San Antonio Area Hams
Serving the Amateur Radio Community in San Antonio and South Central Texas since 2003
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October 21, 2009 - Past & Upcoming Events
Hello {FirstName} {LastName} {Text1}.
This is the October Edition of the SanAntonioHams.org Ham Radio Community Newsletter.
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In this newsletter...
- Past events
- Present events (happening within next 30-45 days)
- Future events (happening more than 45 days from now)
- What Will Lee N5NTG Be Up To Next?... (Lee N5NTG)
Public Service Events, Past, Present & Future...
Reports are always posted first on the Blog area of the www.SanAntonioHams.org web site. Here is a summary of reports from past events, and notices of pending or future events... If you don't know who to contact for an event, feel free to contact the author of this email for any ham related questions. - Lee N5NTG info@SanAntonioHams.org
Past Events - Reports...
Gator Bait Triathlon - Boerne
9-12-2009 Gator Bait Triathlon – Video
250 athletes participated in this year’s event uyp at Boerne City Lake, despite the constant light rain. At least it wasn’t a thunderstorm, which would have caused cancelation. As it was, the event organizers did chop off 2 miles from the bicycle route, because that was one mile going up a very steep hill, and the riders would have then been traveling at high speed down a very slick paved street on the way back. Despite what the logo above says, the planned bike route was only 12 miles, chopped to 10 miles due to weather considerations for safety.
LaVernia Wildwest Hammerfest Bike Tour
09-19-2009 LaVernia Wildwest Hammerfest Bike Tour - Photos
09-19-2009 LaVernia Wildwest Hammerfest Bike Tour - Video
Around 5:30am on Saturday morning, 09/19/2009, way before the chickens even thought about waking up, there were a bunch of crazy folks talking on the 147.04 repeater, all saying they were heading toward LaVernia for some bicycle event.
2009 Valero Alamo Ride to the River
10-03-2009 Alamo Ride to the River - Thank you letter - N5HMJ
10-03-2009 Alamo Ride to the River – 90 Photos by N5NTG
10-03-2009 Alamo Ride to the River – The Short Video! by N5NTG
10-03-2009 Alamo Ride to the River – Helmet Cam Video by W5DK
10-03-2009 Alamo Ride to the River – YouTube Videos from misc sources
10-03-2009 Alamo Ride to the River – Wrap-up Report by N5HMJ
10-03-2009 Alamo Ride to the River – 33min Video by N5NTG
10-03-2009 Alamo Ride to the River – 36 Photos by KA1MZY
In the beginning there was a plan, and the plan was deemed good! Then Mother Nature decided to change the plans, and that’s where the flexibility and training of the BikeMS ham radio operators came into play.
The first BikeMS: Ride to the River as quite the event. As you all know, Saturday started with rain and it continued all day. The weather deteriorated all day forcing a multitude of changes such as the closure of the River Road Century Extension, the move of the Lunch location, the move of Breakpoint 4, and the re-routing of the course into New Braunfels.
All of these major changes were forced after the start of the ride and all of them were made very smoothly. These changes went smoothly in no small part to you, the Amateur Radio operators. You reported to your locations on-time and prepared to provide communications.
Medina Amateur Radio Club - Field-nic (aka Field Day / Picnic)
10-10-2009 McARC Field – Nic Report – DeHanis, TX
On Saturday, October 10th, I made the not so short trip west on Hwy 90 to the town of DeHanis, Texas, looking for a bunch of crazy guys called ham radio operators who decided to hold a combination “field day” and “picnic” in the middle of the highway.
Hill Country REACT - Special Event Station / Ham Radio Demo
10-17-2009 Great Northwest Library – Ham Demo Station
October 17th was the date of the 15th anniversary celebration at the Great Northwest Branch Library, one of many branches that is part of the San Antonio Public Library system. This library is located off of Grissom Road, near Culebra & Tezel Rd.
San Antonio Radio Club / Alamo Area Radio Organization - JOTA
10-17-2009 JOTA – San Antonio Jamboree On The Air
Members of the San Antonio Radio Club W5SC and Alamo Area Radio Organization AA5RO put on their annual JOTA event out in Castle Hills, at the McGimsey Scout Park, located off NW Military near Lockhill Selma Road.
Present Events.. (within next 30-45 days)
10-24-2009 - Ham Class – Starts Oct 24th - Atascosa County Amateur Radio Club wants to help bring more people into the “Ham” Radio community. We are gearing up to offer classes for the Technician Class License, the first license that a person earns to become an Amateur Radio Operator. Contactl Hugo, KK5BZ, at 830-281-2408.10-24-2009 Historical Society’s Indian Summer Heritage Festival - Helena/Karnes County, TX. Coordinated by Radio Operators of South Texas, W5ROS. Operating from 1400Z-1900Z, on 14.265. Contact Andy KD5TNI amameyer@awesomenet.net
10-31-2009 & 11-01-2009 - Tour de Greune bike tour / race GVARC coordinating this event which has featured Lance Armstrong in the past as a participant. Riders ride various routes up River Road northwest of New Braunfels, starting and ending in Gruene. Hams needed along the route for safety purposes to report problems. Contact Michael WQ5C pfeufferm@gmail.com
10-31-2009 - Halloween Event @ Sattler, TX - Hill Country REACT members will pass out about 70 pounds of free candy to the children in the Canyon Lake area who participate in this event. Contact Lee N5NTG info@sanantoniohams.org
11-07-2009 - Mock Hurricane Disaster Evacuation Drill #2 - Navy-Marine Corps MARS, Hill Country REACT, Chaparral Amateur Radio Club, HC Hams, and other groups will participate in a mock evacuation drill, testing their abilities to deploy into the field and monitor traffic along major routes from the coast. The last drill also involved 2 National Weather Service offices and 2 hospitals, plus EOC's in Hayes, Caldwell, and Guadalupe Counties. Contact Lee N5NTG info@sanantoniohams.org
11-14-2009 - Veterans Day Parade - Universal City - About 2 dozen hams needed to work with the UC Police Department in controlling access along Pat Booker Road immediately prior to the parade. Coordinated by Hill Country REACT Team. Hams need to be at the UC PC on Universal City Blvd around 9am for assignment, free donuts & coffee, etc. Contact Gary K5GST k5gst@live.com
11-15-2009 - San Antonio Rock-n-Roll Marathon - About 4-5 dozen hams needed to help out at mile markers (with timing clocks) and some SAG vans. Assignments start before sunrise. Alamo Area Radio Organization coordinating this event. Contact Terri KC5BJI wa3pay-kc5bji@sbcglobal.net
Future Events
- 12-12-2009 Sattler Christmas Parade. Hill Country REACT Team coordinates. Contact Wade W5ERX w5erx@hillcountryreact.org
- 12-12-2009 San Antonio Road Runners 10 Mile Christmas Run - Mission County Park. Contact Gordon K5ZUZ k5suz@arrl.net
- 01-09/10-2009 Bandera 100k Endurance Run - Hill Country REACT Team coordinates. Contact Louis Upton K1STX
- 01-23-2009 SARC Ham Radio Fiesta @ Schertz - SARC coodinates. Visit www.w5sc.org for details.
What Will Lee N5NTG Be Up To Next?
I appologize in advance to any who might be offended about my including this information at the end of this newsletter.
There is no more ham radio specific related news below this point...
This is simply my way of informing my friends of something new that I'm about to venture into, that I think some of you might be interested in learning more about...
There is a new high speed wireless Internet Service coming to San Antonio, and up the IH-35 corridor from San Antonio thru New Braunfels, San Marcos, Austin and Dallas.
This new service is called 4G or Wi-Max Wireless Internet. The company is called "CLEAR" and is owned by Sprint, Intel, Google, Time Warner, Comcast and Brighthouse, among others. Sprint is the majority owner with 51% shares.
Think about local high-speed Wi-Fi at your home, and then expand that same high-speed wireless coverage city wide, and then up the highway thru the above mentioned cities. There are other cities activated already in Texas (and other states) and more cities are on the list to be activated in 2010.
Plans are to cover San Antonio within Loop 1604 (and some ways outside), plus north up 281 to Bulverde, and north up IH-35 thru Universal City, Shertz, Selma, New Braunfels, San Marcos, and Austin. Dallas is activating next month, and CLEAR is already activated in the Ft. Hood / Killeen / Temple / Waco areas, plus down in Corpus Christi. Coverage will vary by terrain and proximity to activated cell towers, but will improve just like coverage for cell phones improved over the years.
No more hunting for hot-spots at Starbucks, Burger King or the Library...
I'm now an Authorized Retailer, and starting November 1st, I'll be able to offer very affordable hi-speed wireless Internet services in their coverage area.
Think about getting 6mbs download speeds, and 1mbs upload speeds, faster than DSL speeds, via wireless connection almost anywhere. That's faster than most DSL connections, but without any phone lines. In their testing so far, they have gotten up to 13mbs download speeds, and 4mbs upload speeds! Wow! If you have Turbo Road Runner, you won't want to change over to use this service at home, but you might still want to get it for your laptop.
My Sprint 3G USB Modem only gets 0.79mbs download, and 0.26mbs upload, and that card has been costing me $65 a month with tax, just for the one 3G USB modem card, and at that slower speed!
Promotional plans include offering you
- 2 of the USB Modems (typically used for laptops) for only a $55/month service fee, or
- A home package with 1 USB Modem and 1 Residential Modem for that same $55.
- The home package plus a Voice over IP box for telephone calls for $75/month.
VOIP plans allow for free calls to the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico, and cheap rates to Europe and other countries. Call the UK or Ireland for just 1 cent a minute!
You can connect the home modem to a wireless router for local service to add more than one computer at your house. Or you can buy and use a portable "mini hot spot" device where you plug in your USB Modem, and thus provide a local Wi-Fi spot for 5-8 computers within about a 150 radius, battery powered (up to 4 hours) or AC powered.
You can get all of these services with, or without, a contract, and there are advantages to both ways. If you buy with a 2-year contract, they waive the $35 setup fee and you lease the equipment for $5/month (per unit), plus sale tax, so you only pay the first month's fee up front. If you don't buy with a contract, you have to pay for the equipment up front, plus the $35 activation fee and first month's fee. Contracts include the dreaded Early Termination Fee (just like a cell phone plan) and do require credit checks (just like a cell phone plan)
I'll be happy to discuss any details one-on-one, or in a group, but not over the Ham Radio, please. I won't be the only authorized retailer in town, nor the only ham operator in San Antonio who has signed up to sell this new line of service offerings. We will all have the same offers, the same pricing structure, and operate under the same restrictions.
My differences are:
- I'll bring a demo model to your location, house or business, and perform a live demonstration using my laptop or your computer on-site, before you buy or sign on the dotted line.
- I already have the reputation for reliable honest dealing as a computer consultant for the past 14+ years in the San Antonio area.
- I'll clearly explain what is or is not possible up front, no fine print or hidden gotcha.
Referral Fees Available - Ask me how to get up to $625/yr in referral fees by simply getting your friends to sign up witih me.
Contact Lee @ 210-771-7075 or lee@wimaxsatx.com for more details and pricing...
No sales can be made prior to 12:01am Sunday Morning, November 1st, but I sure can demonstrate this new service live, starting the last week of October, as soon as I get my initial equipment on hand. If you can't tell, I'm really excited about this new service, and many of the hams I've talked with already, were also. This newsletter complies with CLEAR's guidelines for advance notices to "friends and potential customers" via a closed list newsletter email. I won't be able to update my various websites until November 1st or later. New web site coming... www.wimaxsatx.com but it's not up yet.
Reminder: San Antonio Hams is not an organization per se.
I've been providing this website for the benefit of Ham Radio Operators in Central Texas since 2003, and will continue to do so for as long as there is the need & desire to keep the information pipeline open... Articles from other Hams & Ham Clubs, for the Blog and the website in general, are always welcomed!
This newsletter is always Free & by subscription only, so if you know of anyone who want to receive this, but didn't get it, please have them contact me direct via email or phone. Feel free to forward / share this information with any other hams.
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San Antonio Hams
Send any emails regarding this newsletter or the web site to info@sanantoniohams.org
Send Snail Mail Correspondence to: Lee Besing N5NTG, 5804 Babcock Rd #383, San Antonio, TX 78240
Phone contacts are always accepted at 210-771-7075 (cell)