San Antonio Hams

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DEPLOYMENT FOR AN EVENT
LASTING SEVERAL DAYS:

“PROTEIN DEPRAVATION” AND “FOOD FATIGUE”

………….You must also provide nutritional food with plenty of protein.

Protein Depravation

The result of an unbalanced diet may cause “Protein Depravation” which may impair judgment, cause lack of energy, poor sleep, slurred speech and other symptoms. “Cults” use protein depravation to control their members as it becomes difficult to think or reason when your brain is deprived of protein. Sending the wrong “traffic” in a message may cause disaster or heart ache.

Junk food and “sweets” should be kept to a minimum, although some salty snacks should be allowed in moderation as they can help in matters of dehydration if you are deployed in the aftermath of a hurricane where it becomes hot and humid.

Some of the best sources of protein, beyond your food cache of canned meats, canned tuna and canned poultry (all of which you should bring), are servings of beans, such as lima beans, pinto beans and red beans. Beans and rice combination is inexpensive yet can be part of a well balanced meal. Beans are easy to store and prepare and their purchase price is very reasonable.

If you wish, you could store this type of food in the same way “long term food” peppers do. Take a supply of dry beans, pour them into a heavy Mylar bag, add an oxygen absorber and seal the bag by ironing it closed being sure to squeeze any excess air out of it. LABEL the Mylar bag with what’s inside and date it. If properly done, and if the sealed Mylar bag is also protected from punctures and rodents by storing them in plastic buckets, it should remain a viable food product for about 20 years.

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SITE SURVEY – An Important Detail For Longer-Term (over a day) Emergency Communications Deployment

TAUGHT AS PART OF OUR “JUMP TEAM BOOT CAMP” session  by Bob W2IK

How and where you erect any operating, sleeping and cooking structures is very important. This also includes areas for erecting any antennas. This is why when you get to a location and decide upon a general area,  you first must do a site survey. This is especially true if your team does a full-scale tent deployment and not a deployment using existing free-standing buildings. One of the most important things to consider is: Will this emergency intensify, such as will there be additional rains or wind in the short-term future while you are deployed? Even if you do choose to use an existing building, you need to do site survey.

Threat Assessment –

• Will there be drainage for additional rains or will your operation be flooded out or will you have to sleep in soaked sleeping bags like I had to do once in the 1980s in the Virgin Islands because the team leader decided on the wrong area for placement of the communications team?
• An existing building may become flooded or cut off from access or evacuation.
• A road to any building may become a river that will flood out any building when you least expect it.
• Always choose an area which is on higher ground than the surrounding plain and NOT near any stream or river or their associated flood plains. You can usually tell about where the flood plain is by observation. Along streams there will be what’s known as a “debris line”. On flat terrain, this could be hundreds of yards from the stream itself. This is the highest area that has been recently flooded. Stay FAR AWAY from any debris line, as the emergency you might be deploying for, will have greater flooding potential than the average heavy rain.
• Areas near a dry creek bed should be avoided because a dry creek bed can be flash-flooded and you along with it. I have seen one of these creek beds flood out to a half-mile wide river in a matter of minutes. High winds can cause trees to come crashing down when already saturated roots give way so keep away from large trees. Yes, they may make handsome places to string up an antenna, but at what cost? Read the rest of this entry »

Lighting For Emergency Communications

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

JUMP TEAM BOOT CAMP 2014 (April 4th-6th)
A maximum of 8 attendees only!  

This is a FREE course, With 200 page training manual written specifically for this class.

W2IK and The Bexar Operators Group (W5BOG) located in San Antonio, Texas, will sponsor their 6th annual “Jump Team Boot Camp” in 2014, commencing on April 4th (Friday AFTERNOON) and running through the 6th (Sunday AFTERNOON).

Our “Jump Boot Camp” will concentrate on the ways and means to get a “Jump Team” operational should there be a need to deploy far from your home and communicate in the aftermath of a disaster where nothing is standing.

Just like the other “Jump Team Boot Camps” we’ve taught, this will be an actual drive-and-operate operation and NOT a desktop drill. This is the “no BS, real deal” of emcomm training and is as close as it gets to an actual disaster. The only emcomm boot camp in the country!

You will get very dirty so bring extra clothes! You will test your personal limits.   You will leave with self-confidence in dealing with extreme emergency communications work.

ECs and AECs from any group are especially encouraged to attend so they can bring valuable information back to their group(s) and so they are aware of what any of their members will be facing when you ask them to deploy to an extreme disaster area.

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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

The Unusual Suspects UNCLUB group came together in 2006, during that time I think we as a GROUP have done an amazing job of promoting Amateur Radio. I thought I would share some of our events and Activities. It is  these projects and the friendships of an incredible group of people that make me proud to be part of this fine group.   – Greg N5XO

Website: We built a new website, http://www.wx5us.us/, where we featured photos and news from various ham radio events that our members participated in, plus a list of our proud members.

Tower Raising:  I think we have had more tower raising projects than about any group around. Since every thing we do is about Taco’s… it would explain why as a group we seem to be getting fatter {grin}. We have helped  each other raise towers, design systems and improve our stations. I am impressed with our accomplishments. When we first started operating simplex like many ham’s and clubs we relied on repeaters and  our stations showed it … now we have stations that anyone can be proud of … and have outstanding simplex coverage.

In fact within the members of our group…

• we have 3 more tower projects coming along in the next month to month in a half…
• 2 of them 72ft towers with large antenna arrays….

PROMOTING SIMPLEX AND WEAK SIGNAL  is our thing {grin}

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On Sunday morning, June 2nd, after the rain had passed thru the area, some area ham radio operators showed up at Grumpy’s Shop (ham radio store) to install new antennas and tower, so that hams could use the station inside when the store was open. For many years, the San Antonio Radio Club (SARC – W5SC) had an operating station inside the Kcomm Ham Radio Store on Gulfdale Rd (west side of the airport), but when that store closed a year ago, the club lost their club station.

Grumpy’s Shop is located at 2002 CeeGee Lane, San Antonio, TX 78217.  That’s 2 traffic lights outside (north) of Loop 410, off Broadway, between Broadway and the airport, on the corner of CeeGee Lane and Aero Street.  (Google map link here http://goo.gl/maps/7DX3f )

Our thanks to William DW9HGF/W5 for providing the following photos taken during this operation.  Notice the airplanes taking off in the background?

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Guadalupe Valley Amateur Radio Club (GVARC) is now offering the opportunity to test for your FCC Amateur Radio License through the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Volunteer Examiner (VE) program.

When: April 6, 2013, Testing starts at 10:00 am.

Location: New Braunfels Fire Department Training Center Emergency Operations Center (1311 Industrial Dr. Suite A New Braunfels, TX 78130)

Exam Fee: $15.00 – Payable by cash or personal check

Requirements: Photo ID or 2 alternate forms of identification, plus your Social Security Number (SSN) or Federal Registration Number (FRN – Free registration on FCC.GOV website).   Note: Testing for License class upgrade also requires applicant’s ORIGINAL License or Certificate of Successful Completion and an additional photocopy of such documentation.

Morse code is not required for any Amateur Radio License

Contact: Gary S. Tangrady K5GST – Volunteer Examiner (VE) via email – K5GST01@gmail.com
or call one of the VE’s at phone – (210) 619-6217

GVARC is now sponsoring an ARRL affiliated VE Team and will conduct test sessions on a quarterly or more frequent basis as the demand for such requires.

The San Antonio Repeater Organization has unveiled a brand new website design, same address, with lots of new features for sharing information about the club to both the public and to its members.

Please check the new website out at Sarepeater.net when you have a moment.  Website design and hosting for the club has been provided by Lee N5NTG, as usual.  Additional work is on-going, therefore you will see some changes to the layout or design from time to time.

All SARO members are encouraged to register on the website for access to the member only area, using their Amateur Radio Call Sign as their userID. 

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