San Antonio Hams

KING KONG DUAL BAND ANTENNA 2 METER & 70 CM

This Antenna comes in Dual Band  2 meter &  70 cm..
or just single band for 2 meter or just 70 cm.
We also make them for 220 mHz

FACTS

1.     WATER PROOF
2.     MADE OF 450 PSI   PVC PIPE
3.    OMNI – DIRECTIONAL
4.     6 dbi  on VHF,   8 dbi or better on UHF
5.     V.S.W.R.  1.2 and no higher than 1.8
6.    POWER  150 Watts
7.    VERTICAL  OMNI  With no radials
8.    LENGTH   72 Inches
9.    WIND SPEED  150 +
10.  Screw Hook in top for easy suspension / hanging
11.   Standard SO-239 Chassis Connector (coax not included)

COST $45. FOR SINGLE BAND – VHF, UHF,  or 220 mHz

COST $65. FOR DUAL BAND VHF AND UHF

If you would like one call Andrew K5NNN on his cell  210-422-5304

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“National Guard Helicopters drop supplies to support towns completely cut off due to Hurricane Irene” “No power, phone or roads to towns hard hit by Hurricane Irene”

I’m sure you’ve seen the videos of cars being swept down swollen rivers in Vermont. Who would have ever thought that a coastal hurricane would dump so much water over land-locked Vermont to cause such devastation! This reminds me of the time back in the late 1990′s when I was dropped along with supplies in to a town in upstate New York to supply emergency communications during the North East Ice Storm. It’s just another reminder that emergency communications teams must be prepared for any event. This is also a glaring reminder that we need well-trained “Jump Teams” in every area to assist with emergency communications support. EVERY local emergency communications group needs to have a Jump Team on hand to help cope with this type of disaster. Just as it happened in Vermont, it could happen in Texas. Towns being cut off. No power. No communications.

 If you don’t know how to start a Jump Team, or what your team would need, just go to this website for information and support: http://www.texasmars.com/

 Bob W2IK

Due to lack of response, W2IK and the Bexar Operators Group (W5BOG) have decided to cancel the 2011 Jump Team Boot Camp  for emergency communicators. It takes a great deal of lead time and planning to run this program, reserve the wildlife refuge area, line up the two Army survival specialists, check out several tons of jump team gear, etc. With no inquiries, usually by now the reservation list would be almost full, we can only assume no one feels this training is needed so we will also retire from offering it in the future.

Bob  W2IK

While some of us have operated in the field under emergency conditions such as during hurricanes and just after earthquakes, most hams haven’t.

I have done both, but during the recent series of Haitian earthquakes I have been, for the most part, on the “sidelines”.

I currently monitor some of the emcomm traffic coming out of the affected area by listening to the SATERN frequencies and even taking a turn at being a SATERN net control op.

Very few communications have been coming out of the country because there are presently only two amateur radio operators down there.

Hopefully, things will change if agencies get “their act together” and send communications “Jump Teams” to help send health and welfare traffic from Haiti so loved ones back in the U.S. and other countries will know that their friends/relatives in Haiti are alive. Just this simple act will relieve a lot of burden and suffering.

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Reprinted from the CQ / WorldRadio Online Newsroom:

Some ham radio activity from Haiti is beginning to be heard, following yesterday’s devastating earthquake.

Father John Henault, HH6JH, in Port-au-Prince, made contact late Wednesday morning with the Intercontinental Assistance and Traffic Net (IATN) on 14.300 MHz, the IARU Global Centre of Activity frequency for emergency communications. Based on relays monitored at W2VU, Father John reported that he and those with him were safe, but had no power and no phone service. He was operating on battery power and hoping to get a generator running later in the day. He asked the station copying him, William Sturridge, KI4MMZ, in Flagler Beach, Florida, to telephone relatives with information that he was OK.

The following frequencies are in use for earthquake-related traffic and should be kept clear unless you are able to provide requested assistance:

• 14300 (IATN),
• 14265 (SATERN);
• 7045 (IARU Region II) and
• 3720 (IARU Region II) kHz.

Additional frequencies may be activated on different bands at different times of day, so be sure to listen carefully before transmitting to make sure you are not interfering with emergency traffic.

W2IK now has a new EMCOMM only web site:  WWW.W2IK.NET   which contains emcomm info including parts of his 250 page “EMCOMM AND YOU” CD.    

This site is a work in progress and is constantly growing, but it’s presently  loaded with lots of useful information about developing your own emergency communications skills.   

 This site contains ONLY EMCOMM material.

The new Canadian training course contains over 100 pages which were written by W2IK, so we must be doing something right.

In the spirit of, as Lee, N5NTG, put it: “….it struck me how much the “turf boundaries” between clubs has shrunk, …… I think that “shrinking” is a good thing to be happening” 

In the spirit of cooperation, the Bexar Operators Group has offered to underwrite and offer their “2010 Jump Team Boot Camp” to members of the Chaparral Amateur Radio Club (which happens to also be the Guadalupe County ARES group).

This would be the third “Jump Team Boot Camp” given by the Bexar Operators Group. It would be a two-day (not three day) deployment event at a site with no facilities north-east of Austin. This “Jump Team Boot Camp” will concentrate on amateur radio and the ways and means to get a communications jump team operational should there be a need to deploy some distance from your home and communicate in the aftermath of a disaster. This session is planned for the weekend of  March 20-21st, but we are open to other weekend dates within this Spring time frame.
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Today marks 8 years ago that the United States was attacked by terrorists. 8 years ago, today, amateur radio stepped up to the task of supporting the relief efforts during this most trying time. Below is the story of what one ham, who now resides in San Antonio, did to help his country.

http://www.w5bog.com/world-trade-center.html

W2IK

Emergency Ham Radio Portable Go-Kit

Once upon a time, in a department store not so far away, were some lonely Stanley Mobile Work Centers who dreamed of becoming more than just a rolling toolbox when they grew up.   Fortunately for one of them, one day a ham radio operator strolled down the aisle and said “this little guy would make a fantastic portable emergency ham radio go-kit!”   That ham radio operator bought the Mobile Work Center and took it home to be modified.  This is its story…

Seriously however, this rolling toolbox (Stanley Model #01880H) was chosen because of cost and several physical factors.  The low cost was a bonus, about $20 at multiple locations including Home Depot and Wal-Mart.  I’ve seen this unit offered on eBay for more than twice the price, plus shipping.  

Physical factors include being a one-piece molded heavy duty vinyl, not two separate pieces latched together like some of the other toolboxes were.  This means the bottom is not as likely to fall off when you pick it up. The attached wheels were heavy duty and the axle was a one piece solid steel rod that ran from wheel to wheel. In other words, the wheels were not simply attached to each side, and thus it would hold up better over the life of the project. 

Access to the bottom half was via a sliding front door, very convenient to be able to drop in some batteries and other items as we’ll later describe and show photos of, and close when access wasn’t desired.  The heavy vinyl construction was easy to drill with my cordless drill, or cut using a heavy box cutter, when installing items in the side that required holes.

The top half can serve as a toolbox including a parts lid or have room to install a radio and other items.  I chose to use it as a toolbox with parts lid for storage, and place my radio(s) outside the unit on a folding table for actual operations.   Because the handle to lift the unit, or roll the unit was integral to the lid, and thus only connected via the rear hinge and two front clips, I used a metal carbineer clip to act as a safety clip just in case the clips decided to fail and pop the lid when least convenient.

Okay, now on to the project!   

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