfort level and equipment abilities.

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The Echo-Link Station K5NNN-L, is now running on 146.52 MHz national calling frequency.  It is located at my house, at 940ft M.S.L. The antenna is a 7.2 dbi gain antenna and sits  on top of a 2 story house on a 20ft mast so it sit a about 1,000 feet about M.S.L. in Bexar County (San Antonio, TX). The location is near Vance Jackson, between Callaghan and Wurzbach Rd. For a more exact location, look up my callsign on QRZ.com.   You can hook up thru you cell phone also, using the Android or iPhone applications…

This EchoLink is programmed not interrupt any stations and will allow better communications with hams traveling thru the San Antonio, Texas metro area, or hams traveling away from home who want to communicate back into San Antonio. There is a regular Monday night net on 146.52 by the Unusual Suspects ham group and this would enable members of that group to participate in the net, even if they aren’t physically within radio range of everybody else on the net.

The Station ID is set to go off at 7 minutes after the hour and only takes less than a second. If it detects the frequency is busy, it waits until a gap before announcing. When a ham connects via EchoLink from their computer or cellphone, it will announce the ham’s call sign who is connected, once when they are first connected.  After that, it’s up to the ham to properly identify their own call sign.  It’s output is a little over 150 watts. This EchoLink station can hear very well and reaches out to between 30 and 50 miles from this location, depending upon terrain.

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