San Antonio Hams

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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Bexar County ARES meets monthly on the first Tuesday of the month, at 6:45pm.

Locations alternate between the San Antonio EOC on odd months (January, March, May, July, September, November) and the San Antonio American Red Cross HQ on even months (February, April, June, August, October, December).

Radio nets to provide over the air training sessions, are held on 147.18 repeater (-, 103.5) on Tuesday nights, when there is no meeting scheduled to be held.

Attendance is open to all licensed Amateur Radio Operators who are interested in learning more about Emergency Communications and the Ham’s roll in disaster response.   Access to either building location after the meeting has started, is very limited due to building security, so please arrive on time or early if you plan to attend.

Red Cross: 3642 E Houston St, San Antonio, TX 78219
EOC: on Brooks City-Base on Inner Circle Rd, San Antonio, TX 78235

With the start of Summer, June 1st marked the beginning of “Hurricane Season”.

It’s been predicted to be a very active period (again). We hope a hurricane doesn’t strike our area, but we must be ready in case it does. Newly licensed hams have joined the amateur radio ranks just in time to become useful communicators should an emergency caused by severe weather arise. There is always a need for trained emergency communications personnel, but this is especially true in the areas which are more likely to be impacted by a hurricane, those regions being the Atlantic and Gulf Coast areas.

However, it takes more than just a license and a hand-held radio to make you a useful part of emergency communications. It also takes preparation, training and practice.

Preparation requires each communicator to develop a cache of supplies to help them in fulfilling their communications duties. There are various web sites you can rely on as basic lists in building your “go bag” of supplies. I realize that most of you are on limited budgets regarding the purchase of additional rigs or other related equipment, so improve on what you have with the addition of a better antenna system and upgraded power sources. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to “run home” to get something you’ve forgotten.

There are NO second chances with emergency communications during a hurricane.

Reminders – If by choice or by wallet your only rig is an HT: The battery pack that came with your HT is NOT enough during a deployment. Make sure you have additional power in the form of extra batteries and a power supply. You should have enough “portable power” to last for at least 4 days of operation.

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I would like to congratulate Stuart Rohre K5KVH – Red Cross AEC in Travis and Williamson County.  Stuart received the West Gulf Division Excellence award – as the EMCOMM Ham of the year 2012.  The presentation was made by Coy  Day, retired ARRL West Gulf Division Director and Dr. David Woolweaver – Director of West Gulf Division ARRL.

In receiving the honor Stuart’s first words were in praise of his team mates – Joe Fisher K5EJL and Bob Morgan WB5AOH who have supported W5KA Red Cross Station in many drills and deployments.

A member of Travis County ARES since 1975, Stuart began working with Red Cross in earnest in 1991.  Stuart had his baptism of fire serving Red Cross in the Jarrell Tornadoes of 1997.  He was the first ARES operator at the chapter and was asked to organize communications for the disaster.  Public Safety communications were out!

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From: “Alex Garcia”
Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2013 10:33 PM
Subject: Texas Severe Weather Conference

Hello Everyone,

The Texas Severe Weather Conference, SkyWarn Training Session is coming up this Saturday at the University of the Incarnate Word.
Registration is required and is FREE. Sign up, if you haven’t
already done so, at www.texasstorms.org.

See you this Saturday.

Alex Garcia

That’s right! The end is finally near. According to one of the three Mayan Calendars, the End of the world will occur on December 21, 2012.

To celebrate this—literally—oncee in a lifetime event, Special Event Station N0D (Now Zero Days) will be activated for three days during and possibly after the end of the world. December 20; is a celebration of the end of the world. December 21, the day of destruction, we will be on the air as long as possible. December 22…that is a little iffy right now.

Amateur radio stations around the crumbling globe are invited to contact N0D, who will be operating from a secret undisclosed location. QSL with SASE to the address in QRZ. If Doomsday actually does happen, we regret that a QSL will not be possible so hold on to your SASE until the 22nd at least.

You can celebrate Doomsday by contacting N0D directly on the air. Amateurs can also become an official Doomsday station by registering on our website. You will be given a registration number and the authority to identify yourself as an Official Doomsday Station. followed by your Doomsday number.

73, N0D

N0D-Now Zero Days
Special Event Station for Doomsday!
The End of the World!

Contact Us On Dec. 21, 2012 
It might be your last 73.

www.nowzerodays.com
N0D.Doomsday@gmail.com

Countdown to Doomsday

Title: 13th Annual Skywarn Recognition Day
Location: Austin/San Antonio National Weather Service Office – New Braunfels Airport
Description: The 13th Annual Skywarn Recognition Day 2012 will be December 1st – 0001 – 2400 zulu time or November 30th 1800hrs to December 1st 1800 hrs local time!

In view of the terrible plight involving Hurricane Sandy, I think everyone needs to read an article I posted in one of my web sites several years ago. Emergency communicators – take heed.

Sometimes Getting There Can Be Your Greatest Problem

Bob Hejl W2IK

So, you’ve joined some emergency support group, taken some training and even done a few drills. That’s great! Your equipment is ready. You’re ready. But, “Murphy” has other ideas. Whether you’re a member of ARES, RACES, SATERN, REACT, CERT or any other group, you need to do more homework than what they’ve suggested. What good is all your equipment, training and confidence if you can’t get to a deployment site? Unfortunately, I’ve never seen any group adequately cover one of the most important steps in emergency communications: Getting volunteers to their final destinations as quickly and as safely as possible. Although this is especially true during natural disasters such as winter storms, hurricanes or intense periods of rain which produce almost catastrophic flooding, it can also encompass volunteers who attempt to deploy during other events such as wildfire emergencies. Can you imagine deploying to a wildfire disaster and almost getting trapped by the flames because no one told you the extent or the range of the fire? Well, it happened to me when I, with others, attempted to deploy during the Long Island wildfires a number of years ago. We were armed with everything we thought we needed…. except up-to-date information. No maps or directions were given so there we were “driving by the seat of our pants” in the dead of the night into what almost was a catastrophe for us all. Luckily, we back tracked and took the long way around finally reaching our deployment points.

Everyone was to blame for this screw-up.

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The San Antonio Office of Emergency Managemenet (SAOEM) is hosting the one day AmTrak Passenger Train Emergency Response Training on your choice of dates, September 18th, 19th, 20th, or 21st, at the Emergency Operations Center located at 8130 Inner Circle Road, San Antonio, TX 78235.

This is a one day course that we are offering four days in a row to allow you to have a choice of days to attend. The training is scheduled from 8 am to 5 pm; however, that is contingent upon AmTrak having one of the cars available for students to actually walk through in the afternoon. If the rail car is not available, the class will end at noon.

This training is open to all disciplines: Law Enforcement, Fire, EMS, Public Health, Public Works, Government Administration, Private Sector, and Volunteers.

If you are interested in attending any of these days, please register on www.preparingtexas.org or email us for registration assistance.

Please help us to get the word out to people about the AmTrak training. So far the response has been very low and we need to promote the training class to insure that we do not have to cancel it.

Thank you!

Mark Chadwick, CEM, TEM
Training Officer
San Antonio Office of Emergency Management
PO Box 23339, San Antonio, TX 78235-0339
Voice: 210.206.8688
Fax: 210.206.8570
Email: mark.chadwick@sanantonio.gov
Web site: http://www.sanantonio.gov/emergency/

If you are a Ham Radio Operator and work for Boeing, then BACS Wants You!

The Boeing Auxiliary Communications Service (BACS) is a team of employees and contractors who are FCC-licensed amateur radio (“ham”) operators, who provide backup communications when normal channels become damaged or overloaded due to natural or man-made disasters.BACS is a Boeing Enterprise S&FP Disaster Preparedness Org. and is the only official ham radio organization that supports Boeing S&FP DP.

BACS primary task is to provide Emergency Communications, using Amateur Radio Frequencies to communicate from Boeing site EOC’s to Boeing site EOC’s during a disaster. Secondarily, provide emergency communications between local government authorities and local Boeing site EOC’s.

Other duties may include but are not limited to (depending on your sites needs):

• Supporting Volunteer Disaster Responders (VDRs), facilities personnel, and anyone else responsible for protecting lives and property at Boeing.
• “Shadowing” fire and security personnel.
• If needed, field communications.
• Operate company radios during all three phases of a disaster.

BACS teams are all ready operating at Boeing sites around the country. Including; Enterprise ECMC and 14 other sites in Washington/Oregon, California, Texas, Utah, Alabama. More are coming on line as they learn about us.

This is your opportunity to use your amateur radio skills to protect yourself and your coworkers in an emergency. All you need are your ham license (technician or higher) handheld radio, and a desire to help.

Don’t have a team at your site?? We can help with that too. For more information, contact Tom Wells (thomas.e.wells@boeing.com) Or visit our (INTERNAL WORK PC’s ONLY) web site: http://bacs.web.boeing.com/bacs.htm

Locally – Steve Castle N7FUL and Bill Mayfield KF5QVM  both work at the Boeing facility at Kelly Field here in San Antonio. They have volunteered to help recruit and organize licensed ham operators, who are also employees here, to participate in the Boeing Auxiliary Communications Service at this facility.  But so far, other than Steve and Bill, they have not found any other hams here. There is bound to at least a dozen, we just need to put the word out.

Here is the PDF brochure with application.  Only Boeing Employees & Contractors may join.  BACS_recruiting_flyer

Bill Mayfield KF5QVM
mvmayfield@gvtc.com
210-932-7368
Supplier Quality Assurance Engineer
Boeing Global Services & Support, Kelly Field San Antonio, TX