San Antonio Hams

As I’m writing this, I’m sitting out at Shavano Park City Hall where the San Antonio radio club is set up under the big pavilion. Lots of digital logging systems. Running voice and computer. There are cables everywhere, antennas everywhere. Just had some folks show up who were interested in learning about ham radio.  Within the first 15 or 20 minutes, they got her son on the radio, using the GOTA station.

Good evening.

I am a retired Marine writing a book about an October 1979 typhoon, fuel spill and fire at a U. S. Marine Corps training camp on the lower slopes of Mount Fuji, Japan. The incident left 73 injured — most of them Marines, many horribly burned. Thirteen died. 38 of the injured were evacuated from Japan to Brooke Army Medical Center.

Among the many people in San Antonio who rallied to help those Marines and their families were volunteer MARS operators who set up a station on the hospital’s seventh floor. They spent hours arranging phone patches for the Marines’ families — allowing them to avoid long-distance telephone charges while keeping relatives updated on their loved one’s health, and taking care of business in their hometowns.

The help made it easier for family members to remain by their Marine’s bedside — which doctors said increased patients’ likelihood of survival.

Would your club (sent ot SARC originally) by chance have any sort of historical records documenting this kind service? Might any of the volunteer operators who helped be available to share recollections?

I will be doing research in San Antonio from Saturday, May 21 until Saturday, May 28. Should it be possible to learn more about this aspect of the story of the Camp Fuji Marines, I would be most grateful for any available information.

More about me — and examples of my work — can be found at ChasHenry.com.

Thank you for your consideration.

Gratefully, and Semper Fidelis,
Chas Henry

Mobile: +1 703.303.3083

As of 3/15, 2 clubs have announced that their membership meetings normally held on the third Tuesday each month, will be canceled or changed to Teleconference (using FreeTeleconference.com).

South Texas DX Contest Club has canceled their March 17th meeting that is normally held at Bobby J’s Hamburger restaurant in Helotes, TX.

Hill Country REACT Team normally meets on the third Tuesday at the Methodist Stone Oak Hospital on Sonterra & Hardy Oak, in the cafeteria. They always have teleconferencing set up for those members who cannot attend in person. But due to the Hospital implementing new restrictions on unnecessary / non-critical access into their building, the entire meeting will be held by Teleconference. Contact info@hillcountryreact.org for more details.

I’ve not been advised of any other cancellations by area clubs, but please use reasonable caution before attending any such gatherings. If you aren’t healthy or fall into the age brackets most affected by this virus, think about your options before going. We want all of our aging hams to stay with us for as long as possible and no, I did not just invite all of you to come live with me. Lol

Clarification from the ARRL News Site. Looks like ham repeaters are welcome on state lands under the following proviso (requires hoops to be jumped through):

“Our contact in the California Office of Emergency Services suggests that, if any affected repeater is in any way involved with local emergency or government support activity, they should ask that agency to engage with CAL FIRE concerning the repeater. If the agency makes the case, there is a good chance that the repeater will be unaffected,” Tiemstra added.

http://www.arrl.org/news/report-causes-concern-and-confusion-in-california-s-amateur-radio-ranks

AMATEUR HIGH-FREQUENCY EMERGENCY / HURRICANE NETS

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Major Hurricane Dorian Prompts Sustained Activations

For those of you playing with GR Level 3, Dorian is just now starting
to show up on Base Reflectivity (red marker at center of eye).
If you want to watch yourself, use site KAMX.

If you want to view on the new GOES-16 satellite,

https://weather.cod.edu/satrad/?parms=subregional-Florida-15-24-1-100-1&checked=map&colorbar=undefined

And the hurricane watch net is active

https://www.hwn.org/
The Net is Active on 14.325 MHz & 7.268 MHz

Avoid unnecessary traffic on those 2 frequencies.

This thing is shaping up to be a real monster….

On Facebook, you follow the Hurricane Watch Net here…

https://www.facebook.com/HurricaneWatchNet/

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The HAMster VHF/UHF Weak Signal Group

5th Annual Lunch & Learn + Swap Meet

February 2nd 2019 @ 8:am

American Red Cross: 3642 E Houston St, San Antonio, Tx

Technical Training, Spaghetti Luncheon, VE Testing plus swap meet

RAFFLE of Multiple prizes/Grand Prize Yaesu FT-920 with Desk Microphone

FREE TRAINING—- FREE LUNCH

{Spaghetti Luncheon, Soda.Water — coffee in morning}

Swap meet Table setup – 7:15 am to 8:am

Event Schedule

===============================================

Time: Rm #: Presenter: Event:_________________________________________

7:15 N/A N/A Check in and Raffle Ticket purchases

7:15 #4-5 KG5OMX Swap Meet Check in and table setup

8:am #1-2 N5XO Introduction to VHF/UHF Weak Signal & HAMster Group

9:am #1 N7LRY Quadrifilar Helix Antenna. A surprising performer

9:am # 2 WA5FRF Antennas and Propagation

9:am #3 N5XO Is your Coax Charging you a TAX?

10:30 #1 K5VH Antenna Basics and Design

10:30 #2 N7LRY Analyzer Tools to get you that last db

11:30-13:30 Lunch is served and SWAP MEET OPENS

13:30 #1 KC5ULU How to build a 2 meter 4 element quad for under $50

13:30 #2 KA2GZW Traffic Handing-How to create a message and send it

13:30 #3 K0MHC Introduction to VHF Roving

13:30 Meeting Rm VE TEAM VE Testing for New Hams & Upgrades

14:45 #1-2 N5XO FINAL PROGRAM & RAFFLE

Raffle Grand Prizes

FT-920 100 Watt HF/6 Meter Radio with Desk Microphone

Yaesu HT, VX-5 with desk Charger

Updated at 1230 hours on 8/25/2017

Bexar County is currently under a Flash Flood Watch and Tropical Storm Warning. Hurricane Harvey has been upgraded to Category 2 and still expected to become a Category 3, making landfall between Corpus Christi and Port O’Connor this evening. A life-threatening and catastrophic heavy rainfall event is expected east of I-35 and I-37. Small shifts in the forecast track of Harvey, and where it stalls this weekend, could result in very large differences in rainfall totals.

Evacuations
200 Gembler Road is the reception center for every evacuee, regardless of their mode of transportation.

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Ham radio operators in Texas, mostly in the affected area and out towards San Antonio and Austin where shelters might be set up, or charging their batteries for their handheld radios and getting their radio gear ready for possible deployment.

In the San Antonio area, the Bexar County ARES group will be coordinating all ham communication deployments at the city counry emergency operations center and the public shelters likely to be set up by the city of San Antonio and the American Red Cross. No shelters were open as of the time I wrote this post. (Aug 24, 2017 at 2100 hours)

Ruth Lewis is the counry EOC for the ham operations and will be working closely with the local city, county, and state officials.

Listen to the 147.18 repeater for manpower updates and the 146.94 repeater for local Skywarn operations as the storm hits town on Saturday.

If the mega shelters are opened in San Antonio, it will probably be for a few days through early next week until they can safely return back to the coast in the flooded areas.

The highways coming from the coast, especially Highway IH-37 from Corpus Christi, is going to have extremely heavy traffic.

I have not yet heard of the state activating the hurricane plan which would turn the various highways into a one-way direction coming from the coast up to San Antonio.

I will post more information as it becomes available to us.

There is no need to self deploy yourself at this time. We need to make sure there’s a place for you to help the cause, rather than causing the problem.