Ham Radio . me
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Ham Radio . Magnum Experimentum – Experiments, engineering and other articles of interest to radio folks.

1. Extreme      NMO – Subaru, Silver and the Sixty Inch Whip – 2012-03-11 20:28:59-04
   A reinforced Subaru through-hole NMO installation using silver epoxy and      metal plate to accommodate the 62 inch Diamond SG7900A dual-band mobile      antenna.
2. LNR      Precision EF-10/20/40MKII Examination – 2012-04-14 21:50:16-04
   We examine the LNR (Par Electronics) EF-10/20/40 end fed half-wave      multi-band antenna. Come see what’s inside the mysterious “black      box.”
3. LNR      Precision EF-10/20/40MKII Test Data – 2012-04-16 01:00:27-04
   Basic tests of an LNR Precision EF-10/20/40 including S11, SWR and a      bandwidth check of the match box.
4. Field      Day Logging Computer Networking Tips – 2012-06-15 13:41:12-04
   Learn from our six successful years rolling out a computer network for the      ARRL Field Day. Tips, techniques, dos and don’ts are among the highlights.
5. Geographic      Coordinate Transmission Efficiency – 2012-07-04 00:07:46-04
   What’s the best format to send your geographic coordinates using Morse      Code? Degrees, Degrees-Minutes, Degrees-Minutes-Seconds, Grid Squares? We      take a look at the various formats and use a stopwatch to measure the send      time.

John@hamradio.me

I am selling some HF antenna equipment and coax, and I thought some of you would be interested.  I am moving to Hawaii, and will not have the ability to use my HF antennas at my new shack, so I’m looking for a new home for them. Here’s what I have:

• S9 Antenna Package (just over one year old, installed in March 2011)
• 31″ S9 Vertical Antenna
• Portable Pipe Mount
• Radial Plate
• 80 meter coil for S9 Antenna
• 4:1 Unun for S9 Antenna (300 watt version, or the 5k version for $20 more) Original cost was $260, and I’m asking half: $130 (or $150 for the package with the 5K unun)

S9 antenna package has worked great for me.  I was able to put it up in the back yard with little effort (though laying down radials is another story!).  It’s a great way to work HF if you are limited on space.  The only issue I ever had with this antenna was the bottom section would slip occasionally (sections are held together with clamps), rubbing the casing off a 6 inch section of the interior wire.  I repaired the wire with electrical tape and used tape and a heavier clamp to hold the bottom section.  Worked great ever since.

Also have a 50 foot run of LMR 400 coax with PL-259 connectors, spent a year outside with the S9 antenna, for $40.

Lastly, a used Alpha Delta DX-B single sloper 160-80-40-30 m antenna in good shape.  Retails for $109 new, I paid $65 and am asking $40.

All equipment is in good shape.  I live in NW SA near Sea World and would be happy to meet the buyer.  I am disassembling the equipment this afternoon.

Shoot me an email with your contact info if interested.  Anything I don’t sell by Sunday I’ll put up on eBay.  Thanks!

Wade Martyn WB5C
wmartyn@gmail.com

I need some help getting my quad on the tower. It’s built, but I can’t be on the ground and on it at the same time. Getting a bit old to climb, so I really need someone who can stand on top of the crankup at the 20 foot level and do some bolting of the spiders to the boom and then orient the boom to the rotor control box. Would only be working at 20 feet or so and I have a new belt. Know anyone who could help?

I’m in the Pipe Creek area and would gladly pay for gas for some help.  Probably only take a couple of hours or so.

Mike Goins, K5WMG
wmgoins@gmail.com

June 16, 2012 Tech Class

The weather was good, there was plenty of parking, and the 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. schedule went even better than planned. That was the experience the Saturday before Father’s Day as volunteers from the Alamo Area Radio Organization and the Southwest Research Center Amateur Radio Club co-hosted their eleventh crash class for entry into ham radio, the one day Technician License Review Course.  Location was in Fair Oaks Ranch, near Boerne.

Eight of the eleven participants passed the exam and at least two are already preparing for the General License exam. Several were interested in visiting Field Day sites the next weekend. One student was a first responder for a statewide health agency, one was a geologist, and one was a retired police detective.

A very big thank you to the guest instructors: David W5QS, Teri KC5BJI, Johnny K5POP, Jeremy N5HIM, David AD5TE, Erik KD5YZU, and Don W5DK. Super thanks to Andy for the splendid AV service and to Teri for providing so much event preparation, coordinating the lunch, the treats and the beverages.

Effective immediately, Joe Bruno W5AUQ is appointed as EC for Guadalupe county in District 12.  Joe replaces Joe Thompson W4CTH who became a silent key July 7th.  Joe Thompson was a terrific EC and all around ham and will be missed…

Our thanks to Joe Bruno for reassuming the EC slot.

Tom Whiteside, N5TW
ARRL South Texas Section Emergency Coordinator

South Central Texas Partners…

The National Weather Service Austin-San Antonio TX office is now officially on Twitter.  Our first official tweet came out this morning, Monday, July 9th.  Like anything new we will have some growing pains as we take on this social media giant.

Follow us @NWSSanAntonio

As of right now our Twitter page is not set up to be a “warning” tool.  That may change in the future…but as of right now we will be placing graphics, outlooks, and links that you will hopefully find interesting and useful.  We are also looking to  utilize twitter for getting storm reports, damage pix, etc.

Read the rest of this entry »

Every week, we delete close to 50+ new spam user registrations on this blog, mostly from @126.com or @163.com domains.  When we had the free classified ads feature activated on this site, these idiots would flood us with bogus ads from India, make money from home scams, and other bogus stuff.  Now they just register and find out there isn’t a place for their stupid ads.

If you register as a user on this site, please give us your name & call sign (if applicable) when you sign up.  Otherwise, if you have some weird looking email address that doesn’t make obvious sense to us, we’ll delete you along with the bogus registrations each week. We do encourage new users who are either ham radio operators or interested in ham radio topics.

However, if you contact us at info@sanantoniohams.org and ask to be bumped up in “status” so you can post your own articles (ham related please), we’ll know you are a real person because we’ll confirm that before raising your status on this blog.

We encourage new authors to register & write / post their own news articles, but newbies will continue to have their postings moderated until I get to know the author and build up a trust factor between us.

Lee N5NTG
210-771-7075 (voice/text okay)

The annual 4th of July parade was held in Startzville,Texas, on the south side of Canyon Lake.

As usual for the past 20+ years, the members of Hill Country REACT, with assistance from the HCHams (Hayes / Caldwell County Hams), and a few others, managed the staging area, got everybody lined up in the right order, and merged in the units (like the USAF Band, the horses, & the local dignitaries) when the parade started around 11am.

The parade started with a fly over by the Combined Air Force (used to be Confederate Air Force) based in San Marcos.

We did shoot some video of the parade, with quality of questionable focus, using a new HD Vehicle DVR Recorder mounted inside the front windshield of my van.   Even though I had washed the van the night before, it sprinkled on the way up that morning before dawn, and perhaps some neighborhood birds decided to add their deposits on the way up as well. (Note to self: Wash the window before shooting video thru it next time!)   With the glare of the sun, sometimes the focus wasn’t as sharp as I would have preferred, or expected had I used a real video camera mounted outside the glass.  I’ll post that edited video later on, for those who care to watch it.  It’s clear, just slightly not as clear as I’d prefer, or maybe it’s just my eye glass prescription needing tweaked.  🙂

Here is a list of hams and other volunteers working on behalf of REACT for this event, followed by a gallery of photos taken by either myself or Jake Creamer.

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W4CTH @ Texas Water Safari

We just got the heads up about Joe Thompson W4CTH passing away today. Joe had a fatal heart attack at home around 2am this morning (7/7/2012). His wife & daughter were home at the time it happened.

W4CTH @ July 4th Parade

Joe was a active member of Hill Country REACT, Chaparral Amateur Radio Club (Seguin), and was the ARES EC for the Guadalupe County ARES group.Joe had  helped this year with Heart of the Hills Horse event in March, Net Control for the San Antonio Tour de Cure in May, the Luling Crossing Checkpoint for the Texas Water Safari in June, and the Canyon Lake 4th of July Parade this week.

From Louis N5STX –  His full name was Needham Joe Thompson!  Joe was EC for Guadalupe County ARES, Member of Hill Country REACT, Chaparral Amateur Radio Club, active with Bexar County ARES, RACES and MARS (AAR6TO < I believe)!  I believe he may have been the the County Liason Officer with RACES in Guadalupe County. Very active with the various ultra-marathons, bike events and the AERC Heart of the Hills event in Bandera.

Unknown to many, Joe was a retired Doctor, when on many of his traveled, still practiced/volunteered at a clinic in South Carolina and I believe one in Florida! <need to confirm this – I do remember him talking about this! Joe live for his grand children, frequently taking them to events around the country.

Service Information
Mass will be held on Wednesday, July 11, 2012 at 1:30p.m.
St James Catholic Church
510 S. Camp St
Seguin, TX  78155

More details will be posted here as made available.  Our thanks to Louis K5STX for providing us with the notice a few hours ago.

It is with a sad and heavy heart, that I have the task to notify the Ham Community, that Joe Thompson – W4CTH became a silent key at 02:00 hrs the 7th of July 2012.

Joe was at home with his wife Mary Kay at the time of his passing!  His daughter was also on the property near their home!

Details regarding services will be passed to the community as they are made available!

Our thoughts and prayers are with Mary Kay, family and friends!