Feb 13

March 15 and 16th 2014
Hill Country State Natural Area – Bandera, TX

2 day Equestrian Endurance Competition

Hill Country REACT and other area Amateur Radio Operators will be providing radio, safety and tracking support for this event. Typically participation is 75 – 100 riders/horses.

The events typically start around 07:30 hrs and we are usually in from the field around 15:00 hrs, sometimes earlier, sometimes later. Lunch and Dinner will be provided both days.

We have 5 positions to monitor throughout the event and provide tracking information back to net control. Comms is typically 2 meter simplex, so a mobile/portable unit with 20 watts or more and possibly a elevated antenna for 2 positions will be suggested.

This is a fun event and volunteer appreciation amongst the event management and participants is great.
Camping is available at the Chapa’s Group Camp which is the event central.

We could use a few more operators to fill some slots and enjoy the great Texas Hill Country.
Contact Louis – K5STX at k5stx at k5stx dot net to volunteer or get more information.

Note: I you have previously told me you were not available and I have replied back, Thank You!

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Jan 29

Technician Class Ham Radio Course

When: Saturday, February 22 and March 1, 2014.  9 AM till 5 PM. Examination will be administered at approximately 3 PM on Saturday, March 1, 2014.

Where:

 Cross Church Fellowship Hall
314 H Bauer Street, Seguin, 78155

Cost:   $15 for the examination.  If you wish to obtain the study guide, approximately $21.00 (Strongly recommended), it is “Technician Class Study Guide” by Gordon West.  (Available locally)  Please start studying ASAP.

Contact: To register and/or further information contact Training Coordinator Ron Clavette, w5rjc@arrl.net (210) 535-4620 or Instructor Bob Rodriguez, bobrod@flash.net (210) 887-6618.

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Jan 11

Today is the 2014 San Antonio Radio Fiesta. Talk-in will be on the SARO repeater 146.94 (-, 179.9) by W5SC with N5NTG as the  net control operator for the morning.

Location is 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, Texas, at the Schertz City Community Center.  Take Exit 174B off of IH-35 and turn back towards the SE on Schertz Parkway (that’s to your right if coming from San Antonio).

Admission is now $10 at the door. All indoor flea market tables have been sold out!  Some tail gating spots were left, as of Friday night.

!!!Radio Fiesta 2014  is coming to Schertz Civic Center!!!
January 11, 2014 … Mark your calendars!

This  Flier/Registration Form, in PDF format, contains full details about today’s activities.

ARRL VE TESTING  ON 1/11/14 CHANGED TO 12 NOON AT SCHERTZ LIBRARY   – more info on testing page

Complete program is included in mailout flier (dated 11/12/13)

Visit www.w5sc.org for full details about the schedules, etc.

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Jan 2
W2IK/Rover  January 2014 ARRL VHF Contest
On January 18 – 20th, W2IK  will go on the road (operating “Limited ROVER”) during the 2014 ARRL January VHF Contest. We will attempt to cover a few rare grid squares during this operation: EM00, RT 41 North Of Leakey, DL99, RT 55 South of Rocksprings, EL 08, La Pryor, DL98, West of La Pryor on RT 57, and DM90 at Rocksprings.  (Grid square operation in the following order but subject to change especially if we get any pileups) We will be operating on both 6 meter (horz. loop) and 2 meter (horz. beam) SSB.:).  Anyone who wishes to join us may do so by emailing: alonestaryank@aol.com   See what it’s like to operate vhf rover and hand out QSOs from rare grid squares. For further information about this contest, or if you wish to join in at home, see: http://www.arrl.org/january-vhf
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Dec 25

STRAIGHT KEY NIGHT! JAN. 1st

Every day is a good day to send CW, but January 1 is reserved for Straight Key Night. Enjoy CW as it has been sent and enjoyed since the earliest days of Amateur Radio. This 24-hour event is not a contest; rather it is a day dedicated to celebrating our CW heritage. Participants are encouraged to get on the air and simply make enjoyable, conversational CW QSOs. The use of a straight key to send CW is preferred. Beginners are encouraged to be a part of this event. Go as slow or as fast as you wish. Mistakes do not count! NO ONE will make fun of you, BUT, you will have fun! There are no points scored and all who participate are winners.
This is the perfect time to get started on working CW so you can get a feel for the mode and use it later during “Field Day” when most clubs need ops using this mode. Start a New Years resolution to work more stations using CW.
Straight Key Night is held every January 1 from 0000 UTC through 2359 UTC. All authorized Amateur frequencies, but activity has traditionally been centered on the HF bands.
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Dec 23

I learned during last night’s QCWA Sunday Night Net that their Christmas Party will be held after Christmas, on Saturday, December 28th, at the Sea Island Shrimp House located near Bandera Road and Loop 1604 (on the NW side of town).

Members start arriving around 11:15am and the meeting starts at 12 Noon.  There will be an exchange of presents, the “Chinese Style Auction” where one person choses a present, then the second person can chose one that has already been chosen, or select one from the table that hasn’t been opened yet.  Members were encourage to bring gifts of minimal value, such as  “white elephant” or “gag” style gifts to exchange with each other to increase the entertainment value.

Attendance is open to any licensed ham operator, or individuals interested in becoming a  ham radio operator. You do not need to be a member in order to attend their monthly meetings.

QCWA San Antonio Chapter 38 meets on the fourth Saturday of the month.  The monthly meetings usually take place at Sea Island located on Bandera Road just inside Loop 1604.  The restaurant is located inside Bandera Point Shopping Center across the street from H.E.B.  The restaurant’s phone is 651-7000.  The meetings start at 11:30 a.m. but many start showing up at 11:00 to order their lunch.

I also learned that the club now has their own website, www.QCWA38.info.

 

 

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Dec 15

The  Tour de Gruene is an annual 2 day bicycling event with all radio communications being coordinated by the GVARC  Ham Radio Club.  Hams are stationed at key / critical intersections or locations where rider safety may be at risk.  They are also stationed at break points to report on supply or rider pickup requests.

The 2013 event was held on Saturday, November 2nd, and Sunday, November 3rd.  (Next year it will be on November 8&9th.) I only worked the event on Sunday morning, so the attached photos were  from that date only.   I heard reports that what I experienced on Sunday was also repeated on Saturday, in terms of riders “jumping” off the bridge at River Crossing #4 to avoid “making a new friend” with an oncoming vehicle.    At the time this article was posted, you could still view the 2013 course maps online at this link.  The 2013 route was unusual, in that area road construction on the normal route force a major change in the route direction. In fact, they started up on River Road in Sattler, Texas, at the VFW Post (River Road & FM2673) instead of in downtown Gruene, Texas.
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Dec 15

I’m trying to catch up on my reports, so here is the report and photos from the October 31, 2013 Canyon Lake Halloween event held in Sattler, Texas.   There is about 2 miles of solid candy, both side of FM2673, all the way from the north end of Sattler, down past River Road, past First Victoria Bank (Now called Prosperity Bank), down to Old Sattler Road.  Businesses and community organizations stake out an area along the road, set up their tents, tables, signs, music and most importantly, their candy to pass out. Normal hours are 5pm-8pm, with setup starting around 4pm or so.  The ending hour is flexible, as folks start running out of candy to distribute.

Hill Country REACT Team members have been helping with this annual event for the past nearly 20 years.  The Canyon Lake Chamber of Commerce donates about 80 pounds of candy to the REACT Team to distribute. We display the Chamber’s sign as well as the REACT identification. All members are wearing the REACT Uniform.   A local ham, Carlos KE5DFK, likes to join us and usually brings another 10-15 pounds of candy to share with the kids.

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Dec 15

2014 Quarter One GVARC VE Test Session

The next regularly scheduled GVARC test session will be held on January 4th, 2014 at the New Braunfels Fire Department Training Facility located at 1311 Industrial Drive Suite A, New Braunfels, TX 78130.
The session will begin at 10:00am and conclude at 2:00pm, or when candidates stop arriving.

Please have these items with you when you arrive to take your test:

  • $15 – Cash, check, or money order (We can’t accept plastic quite yet)
  • Two forms of identification – State issued ID card, plus something like a CHL, school ID, passport, etc.
  • Your currently held license or CSSE — if you have one.

Note:  This is strictly a testing session. No test material will be taught or reviewed.

The VE team will be monitoring the 147.000 repeater if you need any assistance in finding the testing location.

Please contact the GVARC VE Team if you have any questions.

More details can be found here… http://gvarc.org/2013/12/07/gvarc-qtr4-VEsession.html

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Dec 10

JUMP TEAM BOOT CAMP 2014 (April 4th-6th)

Due to a lack of response/interest (people wishing to take this FREE course) I am cancelling this event. It will not be rescheduled. The cost, which comes out of my own pocket, for renting a group wilderness site, food and water, extra equipment, parts for building special projects for each attendee on-site (this session would have had each member building their own  Emergency NVIS antenna which stores in a section of PVC sewer pipe and needs no tools for deployment), printing the 200 page workbooks, tee shirts, caps, etc  amounts to several hundred dollars. Just the cost of replacing the a missing tent and one HF rig when I did a loan out of my Jump Team gear for hurricane Sandy has put a damper on my spirit to continue this emergency communications training. Since I already had the workbooks ordered from the printer, I will be making these available to interested parties at a later date for just my printing costs and mailing. (ONE to a customer)
Bob W2IK
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