San Antonio Hams

I received word that ROOST will be suspending VE Testing for ham radio licenses during the month of August. They also canceled their monthly in-person meetings for both August and September.

I’m presuming this change is due to the uptick in Coronavirus cases in the San Antonio area.

ROOST was the first club to resume testing for new & upgraded ham radio licenses at their clubhouse. Prospective hams, and those wanting to upgrade to General or Extra Class licenses, drove up to 200 miles to attend their VE Test Sessions.

But alas, with the average age of their volunteer examiners being over 60, perhaps this was a wise decision. We don’t need any more silent keys in the area.

If their testing status changes, I will post another article and update this one as well.

Lee N5NTG

I just received a call earlier today, Wednesday July 22nd, officially informing me that the BikeMS ride, scheduled for the first weekend in October, has been canceled and converted to a “virtual ride” to (hopefully) still raise funds to help find a cure for MS.

This means that every 2020 major bike ride and other public service event in our area has been canceled by this virus crisis.

Looking forward to the remaining October, November, December and January 2021 events, hoping they don’t get canceled also, but I am not holding my breath.

As of today, the day before Field Day weekend, almost all of the local clubs have canceled their field day plans and a few of them are planning to use the amended rule that lets the members operate from their homes and congregate the point for a final score.

The San Antonio Radio Club (SARC) is canceling their field day operation, after originally planning to do a smaller version over at Joe Bruno’s place on FM 78. The members have decided that operating from home would be a safer bet.

The Radio Operators of South Texas (ROOST) Club will be holding a normal, but perhaps scaled down, Field Day event at their clubhouse. No camping overnight as they normally have done in past years. Masks are required to be worn for any visitors. Radio equipment such as microphones, headsets, etc., will be sanitized between operators. See their website, www.w5ros.org, for location and details.

Alamo Area Radio Organization (AARO) has decided to cancel their participation in field day. Individual members may be operating from their homes.

Kendall Amateur Radio Society (KARS) has canceled their group Field Day event, but their members will be operating from their homes.

Guadalupe Valley ARC (GVARC) will not be holding a field day operation this year. They are looking for alternate locations to hold VE Testing, but they think their July session may not happen either. They have resumed their Saturday breakfast tradition, but attendance is limited due to the restrictions on how many people the restaurant can hold under the current government orders.

Medina County (McARC) will not be holding a group field day, but their members will be operating from home under the new rules.

The ROOST Ham Club has raised the height of their 146.860 (PL 123) repeater to 115 feet above ground. The repeater is located on the SE side of town in Wilson County. The club holds a weekly net every Thursday evening at 8pm, open to all interested hams.

The club is very interested in getting reports from outlying areas to see if the reach has improved significantly. The repeater is just inside Wilson County up at 115′ and sees Port Aransas South and heard reports from Blanco going north so far. – Dale

Larry Stewart
KG5RVR

The Huntsville Hamfest Board of Directors has been monitoring fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly large-gathering guidance and mandates from the CDC and the State of Alabama. As our world turned upside down in March we held out hope that we could anticipate a brighter picture in August for the Hamfest: including relaxation of social distancing guidelines and strict capacity limits on venues where hams could gather socially to see and buy new equipment, attend interesting forums, network with friends, and barter for used equipment.

Unfortunately this is not the case and with deep sadness the Board has voted to cancel Huntsville Hamfest 2020. We make this decision for the safety of our Visitors, Vendors, and Volunteers.

We will be back and hope to see you back at “The World’s Friendliest Hamfest”™ on August 21 & 22, 2021.

73,

Mark N4BCD – Chairman – Huntsville Hamfest

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I just learned that the annual Fourth of July parade up at Startzville, on the south side of Canyon Lake, has been canceled for 2020 as a casualty to the coronavirus scare. While there may be some locals who decorate their vehicles and just happen to spontaneously cruise back and forth around the area, there will be no organize parade.

Moving to new area with HOA and need to get rid of my tower, rotor, and several antennas. Only cost is taking them down and away.

Tower: Freestanding, 30’ Universal Towers all aluminum tower
Roter: Yaesu G800SA
Cushcraft A3S tri-band antenna (3 el)
Cushcraft R7 Virt (10, 12, 15, 17, 30, 40 Meeters)
Cushcraft AR-6 (6 meter)
Cushcraft 10 element 2 meter antenna
Cushcraft 10 element 440MHZ antenna

Nick Creason
KE5QY (ke5qy@att.net)
830-538-6306

The Radio Operators of South Texas ham club have resumed in-person VE test sessions on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays each month at their usual location on the SE side of San Antonio. Some changes are required to accommodate the social distancing requirements.

Visit their website at www.w5ros.org for details.

The Texas Water Safari (TWS) will NOT be held June 13 – 17 (the second weekend in June) but was originally rescheduled for September 12 – 16. 

However, due to that pesky COVID-19 virus and the fact that the 260+ miles of the course intersects hundreds of municipalities and county jurisdictions, all who could establish their own guidelines or restrictions, the TWS Board has decided to cancel the event for 2020.

We know this will not work for all, but the TWS board felt this was the best solution for a fluid situation that changes daily.  This will hopefully allow for the pandemic to play out and allow for a great race next year

This was not an easy decision because we know how important the race is to all, but we felt this is the best solution to help ensure racer’s safety, allow more time to train and for the Coronavirus to run its course.

Texas Water Safari Board