San Antonio Hams

Ham Radio Operators are still needed to set up and coordinate the starting of the official timer clocks at every mile marker along the route.

This year’s event coordination is being done by ham radio as usual. Lee N5NTG is the coordinator for the ham radio operators working the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon on Sunday, November 17th.

AARO is the ham club sponsoring the communications for this event, and we’d like to help them out. All volunteers will get a free t-shirt, and yes, they do have the larger sizes as well.

Typical Duties of the Hams:

• Friday, November 15th – Hams will be picking up their timer clocks at 6pm from Alamo Dome Parking Lot “B” (off Cherry Street, north of Caesar Chavez, aka Durango). There will be a briefing for all volunteers, t-shirts and extra maps will be passed out, and timer clocks distributed.
• Saturday, November 16th – Hams should locate and verify their assigned locations during daylight hours, and compare available routes with the Marathon route and closure lists. The actual mile marker location should have a written description provided to you, but the street should be marked with either paint or orange duct tape looking arrows.
• Sunday, November 17th – Hams should be at their assigned locations, way before the race is scheduled to start. Wear your event t-shirt for identification and put your placard in the window to help you with local law enforcement. Remember there will be a bicycle ride prior to the event, so the route will be closed earlier than you may think.

DO NOT PARK DIRECTLY ON THE ROUTE. Park your vehicle nearby in a safe spot, but the road itself must remain open from curb to curb. You can park on a sidewalk, driveway (with permission of property owner, if available), nearby parking lot, etc.. Use good judgment when choosing your parking area as close to the timer clock position as possible. You may need to walk a short distance to your clock to be ready to flip the on switch when announced.

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It’s now been a couple of weeks since the event was held, but I wanted to write up some sort of “after action” report, complete with photos.    This report is from the Ham / SAG van viewpoint, since that’s where I was all weekend. I didn’t take as many photos as I usually like to do, but I received photos from other folks, such as Mike Perez W5ZUP, Joe Plano KA1MZY, and various BikeMS Committee members.

At the almost last moment, Saturday’s start line was moved from the AT&T Center over to the brand new Wheatley Heights Sports Complex on the other side of IH-10, just off Houston St.  This resulted in minor route change that subtracted about a mile from the course each day.  Riders in my SAG van said they preferred the new location over the AT&T Center, that it felt more like “our event” instead of “just borrowing the parking lot from the AT&T Center.”

(L-R) David KD5MTJ, Charlie KC5NKK, Paul KA5FZU, Joe WA5AUQ)

Our 15 SAG Vans came from Enterprise Rent a Car as usual, but what wasn’t usual was that we had to remove and store our rear bench seats instead of Enterprise doing it for us, as they have done the past 4 years.  But Lloyd Hensley (BikeMS Staff) came up with a solution and we had the vans delivered to the BikeMS warehouse on Friday instead of our drivers picking them up directly from Enterprise.

Once the vans arrived, volunteers removed and stored the seats inside the warehouse, while the APRS Crew installed the trackers, applied the numbers to the front & back of the vans, distributed magnetic signs, t-shirts, and of course printed maps, guidelines and a list of where the authorized fuel stations were located.

The Route both days was changed this year to avoid the stretch of FM1346 thru St. Hedwig, where the shoulders on the road had cracks large enough to cause a bike to flip, or to take a short cut to Australia perhaps?  After taking FM1346 for 2009-2012, the route committee said “enough is enough” and chance the route.  Riders seemed to enjoy the scenery on the new roads better, with less traffic, lower speed limits, but no shoulders.  The down side of the new section, was lots of blind curves and low water crossings that would have caused us problems on Sunday when the weather turned off bad.

Saturday’s ride went pretty smoothly, with only a couple reported medical issues from riders having accidents, none really major.  It was probably one of our safest years yet for this ride.  We had an incident or two, where a SAG van got stuck when backed into a side road waiting for riders to pass, and a police vehicle with a dead battery.

SAG 15 – Rob W07ROB loading bikes into his van. Photo by Joe KA1MZY

Weather was very cooperative both Friday and Saturday, getting a bit warm and humid on Saturday afternoon, which required higher than normal SAG usage, but we (the hams & SAG Teams) were up to the challenge.  We’ve had several good feedback reports from riders who felt their SAG driver / team was very helpful, especially on Sunday.

The ride was completely finished shortly after 6pm on Saturday, with no riders needing to be picked up at the last minute as they returned down River Road on the Century Route.   Part of the reason for that improvement, was the earlier cut-off time set for riders wishing to take the extra 30 mile trip up River Road and back.  By moving the cut-off time forward, we eliminated those last minute riders who weren’t physically up to the challenge of finishing the route by 6pm.

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If you’re bored and you know it, charge your batteries, dust off those emergency go-kits sitting in the garage, and get your radios programmed to work these upcoming events.  Even if you aren’t bored, it’s still that time of year anyway.

I know more help is really needed for the two upcoming bike rides on September 21st and October 12-13th. I’m pretty sure that all of the other events will be grateful for some extra ham help as well.

Where available, I have listed email address links for the contact person. If you don’t see a contact link, or are unsuccessful in contacting them, please feel free to contact me direct for more info or help. – Lee N5NTG

• September 21st – OLPH Wildcat Ride and Run – Jeremy KE5ELI
• September 28-29th – Texas QSL Party
• October 5th – Belton HamExpo
• October 5th – BikeMS150 San Antonio Training / Briefing meeting for hams / volunteers at 10am – Lee N5NTG.
• October 12-13th – BikeMS150 San Antonio. 2 day event. SARO Ham Club. Charlie KC5NKK
• October 19th – JOTA at the McGimmsey Scout Park. SARC Club – Bob K5AUW
• October 19th – Alamo Area Law Enforcement Explorer Competition (AALEEC) at SW High School – Dave W5QS
• October 26-27th – Cactus Rose Run (36 hour 5:30am Sat -5:30pm Sun) – Bandera Hill Country State Natural Area (100 mile). REACT Team – Louis K5STX
• November 2nd – UC Veterans Day Parade. REACT Team – Lee N5NTG
• November 2-3th – Tour de Gruene – GVARC ham club. Mike WQ5C
• November 17th – San Antonio Rock & Roll Marathon – AARO – Lee N5NTG
• December 6-7th – National Skywarn Recognition Weekend – New Braunfels NWS Office – 24 hour event (6pm-6pm) over 2 days – Louis K5STX
• December 14th – Christmas Parade at Canyon Lake / Sattler – REACT – Wade W5ERX
• January 11th – San Antonio Radio Fiesta – (Schertz TX) SARC Club – W5SC.ORG – Rowena KF5JCZ
• January 11-12th – Bandera 100K Run at Hill Country State Natural Area (state park) 24 hour event over 2 days – Louis K5STX

Hello Fellow HAMS:

The Pedal Festival ride/run has changed its name.  This year the Wildcat Ride and Run is asking for our assistance with communications.    The event is on September 21st this year.

This ride will have 2 different routes (32 mile and 59 mile).  There is a 91 mile route option that is the two other routes combined.  There will be a 5K run and several other small events along with the ride.  Our primary goal is the 91 mile riders and the breakpoints.  All the routes start and finish in Selma at the OLPH church and school.  I am in need of operators for the break points and some motor cycle marshals to help keep an eye on the course.  If I get a large response, we can look at putting operators with the SAGs.

This event is 3 weeks before the BikeMS, you can use it as a test run to get your feet wet before the big one.  If you are interested in helping with this event, please contact me with your info.

 Information Summary:

• Event: 2013 Wildcat Ride and Run http://www.wildcatriderun.com/
• When:  Saturday, September 21, 2013
• Open Positions:  Breakpoint Operators, Motor Marshals, SAG Comms
• How to volunteer:  Email Jeremy Davenport (jeremy@heitx.com) or phone 830.743.0004

Thanks and I look forward to working with you.

Jeremy Davenport, KE5ELI
jeremy@heitx.com
830.743.0004

The ham community has been supporting the annual Tour for Children bicycle ride since 2011.

But last year was the first time we actually drove the SAG trucks that were donated by Toyota of Boerne. 

Apparently, there “some issues raised” that weren’t brought to our attention until this month, today in fact.

Due to those “issues” and the fact that the organizing committee was apparently blissfully unaware of what the hams do during this type of event, they’ve chosen to ride without us this year.

The event is still being held on September 14, 2013, starting at El Chaparral Restaurant in Helotes (Start/Finish) and various lengths of routes going as far north as Boerne.  For the past couple of years, they’ve had around 500 riders.

We truly wish them the best of luck and hope they have a safe and successful event without any of the incidents that would have likely been avoided had they utilized our experienced SAG drivers and other hams to increase overall  rider safety on the course.

In the meantime… all of the Ham Radio operators who had originally planned on donating that Saturday to help “the cause,” are welcome to come hang out with the members of Hill Country REACT instead, while we assist the Village of Bulverde with the 2013 Bulverde Jubilee, including “the world’s shortest parade” at 11am.  (On FM1863, west of Hwy 281)  Truly, the parade route is about 1/4 the length of the staging area, about a city block long.  Date is also Sept 14th, starting at 8am.

Contact Charlie KC5NKK via email for details.

Well, it’s that time again for the 6th annual Alamo Area Law Enforcement Explorer Competition (AALEEC) which will be held this year on Saturday October 19th, 2013 at the Southwest High School 11960 Dragon Lane, San Antonio, TX 78252.  (Loop 1604 & Old Pearsall Rd on the SW side of San Antonio.)

Ham radio operators are being coordinated by Dave Espinoza W5QS.  We need about a dozen or more hams to properly cover the various areas.  We will be using simplex 2 meter frequencies or possibly 440.

Please email  Dave Espinoza W5QS or call / text him at 210-287-5036 to volunteer.  Do not contact Tim Barlow (shown below) if you are wanting to volunteer as a ham, he’s the participant contact. (We only left Tim’s contact info in, for those who are doing a Google Search to find out more information about this event.)

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SARO is once again looking for more Ham Volunteers to step up and help with this annual event.

Coordinating this year’s event is MaryAnne N5MYN, Charlie KC5NKK, and Lee N5NTG.

Charlie KC5NKK is the point of contact for ham volunteers and assignments. MaryAnne N5MYN is interfacing with the Tour Director and event staff. Lee N5NTG is coordinating the SAG teams, van pick-up and day of the event assignments.

We know that we need a minimum of 32 amateur licensed volunteers. In addition, we would really like to have co-pilots for the SAGs (amateur license not required).

Below is some information about what we’ll need in order to cover this event “at a minimum.” Obviously, we want to exceed this minimum and be ready to do this ride the right way, the SARO way!

At present time (7/25/2013), we have 29 who have said “yes” plus 4 SAG co-pilots, so we have a lot of recruiting to do yet. We would like to have at least 5 “spares” to cover last minute cancellations. If you have friends or acquaintances (or even people you don’t like) who would consider helping (licensed or not) please contact them and let us know if you get any interest.

There will be some route changes, mostly on Day 1, such as avoiding FM1346 thru St. Hedwig. After many years, and no repairs being made to the large cracks along this stretch of FM1346, some big enough to swallow a rider and his/her bicycle (just kidding), the route committee decided enough was enough.

The new route on Day 1 drops south and goes around St. Hedwig, which forced the one rest stop. In addition. one of the churches we normally used in the past, apparently has a wedding scheduled for that weekend and for some strange reason, the bridal party didn’t think that them working a rest stop would fit into their plans.

We need several things from you. We need a volunteer agreement executed. The strongest preference is to do it on line. Instructions will be emailed to you when you sign up to work this event. This form is required of every volunteer for each event. Even if you helped with the BP ride this Spring, this form needs to be executed again for our ride. The main reason for doing one for each event is this is the way that the MS office knows who you are so they can send you “thank you’s” and appreciation party invitations.

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Once again, the members of Hill Country REACT, along with support from other area ham radio operators, has successfully organized the Canyon Lake 4th of July Parade in Startzville, Texas.  This annual parade is sponsored by the Canyon Lake VFW Post 8800 (Startzville).  This year, there were about 40 entries, some small and some not so small.  The parade route stretches from the west end of Startzville to the eastern side of town near the VFW post location.  It starts on Old Cranes Mill Road and runs for about a mile or so until it reaches the de-staging area.

The following volunteers helped put on this year’s parade…

• Wade Bolling W5ERX  – IC / Coordinator REACT
• Lee Besing N5NTG REACT
• David Besing KD5MTJ REACT
• Nick Sellers (non ham volunteer)
• Daryl Mai W5MAI REACT
• Joe Bruno W5AUQ REACT
• Richard Graham N5RAG
• Dave Eggebraaten AF5IA

Hey Guys,

Its that time again…time for the 4th of July Parade in Startzville (Canyon Lake).  Hill County REACT has provided staging and communications for this event each year and would like to invite you to help us out. It is a good experience in event communications and it is a whole lot of fun!

This event will be on the morning of the Thursday the 4th at 8AM and last until about 12 pm. Just a short event.  We’ll provide talk-in on the REACT 444.450 repeater (located near Canyon Lake) and run on a simplex 2 meter frequency for the actual event (contact Lee below to get frequency before parade).

We will be meeting at Startz Cafe:

0630 – Breakfast at for those who can attend) 0800 – All volunteers meet for assignments

Startz Cafe is located at: 10350 Startz Rd  Canyon Lake, TX 78133 Canyon Lake, Texas 78133

Please let me know if you can help.

Wade (W5ERX)

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Note from Lee N5NTG

If you aren’t doing anything for the morning of July 4th, why not come up to Startzville (south of Canyon Lake) and meet the group of ham operators from Hill Country REACT who are coordinating the parade that day.  We’re meeting at 6:30am at Startz Cafe and rolling out to the staging area around 8am. Parade kicks off at 11am after the fly over by the Confederate Air Force (or whatever their new politically correct name is now.)

Once the parade starts off, I’ll be bringing up the rear of the parade in my mini-van, and all the hams along the staging area will get in their vehicles and jump in line in front of me.  We bring up the rear of the parade, helping to block the road from behind, preventing the frustrated tourists and residents who forgot about the parade and got trapped at the end of the road leading up to Comal Park.   We can pair up any non-hams with a ham or you can just hang out and watch the parade.

If you’ve got family, bring them along and enjoy. It’s a good small town parade without all the stuck up noses of a big town parade.  The residents line up along the 2 mile route cheering it on and they really appreciate our help.

Lee Besing, N5NTG
210-771-7075 (cell)
info@sanantoniohams.org

This will be the 3rd annual American Hero 25k Relay Run to be held in San Antonio and it will be held at a new location from previous years.

Wheatley Heights Sports Complex is a brand new facility on the east side of San Antonio, near Houston & IH-10. This facility is on the opposite side of IH-10 from the American Red Cross HQ (shown in picture with a red cross.)

The aftermath of the 1998 flood that caused the evacuation of the American Red Cross, was the prompt to get a $7.5million grant to build this complex, using funds from private and public sources, including tax money from the Hotel & Rental Car tax fund.  This area was devastated by the flood and all of the houses were destroyed.  The city purchased the property from the owners and relocated them out of the flood plain. There are signs near the parking lots warning about this area will be subject to flooding.

You can click on the photo on the right for a full size image of the proposed route layout.  Or click on  the photo on the left that I “borrowed” from the Wheatley Heights Sports Complex website  and added some directional arrows and markers over the actual facility.

This location is so new, less than a year or two old, that even Google Earth doesn’t have an updated areal photo showing the existence of this sports complex.

We only need a handful of hams since the route is out & back. If you want to volunteer, please contact Lee N5NTG at info@sanantoniohams.org or call 210-771-7075 (voice/text).