Jun 25

Clifford James Buck passed away on June 19, 2017. Born in Kirksville Missouri, he is survived by his wife, Jill, his son, Jamie Buck and his wife, Stepsons Edward, Lee and Robert Hocking and their families, his Aunt, Betty Mudd, and his sister, Dorotha Drittler and her family.

A Marine Vietnam vet who served two tours, he was proud of his 10 years of service. He was active in amateur radio as W5CJB which will now be a Silent Key.

No service is planned. Instead of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to either the Helotes Humane Society, at 10675 Shaenfield Rd, San Antonio, TX 78254, the Poquita Paws Rescue, at 1248 Austin Hwy. #106 PMB 324 San Antonio, TX 78209 or a charity of their own choosing in his name.

Published in Express-News on June 25, 2017

[Editor Notes: Jim and his wife were / are members of at least 2 ham clubs in the area, Alamo Area Radio Organization (AARO) and Medina County Amateur Radio Corporation (MCARC). Jim was well liked and will be missed. – Lee N5NTG]

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Jun 25

This past weekend was the ARRL VHF/UHF Contest, and I normally dive into this contest with maximum effort, but with long time friends in town that we have not seen in 6 or 7 years and spending time with them all day Saturday, that left only Sunday and I need to do a quick trip to pick up some Antennas just south of Houston.

So Ruth and I thought it would be fun to operate Sunday as a Rover, so with her logging, and me operating we hopped into the truck and headed to Alvin Texas which is 186 miles away as the crow flies.

With the radio dialed in on 144.200 USB, we pulled out of the house.

Announced we were in the contest and roving.

We immediately worked KB2WDM in Schertz, followed by K5QE in Hemphill, TX. Marshal is 336 miles from our first contact location. With a single omni directional loop antenna built by Tom K5VH and 120 watts mobile we worked K5QE in EM31 and quickly knocked out additional contacts around the region.

On the Trip we made 17 contacts, working several stations in every grid on our drive {EL-09, EL-19, EL-29}.

Take Horizontal polarization with it’s reduced noise, good take off angle and Single Side Band with the ability to hear and pull intelligence out of a weaker signal and you get one of the reasons you can communicate at much greater ranges then possible with FM, and you will understand the fun and the thrill of what you can accomplish with VHF/UHF Weak Signal.
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Jun 25

2ND Annual HAMSTER Lunch and Learn Event

JULY 1ST 2017

Welcome to the HAMster Weak Signal Group Lunch and Learn. The purpose of this event is to bring a large group of HAMs together for some education and fun. We want to introduce you not only to the HAMster Group, but also to VHF/UHF Dxing. If you have never experienced the trhill of working stations on 2 metersa nd up 500, 1000 or even 1,500 miles, with daily contacts in the 100 to 150 mile range, then come join us.

Join us for Hot Dogs, Chips, Soda and VE Session with VHF/UHF training classes. Special Weak Signal Training by FLEX Radio, and the HAMster Group.

Flex Radio will be on hand to demonstrate the new products and advantages for VHF/UHF Weak Signal/EME/Meteor Scatter.

License Testing available for new hams or upgrades to your license will be held at 2pm. $15 per test taker. Please contact Pat AD5BR at HAMTEST@GMAIL.COM for details and to RSVP for the test session (not same address as used to register for the Lunch and Learn).

Raffle and Swap Meet
RAFFLE TICKETS $5 EACH OR 5 FOR $20

1ST PLACE: YAESU FUSION RADIO
2ND PLACE: K5VH 2 METER SSB OMNI ANTENNA
3RD PLACE PRIZES AND DOOR PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED AS WELL

TRAINING AND LUNCH IS FREE

Saturday July 1st 2017
8:am Kick-Off to 3:Pm

Event to be held at the American Red Cross, 3642 E. Houston St, San Antonio, Tx. (Please use the Houston St side entrance to enter the building.)

RSVP to: N5xo@144200.net
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