Technician classes are being offered free of charge to anyone interested in becoming an amateur radio operator or seeking a refresher; supervised children are welcome. This session consists of eight 2-hour classes to be held every Wednesday beginning at 7:00 p.m. on September 9, 2015,
at Schneider Engineering in Boerne, TX. For more details or to sign up, please email Ken Nichols KD3VK at classes@kb5tx.org
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.
We have a couple of older Ham’s {Licensed in the mid 70’s} having what is a typical conversation of how the “newbies” have destroyed Amateur Radio, and the hobby is dying. The claim that “newbies” ruined the hobby by using computers to track propagation, useful tools such as DX Summit and these new fangled things called Grid Squares.
I started to think about this, do they have a point? A lot has changed since I got into the hobby, and we will see many more changes in the future, but the honest truth is that the hobby is not dying, it is growing and is in fact larger than it has been any time through out history.
The simple truth is that “older hams” have been complaining about the “newbies” killing the hobby since the first Ham was licensed back in the spark gap days.
When AM first started to come on the scene, Spark Gap Operators complained about this new fangled mode of operating and how it was going to destroy the hobby, then few years later as SSB operating started to enter the picture those old AM operators complained about the Donald Duck Operators and how it was destroying the hobby and who can forget the day that CW was no longer required to gain a license, to hear from some old timers the planet Earth itself was going to stop rotating.
The simple truth it is the evolution of Amateur Radio that keeps us growing and the excitement and the WOW factor.
Yes, it is true that today very few Hams build his or her own radio, the simple truth is that we no longer need too with more modern transceivers on the market today and it is also beyond the capability of home technicians today with modern advancements such as surface mount devices, etc.
K5STX | 
AARO, ACARC, ARES, Bexar Operators Group, Canyon Lake ARC, Chaparral ARC, Corpus Christi ARC, Disaster Response, Emergency Preparedness, General Ham Radio, Guadalupe ARES, GVARC, Ham Club, HAMster Group, Hayes Caldwell ARES, HC Hams, KARS, MARS, MCARC, Public Service, QCWA, REACT, ROOST, SARC, SARO, Skywarn, STXDXCC, Texas VHF-FM Society, W2IK | 
05 24th, 2015| 
No Comments »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
W2IK | Antenna Design, ARES, Bexar Operators Group, Emergency Preparedness, Field Day, General Ham Radio, MARS, New Hams, W2IK | 05 12th, 2015| No Comments »The Bexar Operators Group, with W2IK at the helm, will be operating this year’s 2015 ARRL Field Day at the Choke Canyon State Park’s Caliham Unit near the town of Three Rivers about 70 miles south of San Antonio. We will be operating at the “Screened Shelter” area (These are full cabins WITH air conditioning)
If you are interested in joining us, drop an email at W2IK@ARRL.NET for more information and to reserve your spot.
All food and drink will be supplied. The “class” of operation will be determined later.
We will be experimenting with different antennas ranging from NVIS to “Inverted V”and Wire Beam styles apexed up to 50 feet.
Although all of our antennas do not require tuners when used on their proper frequencies, we will have several types of tuners available so we can compare how antennas compare when attempting to match non-resonant elements on frequencies other than the antennas’ intended use.
We will be using solar powered (400 watts) energy for equipment operation and 12 volt DC lighting systems will be displayed so attendees can see how a DC lighting system works during any emergency communications work and which are the best types to have on hand. There is a big difference between 12 volt incandescent, LED and florescent systems.
Space is limited to 8 persons, so please check with us for availability. New hams are encouraged to make the trip as there will be a wealth of information available.
Fellow GVARC members and other hams,
No, it isn’t a spelling error, it was plagiarized from WD5GWT to hopefully grab your attention to start going through your piles of ham stuff and pulling out unused antennas of any sort, superseded ARRL publications, hf. vhf and uhf rigs, meters, ‘scopes, computers, solder stations and such like.
Talk-In Repeater: 147.00- (103.5PL)
Location & Time: You will want to bring those items Saturday morning to GVARC’s swap meet at 0900 Saturday morning, February 14th, 2015, at the New Braunfels Fire Training Facility, 1311 Industrial Drive here in New Braunfels.
GVARC had hoped to use Granzin’s overflow parking lot diagonally across from the main entrance, but it was discovered this morning that the lot now belongs to a local church.
GVARC requests that you bring only ham related stuff. That is to say, no kittens, puppies, sheep or Avon products. GVARC’s expectation is the honesty typically associated among hams. If you say something works, it should. If you don’t know, say so.
Here’s how is going to happen. Everyone is invited to join us for GVARC breakfast at Granzin BBQ Restaurant (660 West San Antonio Street, in New Braunfels, TX 78130) at 0730 or so Saturday, and then promptly at 0845, we will saddle up and ride over to parking lot where K5GST and his VE team administer GVARC ham exams.
K5STX | General Ham Radio, Ham Club, New Hams, Skywarn, Special Event Station | 11 29th, 2014| No Comments »Friday December 5th 6:00 p.m. to Saturday December 6th 6:00 p.m. We still have multiple slots open for this event.
Especially 10:00 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday. All license classes invited to participate.
Contact Louis – K5STX at k5stx@k5stx.net or by phone: 830-305-2889
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.
UNUSUAL SUSPECT & HAMster Group
8th Annual Christmas Party
THIS SUNDAY, November 30th @ 5:PM
GREAT FOLKS – AWARDS – GOOD FOOD – GREAT TIME
This is what Amateur Radio is all about
{FELLOWSHIP AND FRIENDS}
Mamacita’s Restaurant & Cantina
8030 IH-10 west
San Antonio, Texas
Please RSVP n5xo@144200.net
The HAMster Weak Signal Group was founded Spring of 2013 and is based on the same UNCLUB PRINCIPLES that the Unusual Suspects operate under. Where the Unusual Suspects are a diverse group of individuals who have many key interest and the group caters to those interest and encourage activity in many areas, the HAMsters Weak Signal Group is a dedicated group with a sole devotion to PROMOTING AND ENCOURAGING WEAK SIGNAL OPERATION ON VHF/UHF/SHF.
We as a group promote and encourage SSB activity on 50MHz through 1296MHZ. We encourage SSB activity on those bands, contesting and chasing grids and QSL Cards on these bands.
If as a HAM you have never experienced the thrill of working a station on VHF/UHF/SHF 1,100 miles or more, you do not know what you are missing.
We are fortunate to have some very seasoned experienced operators such as Bill W3XO who has forgotten more than most of us will every learn about VHF/UHF operating, Marshall who when they defined Elmer had his photograph in the dictionary and who runs one of the finest VHF/UHF/SHF Multi-operator contest stations I have every seen as members.
We hold a weekly net on 144.205 SSB Horizontally polarized every Sunday Evening at 7:PM, we also hold daily conversations on 144.205 starting in the morning and running off and on through out the day.
We sponsor and promote Roving during contest, Remote operations to rare Grids to activate them along with a host of other activities.
If you have an interest in learning how to build a station to work as far away as Florida, Mexico and other points of interest on 2 meters, 23 cm, 70cm, etc…..this is the group for you. METEOR SCATTER, EME, TROPO AND A HOST OF DIGITAL MODES.
Taking part in a VHF/UHF contest will open up as much excitement as working that rare DX country on HF. JOIN US ON OUR SUNDAY EVENING NET: 144.205 SSB @ 7:PM
Check us out at www.144200.net Greg Lewis N5XO
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