San Antonio Hams

Attention all prospective & committed Tour de Cure Volunteers

May 30th – 31st

Here is an update for the 2009 Tour de Cure. It’s time to begin making duty assignments for all ham volunteers, but there have been some major changes regarding SAG Van duty.

There are only 4 full sized SAG Vans plus 5 Toyota Pickup Trucks to be driven by Ham Radio Operators, due to a donation of SAG services by a local San Antonio company who is providing both the vehicles, the drivers and paying for their fuel.

First, let me clarify points of contact… The following hams are coordinating different segments / times of the event:

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Yesterday, I prepared the April 2009 San Antonio Hams Electronic Newsletter and shipped it out (well, emailed it out) to more than 300 hams in the area.

This issue included the following News Items From The San Antonio Area:

• FREE CLASSIFIED ADS FOR HAMS
• 2009 Tour de Cure Update – May 30th-31st
• 2009 Field Day Plans in San Antonio – June 27-28
• Current Top Headlines, including April 1st Jokes

If you did NOT receive a copy of this informative newsletter, and want to, please send an email to me and we’ll make it happen.  I’ll need your name, call sign and email address in order to fill in all the blanks for the email manager that I’m using.

Of course, most of what was in the newsletter, is also on this Blog and the rest of the website, if you hunt long enough for it. 🙂

What the VE forgot to tell you, and the FCC didn’t print on your ham license…

Almost every ham radio related event will require you to get up before the chickens do. Yep, the early bird gets the worm!

Question: When is the best time for bargains at Ham Swap-Fests?  

Answer: During the first hour of the event, which will mean getting up, driving across the town or even part of the state, to get there first in line when the doors open at 8am.

Question: When do you need to be ready to drive your SAG van for the big bike tours?

Answer:  5am for the Houston BPMS150, 6AM for the San Antonio BikeMS

I’m being sort of sarcastic here, but the point is that 99% of the ham radio events, other than Field Day (which involves staying up way after the chickens go to sleep, and stay awake until way after the chickens have rested comfortably all night), require you to get up before dawn if you want to participate.   FD starts around Noon or 1pm, and runs 24 hours straight, non-stop, but the operators can change out and take breaks. You aren’t chained to your chair / stool for 24 hours without a potty break. 🙂

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