San Antonio Hams

CHRISTMAS PARTY
DECEMBER 17TH @ 6:30 PM – 8PM

PAPA DANTE’S RESTAURANT
8607 FM 1976, CONVERSE, TX 78109

RSVP: wx5us@satx.rr.com

We will be holding our Annual Awards presentation, enjoying good Italian food and having a great time with each others company in typical Unusual Suspect Spirit.   Our Christmas Parties have always been a GREAT time for all, so you will hate yourself if you miss out on the fun.

Please confirm you will be coming and  how many in your party.   Remember the Unusual Suspects are about FAMILY and AMATEUR RADIO.  Family members young and old are welcome.

Please RSVP because we need to give the restaurant an accurate head count prior to the event.

The 2013 AARO Christmas/Holiday Party will be held Wednesday, December 11^th at Grady’s BBQ on Bandera Road across from the Jefferson State Bank near Leon Valley. Dinner starts at 6:30pm, activities start at 7pm.

Admission price is $15 per person before the event, $17 at the door.  Your $15 includes one raffle ticket. Additional tickets will be on sale.   There will be some really nice prizes again this year (Door prizes include 2 Baofeng HT’s for the grand prizes).

Attendance is not restricted to members of the AARO ham club.

Thanks for your continued support of the AARO group.

73’s and Happy Holidays.
Stan Waghalter, Treasurer
KD5ZSY

Dear Friends of Bill Reichert,

As some of you may have heard by now, it is with very sad hearts that we let you know of the passing of our father.  He was our knight and will be missed beyond words, but it is also our faith that he is surrounded by God’s love and grace and now reunited with our mother who went on before him.  Dad was with his family when he died at about 5:15 a.m. on Friday, November 22, 2013, and we don’t think that’s a coincidental date or time, as our mom also died on a 22^nd and our dad was the founding Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 515, which he loved and devoted much of his life to.

We want people to know that our dad “fought the good fight” (2 Timothy 4:7); he put forth a long and valiant recovery effort after his heart attack and major heart surgery last December 2012.  Just to live into one’s 70s, 80s, or even 90s is to survive, and our dad lived all of his life with a congenital heart problem.  Even so, he got a lot of mileage with his heart: Getting through A&M’s Corps of Cadets, the Korean War, the military, engineering sites out in the field, camping all over the country with the Scouts, and square dancing – and all with a compromised heart, though one with plenty of love.

Even when he had his heart attack last December and called 911 for himself, he still wasn’t down.  With few options and the information he had been given at the time, he chose to go for an intensive heart surgery and not only survived the surgery, but also several weeks in ICU, and then slowly but surely, he started his physical recovery and got better, step by step, at age 82, and all while still having a compromised heart.  Our dad was a very strong man even up until the very end when he realized “it was time,” which also takes a whole lot of mental and spiritual strength and courage.

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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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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

Another Section Of Our 200 Page
“Jump Team Boot Camp” Training Manual

AFTER SITE SURVEY: Assembling Your Tent Structures
by Bob W2IK

Setting up a tent can seem like a complex task especially for any first-time jump team member.

Tents are a vital  piece of Em-Comm gear, for sure, but many frustrated jump team members have cursed their tent as they’ve tried to set it up in the dark or during inclement weather without proper preparation.

However, once you’ve set up a tent several times, it becomes a familiar routine that can easily be repeated even in the most difficult Em-Comm conditions, and once you’ve mastered setting up one kind of tent, it will then be easier to set up other kinds of tents, be they simple or complex.

Remember that your tents (structures) are just as important as setting up your communications gear. After all, you will be living and working in them for many days. Here are some basic steps that will help you set up your tent structures quickly and efficiently.

Practice setting up your tent before you go to your duty site to deploy. Setting up your camping tent at least a couple times, directions in hand, before twilight is a good idea as you’ll never know what time of day (or night) you’ll be doing it for real. While some camping tents have simple designs, like family tents, other tents have complex designs, like dome tents, which will not be easy to assemble when it’s dark and you’re involved with other jump team duties.

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The Texas QSO Party occurs on the last full weekend in September. The 2013 dates are the 28th and 29th of September. Operating times are from 1400Z on SATURDAY to 0200Z on SUNDAY and from 1400Z to 2000Z on SUNDAY. (This break of times is to ensure safety of the mobile operators and keeps them from driving/setting up in the dark.)  Operation on all bands except on 60 meters, 30 meters, 17 meters, and 12 meters is permitted. Stations may work the entire contest period. Be sure to submit your scores by October 31.

This is a great chance to work your fellow Texans and it’s fun, too!  Just read the rules at: http://www.txqp.net/  and try to work as many stations in Texas as you can. BUT WAIT! You are in Texas, too, so try to work as many states and countries as you can. Just call: “CQ Texas QSO Party”.  Each new state or country counts as a multiplier.

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Another small portion of our 200 page “Jump Team Boot Camp” training manual –  Next Class Is Scheduled for April 2014

(Be sure to read earlier blogs concerning other aspects of emergency communications and the blog about the upcoming “Jump Team Boot Camp” , a 3 day “get down and dirty” training course.)
by Bob Hejl  W2IK

In 1998, I was airlifted via National Guard helicopter to supply emergency communications out of a medium size town in upstate New York. The town had been cut off in every way from the outside world due to an ice storm. Talk about improvising! Talk about pressure! I was lucky enough to find some very helpful people who went out of their way to make sure my communications deployment was successful.

We took turns siphoning fuel from trucks so the two generators could be kept running to supply lights, power to run the boiler system for heat and radio power at the local school which acted as a shelter and gathering place where news could be disseminated. Many of the local homes had wood stoves or fireplaces for heat, but there were some that did not and although many who didn’t were invited into neighbor’s homes, about 100 opted to stay at the shelter.

Since many people were hanging out in the area outside the school, I even suggested that if we had some empty 55 gallon drums we could get some heat from wood burning just like you’ve seen in depression movies. (outdoors, of course) A few minutes later several drums were there, in place, fueled with wood and lit. Neighbors who hadn’t seen or talked to each other in a while were standing around these lit barrels trading stories and getting caught up on “local news”. It made everyone feel as if it were one big winter block party! Everyone in the town contributed what they could to help their neighbors weather this event.

I kept in constant contact, via 40 meters, to the state capitol, giving them updates, requests and getting news and answers to questions. The ground was frozen solid so using stakes to erect an antenna was impossible. I had to lash my antenna’s center pole (using bungee cords) to a truck body while keeping the antenna ends secured with cement blocks. After almost a week, the roads were again open but through it all I improvised whenever there was a problem which needed a solution.

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A small section from our 200 page “JUMP TEAM BOOT CAMP” training manual
by Bob Hejl – W2IK

Your Em-Comm deployment group is only as good as the antennas they use. With this in mind, you must use antennas that are “tried and true” yet simple to erect in an emergency. They DO NOT have to be expensive. They should not be an elaborate concoction of wires or elements (NO BEAMS… You are NOT working DX as 99% of all HF emergency communications will be on the lower HF bands and probably not more than 300 miles).

There was only one case in over 20 years where I had to do emergency communications using 10 meters and this was communicating from New York to Hawaii (which had a hurricane) and relay the traffic back to California because due to propagation neither Hawaii or California could hear each other.

Your antennas DO have to work – every time and under a myriad of conditions such as freezing weather, monsoon-type rains, sustained winds or sizzling heat. They must also be stored and ONLY used for deployment purposes. They should not be something you scrounge together before heading out for a deployment. Back up antennas are vital. You need to have redundancy (two of each antenna so if there is a problem, such as a branch falls down on one that makes it un-repairable, or a failure such as a center connector breaking or burning out, it will not prevent you from getting on the air)

There is NO SUCH THING AS A “MIRACLE ANTENNA” no matter what you’ve read in ads or what a few hams “swear” by.

Emergency deployment is no game. If you need a question answered about a particular antenna, feel free to email me: alonestaryank@aol.com

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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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