ARRL has released their 2009 version of the Field Day PSA and posted it to YouTube.com. In addition, copies (on CD-R format) are available from Gary Tangrady K5GST.
Contact: Gary S. Tangrady, K5GST
Asst Public Information Coordinator
South Texas Section, ARRL
(210)383-7872/(210)568-8224
K5GST@ARRL.net
2009 Fiesta Wildflower
April 19, 2009 — San Antonio, TX
(100 mi, 100K, 40 mi, 25 mi routes)
The Fiesta Wildflower Rides will take place on April 19th – 2009. The start location is Retama Park in Selma, TX .
In 2008, this event was coordinated by Gordon K5SUZ, and net control was ran by Barry W5BLH. (see Barry in photo on the right, along with David KE5LOU relaxing in the back of the comm trailer.
We’ve spoken with Gordon to confirn that he and Barry are handling the 2009 event, and are looking to recruit more hams to help with this event. Unfortunately since it is the same weekend as the BPMS150 (Houston – Austin BikeMS) ride, several of our regular volunteers will not be available.
We suggest that if you DO want to work this 1 day event, and get another free t-shirt in the process, contact either Gordon or Barry to volunteer ASAP. Gordon can be reached at 210-410-9518 and Barry can be reached at 210-618-4774, or click on the links to their names to send email. Read the rest of this entry »
Congress passed ,and today the President signed into law, a bill dictating that a minimum of 27 sunspots will appear each month for the duration of this century.
When asked how the federal government could guarantee sunspots, An unnamed source from the White House said “The amateur radio community represents a large voting block in America, and when polled indicated that they prefer sunspot days over spotless days. We also think it is unfair that some hams get their ticket in the down years and some in the up years…we want it fair for all, especially since it is so simple to sign a law and give the citizens what they desire.
ARRL (Apr 1, 2009) — The FCC announced April 1 that the scheduled mandatory changeover of SSB and AM HF voice communications in the Amateur Radio Service has been delayed for one year; originally scheduled to begin April 1, 2009, the new changes will now take effect April 1, 2010.
Under the plan, originally approved by Congress during the Clinton Administration, all Amateur Radio voice communication in the HF spectrum (3-30 MHz) will adopt digital voice technologies, reducing the bandwidth of typical QSOs from an average of 2.4 kHz to an average of 1.5 kHz. No particular protocol is specified — amateurs can use any method they desire as long as it is digital.
I’ve installed a new Classified Ads module for this Blog, where visitors to the site can post free classified ads, for sale, for trade, wanted, etc. I’ve already created a few common categories and sub categories for most ham related stuff, but if you find that we need to add another category, please contact me via email to suggest a category.
You can access the Classified Ads direct from the top menu bar, where it says “Home” “About” and “Classified Ads”. I suspect you can figure out which one to click on, without too much more thought.
One person’s junk, is another person’s treasure, thus the reason we have Ham Radio Swapfests year around. But what happens between those events? Got some extra / unused Ham Radio gear you want to sell or trade? Looking to buy some used gear? Post a new Classified, or Browse our Classifieds posted by other hams.
See you in Belton for the “Friendliest Ham Swapfest in the World”– HamEXPO — Bell County Expo Center in Belton, Texas
– From I-35 take Exit 292 to the Dome
– Friday setup for vendors & pre-registered non-commercial sellers
– Doors open at *7:00 a.m.* on Saturday* *
– Admission: *$3.00
– *VE Testing at 11:00 a.m. *
– *Parking lot Tailgaters will pay $5.00 per occupied parking space*
– *Talk-in Freqs: 146.82- (PL 123.0)*
I emailed out the very first electronic newsletter for San Antonio Hams website, to a list of about 250 hams in the San Antonio Area, plus a few from the IH-35 Corridor up towards Austin, and a few of our ham friends from the Houston area.
14 hours later, only 1 ham asked to be unsubscribed and that was taken care of automatically by the email campaign software I was using. I had several responses thanking me for the information, especially the news about AA5XH’s passing (3/24/2009) and visitation service happening on Monday (03/30/2009). Had one ham’s name crossed posted wrong with another ham, but he contacted me to get it corrected. (Sorry about that, Harvey!)
W2IK of San Antonio successfully scored as the top non-New Mexico station during the New Mexico QSO Party held this past February, thereby winning a plaque for his efforts. Using experience and knowledge in propagation aspects vs frequency and distance, he outscored by over 20% his closest rival, a ham contester in California.
Operating low power (100 watts), he also beat out all of the high power and mult-op stations from outside of New Mexico.
It is with great sadness that I report that Gil Mathis AA5XH passed away this morning around 2am (03/25/2009) at a local hospital. Gil was 76, having been born on December 25, 1932. He had been admitted to the hospital on February 16th after showing signs of a stroke. He was transferred to rehab, where he suffered another stroke and was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer. Cancer was found in his left lung and had spread to other parts of his body.
Gil was retired from the U. S. Army and later from a career at Industrial Communications as a service technician. He was a longtime member of the San Antonio Repeater Organization, where he was loved by all. He was a currently serving Director for the San Antonio Radio Club as well. Gil was very active in public service events such as the (formerly called) BikeMS Bike to the Beach and Tour de Cure. Gil earned his Extra Class ham license in February 1992 and his prior call was KI5MO.
An Update on the New Course
By Milton Johnson, N5HMJ
This is just a short communication to let you know what has been happening over the last month with the 2009 BikeMS: Valero Alamo Ride to the River!
RIDE TO THE RIVER HAMS WEB SITE
First I have created a new web site for the Amateur Radio community supporting the Ride to the River. It is called “2009 BikeMS: Valero Alamo Ride to the River HAMS” and is located at “www.n5hmj.com/BikeMS”. Why a new site? What happens with the YAHOO group? Well with the change in the ride’s name and course change, a group called “Bike to the Beach HAMS” was no longer appropriate. The second reason was that I could not succeed in getting even 50% of the Amateur Radio operator volunteers to join the group, so I decided not to fight it and created the new site. I will eventually disband the YAHOO group.
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N5NTG | 
04 3rd, 2009| 
