San Antonio Hams

The 2015 Veterans Day parade will be held in Universal City on this Saturday, November 7th. Ham radio operators are needed to assist the Universal City Police Department with crowd and traffic control (mostly just moving the pre positioned barricades into place when the police order Pat Booker Road to be shut down when the parade is about to start).

We’ll be using a 2 meter frequency, HT recommended, but there will also be some commercially licensed HT radios available for those who don’t have one, or are not a licensed ham yet. Reflective vests recommended. Might need rain gear, depending on the forecasts.

We’ll meet at the UCPD HQ, located in city hall on Universal City Blvd by 9am. Free donuts, coffee and juice will be provided. Briefing starts at 9am, with the volunteers moving to their assignments along Pat Booker Rd by 10am.

Parade route runs south on Pat Booker towards Randolph AFB, turning either left or right (varies each year) on Byrd.

Many of us gather afterwards at a Mexican restaurant for lunch (not free, sorry) located near Universal City Blvd, next to a motorcycle shop.

Coordination by Hill Country REACT Team, contact Lee Besing, N5NTG, at (210-771-7075) or info@sanantoniohams.org

The 2015 communications team, for the running of the Cactus Rose 100, was supported on-air for 31 hours by five members of Hill Country REACT and one member of the Chaparral Amateur Radio Club.

CR100 has been a event on the public event schedule for 5 years now, with Hill Country REACT as the lead with participation from numerous individuals and organizations.  Our involvement with Tejas Trails is going on about 11 years, between the Bandera 100K and Cactus Rose 100.

Both events are held on the Hill Country State Natural Area in Bandera County Texas. Continued support and dedication from members of Hill Country REACT, Highland Lakes ARC, Chaparral ARC, Hill Country ARC and numerous individuals of various affiliations continue to make these events a communications success which bring awareness and appreciation to the Amateur Radio community.

 Hill Country State Natural Area is a 5,400 acre facility with over 34 miles of equestrian, hiking, biking and running trails from flat and smooth to 45 degree rocky climbs.

The environment and terrain at HCSNA creates numerous challenges for communications. Cell phone coverage is nearly non-existent with the average smart phone, the nearest permanent ham repeater is over 20 miles away and behind a range, and simplex vhf/uhf communications can be finicky.

At most events we deploy a portable repeater onsite, but due to the impending weather forecast the decision was made to work strictly simplex and not attempt this to expedite demobilization. At the remote aid stations, HT’s were supported by mobile units positioned nearby.

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Hams from the AARO and the San Antonio area are being asked to help with a ground search in a city park on Saturday, August 29th from 9am til 11am(?).

We will be meeting at the Bee Tree Soccer Field Parking lot. It is located 1 mile in from the entrance at Wurzbach Pkwy or .9 from the entrance at Jones Maltsberger.

If you get lost just call 210-422-5304 or on simplex 146.420.

Andrew Watson, K5NNN, is a private investigator who has been assigned to this case. He is requesting help from area ham volunteers with a search for a body in McAllister Park. The body is of the 25 year old girl is the one that was stolen from Mission Park Mortuary on the North Side.

Hams are needed to help search McAllister Park for signs of a possible shallow grave.

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It’s time to dust off those radios, go-kits, antennas and get signed up to volunteer for the public service events that will be starting up in September and October 2915.  I’ll make another post later to cover the events happening in November (Veterans Day Parade, Tour de Gruene) and December (Skywarn

September 12-13th – Central Texas American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure (Austin) – This will be a two-day event starting at the Oak Hill Freescale campus on Saturday, overnight at Jellystone near Fredericksburg, then back to Freescale on Sunday. Also on Sunday, there are other lower-mileage rides on Sunday, basically orbiting Freescale. Contact is Jeff Schmidt N5MNW and Lee Besing N5NTG. Repeater and APRS coverage is still be coordinated. More information about the ride can be found online at this site.

September 12th – La Vernia Wildwest Hammerfest – The San Antonio Ham Support Team will NOT be working this ride this  year due to a disagreement with event organizers over something that occurred during the 2014 ride.  Other hams from Wilson County may be involved, but the usual crew from San Antonio will not be coordinating.

September 13th – HEB 110th Anniversary Bike Fest in Boerne – This is a brand new ride celebrating HEB’s 110th anniversary, benefiting the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation.  Lead Ham Club on this event will naturally be Kendall Amateur Radio Society (KARS) since it is their backyard.  Looks so far like we’ll need to cover 9 break points and 6 SAG vehicles with ham operators, so KARS needs our support to keep this event safer.   Contact David Moore N7RF  (KARS) or Mary Anne Horn N5MYN (SARO) to volunteer ASAP.

October 3-4th – Valero BikeMS Ride To The River – This is our annual 2-day event that was changed from the 2nd weekend to the 1st weekend of October this  year.  On Saturday, the ride goes from the east side of San Antonio (near Houston St and IH-10), out thru Seguin (lunch stop) and back west to New Braunfels, ending at the Comal County Fairgrounds.   Route includes an option to tour River Road if the rider gets past the cut-off point prior to 3:30pm.   Both of Sunday’s routes will start and ends at the Fairgrounds, with courses remaining in the Canyon Lake area.

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The Skywarn Operators at the Austin-San Antonio NWO are in the process of updating our files and call-up list. Recently we have found the EC’s, Skywarn Coordinators and Net Controls have changed drastically in the various counties we serve.
It has also been found that several repeaters used in the past to contact and monitor Skywarn operations have changed or are no longer functioning.
If someone from each county could please e-mail me the contact information, frequencies and other pertinent information for ARES and Skywarn it would be greatly appreciated.
Also be advised that we have created a Facebook page and Twitter account to help get the word out. Feel free to like or follow to stay up to date with our operations.
Thank You, Louis – K5STX
e-mail to wx5exw at gmail dot com

Spring is here and so is our public service event season.  We’ve got lots of events coming up, with something for everybody. No experience needed, just lots of enthusiasm.

April 18-19th – BPMS150 ride with 13,000 bicycle riders.  Too late to sign up for this, but 7 of the 40 SAG vans will be coming from San Antonio over to Katy, TX for the start this Saturday morning.  We’ll be picking up our vans in San Antonio at the CAPPS Van Rental location near the SA International Airport on Friday, then driving over to Katy later that day to stay overnight in our FREE hotel room.  Saturday night will also have us staying in a FREE hotel room.  Very little cash out of our pocket. All fuel paid for, hotel paid for, 2 free t-shirts per person, free foot and lots of friendship and fun.

These next  two events are the ones that we really need your help for, the Fiesta Wildflower 100 and the Tour de Cure ride.

April 26th (Sunday) – Fiesta Wildflower 100 Bicycle Tour.  Still needing few more hams to help staff the 9 rest stops along the route, but no SAG drivers are needed.  Last year 1,500 riders were registered.  Start and finish will be at Morgan’s Wonderland, near Wurzbach Parkway and Thousand Oaks, on the northeast side.  Event benefits Morgan’s Wonderland and it is an officially  recognized Fiesta event.  Last year the organizer gave us a $25 Valero fuel card (1 per rest stop) to help compensate for the cost of helping out.

May 9th (Saturday) – American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure Bicycle Tour.  We need hams for 9 break points, 10 SAG vans, plus a few other assignments.  We will have brand new routes and a new starting location this year due to the City of Selma passing an anti-bicycle ordinance.   The event has been relocated to the south side of San Antonio, at the Texas A&M University campus on South Loop 410, near Zarzamora.  Routes go east toward Floresville and the longer routes loop down to Pleasanton, TX, over to Poteet and back up to the University finish line.  Atascosa County Hams will be helping with the southern part of the longer route and we welcome their support!

If you want to volunteer, or need more info, please  contact Lee Besing N5NTG at info@SanAntonioHams.org or call/text him at 210-771-7075 (I work late hours, so no early morning calls please). Please leave a message with your name, number, callsign and events you want to help with.

MS 150 SAG drivers – thanks again for all that you have done to support MS and ham radio!!  In case you didn’t notice from the calendar and the beautiful day out yesterday, Spring is approaching!!

The  BP MS 150, traveling from Houston to Austin, is April 18 & 19.  If you like BIG, EXCITING events, this one is the king of events.  MS will arrange for you to pick up your SAG van in Houston, San Antonio or Austin (your choice) on Friday.

MS will arrange a hotel room Friday night near the Addicks Park and Ride in Houston.  Then Saturday morning at 5:30 we meet and hit the road with 13,000 bicycle riders and about 50 SAG vans and buses.

We overnight in LaGrange Saturday night and MS will find us a place to sleep – usually a motel room, sometimes a bunk house at one of the camps there. MS will provide us a supper Saturday night and breakfast Sunday morning in LaGrange.  Plus all the bananas you can eat at the break points. 🙂 We finish around 6: 00 pm Sunday, go home, and turn in the van Sunday night or Monday morning.  And you will have many grateful riders as you help them along on the ride.

Having done this for many years, I can tell you it is a LOT of fun and is very rewarding.  You are part of an event that will raise over $20,000,000 for MS, the biggest bicycle fundraiser in the country. – Charlie KC5NKK

If you would be willing to consider this event, let me know and please contact Susan and Steve Shirk and get on their email distro.  If you haven’t worked with them before, you will be delighted at how well organized they are and how appreciative they are of your contribution.

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This year the San Antonio
Rock and Roll Marathon
will take up 2 days. 

Saturday, December 6th, will feature the 10k race (new event), while Sunday, December 7th, will feature the normal bicycle tour, full marathon and half marathon races that the Ham Radio operators in San Antonio have long supported.

Due to the increased need for our services, we are especially looking for hams who are willing to work the timer clocks on both days.  The 10k Race route overlaps the top part of the marathon route to a certain extent.

View the full route maps here.

Assignments will be made mostly on a first come, first serve basis, with preference given to those who have worked a location in the past, or living nearby, etc.  Some assignments may require the volunteer to synchronize multiple clocks, such as one for the 1/2 marathon and one for the full marathon that are within a block or so of each other.  If we get lots of volunteers, that will reduce the need for double assignments.

Please contact Lee N5NTG to volunteer via email info@sanantoniohams.org or text message (210-771-7075). Remember to provide your name, callsign, contact info and which events you are available to help with. Please let Lee know if your radio can do both 2 meter and 440 UHF, or just 2 meter because we’re looking at using some alternative repeater frequencies to possibly minimize interference from idiots. Most locations will work fine with just an HT, but the southern most positions may need higher power.  If you have a preference or special need, please include that information.

Don’t forget that the clocks will need to be picked up on Friday evening.  Once you get  your assignment, please take time to locate your physical location during daylight hours, because trying to find your way in before sunrise can sometimes be a real challenge. Roads will be getting closed off hours prior to the start of the race, starting at the north end and working down south.

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Location:

Hill Country State Natural Area – Bandera, Texas

When:  10th and 11th of January 2015

Description: 

It is that time of year, to start marking your calendars and making preparations for the 13th Annual Bandera 100k Ultra-Marathon held at Hill Country State Natural Area in Bandera County.

Tejas Trails Communication Group – Coordinated by Hill Country REACT and supported by Highland Lakes Amateur Radio Club, Chaparral Amateur Radio Club, Crew 317 and many dedicated Amateur Radio Operators from San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Kerrville and other locations throughout the state, have supported and provided communications for this event the past 10 years.

This event typically requires 15 – 16 Amateur Radio Operators in a situation that is similar to what an Emergency Communications Operator would experience in a disaster zone. Remote operations little to no permanent infrastructure.Bring it, work it, enjoy it!
UHF, VHF and Packet communications are involved in this event. And with some hard work between now and then, possibly HSMM-Mesh!

This is a fun event with challenges. The participants of this event, are of a type you will not encounter at most other events we deal with throughout the year. Over the years, we have made some lasting friendships among the event management, participants and operators that come out to help. This is one event, where your hard work and efforts are truly recognized and appreciated from top to bottom.

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UC Parade

Date: 01 November 2014 – Important, they moved the parade up one week this year due to multiple large events around the area on the following weekend.

Title: Universal City Veterans Day Parade

Location: Univeral City, Texas
Description: For more years than we can count, HIll Country REACT and radio operators around the region have provided support for this Patriotic Event.

Ham Radio Operators provide a valuable service during this event by assisting the Universal City Police Department in shutting down the parade route (Pat Booker Rd.) in preparation of the parade.

We meet at the U.C.P.D. in the morning for a briefing and assignments (City Hall is located on Universal City Blvd). After that we proceed to our assigned stations and await the call to setup our barricades.

FREE DONUTS, COFFEE, ORANGE JUICE, and maybe even some milk, courtesy of UCPD.

During the parade, we try to make sure no vehicles enter the route that could disrupt the parade. Afterwards, we meet for  lunch at a nearby Mexican Restaurant on Pat Booker Road and visit for a bit.

All licensed radio operators are invited to participate.
For more information of to be added to the roster of volunteers for this event, contact Lee Besing – N5NTG – Event IC
Start Time: 08:30
Date: 2014-11-01
End Time: 12:00