Gary Stock WF5Y aka Grumpy”
The local ham store he operated, Grumpy Shop, was closed at the end of September 2014.
Some of his inventory was purchased by Mark Lacey W5TXR, who is considering opening a new Ham Store up in New Braunfels (time period unknown).
As of 09/28/2014, San Antonio does NOT have a local Ham Radio store.
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
“And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make”
The Beatles
Please forgive me for a little bit of nostalgia by starting off this e-mail with Beatle Lyrics. But they are very apropos for this e-mail. The lyrics simply state that what you get out of something equates to what you put into it. Me myself and I have personally discovered what I put into Amateur Radio equates to me getting even more out of it.
For almost all of us starting off in Amateur Radio we can find some one to thank for assisting us with this wonderful hobby. For me originally it was the 70 year old man who seemed older than the hills to my 10 year old mind, but never before or since had I met anyone with so much patience in helping a very annoying little neighbor kid. We became introduced twice originally once as I was delivering papers on my route and one summer afternoon….I saw him in the yard and asked him what those antennas were for {he had what seemed to me at the time a 500ft tower with dozens of antennas}, he showed me his shack, his wife offered cookies and lemonade and I proceeded to ask 40 million questions {and yes the rest of the papers on my route that evening were very late}.
That fateful day, followed by science class on Marconni and a ready source of old model T-Spark coils…..and a friend as insane as me….had us building crude versions of spark gap transmitters and using the AM radio as our receiver. It never occurred to us we were destroying anyone in a 5 mile radius….ability to listen to the towns only station and watch television {those were the days when moms blender and a VW beetle would do the same}. Once again introductions were made to the kindly gentleman down the road and this time in made it his goal to get me on the air properly, I think he felt I needed focus for that energy. Read the rest of this entry »
Hi Ya’ll
The next regularly scheduled GVARC sponsored test session will be held on 22 Nov 2014 at the New Braunfels Fire Dept Training facility at 1311 Industrial Blvd, Suite A, New Braunfels, TX 78130 at 1000.
Come one, Come all! You don’t need an appointment. Walk Ins are allowed. Bring your original license with you if you have one and preferably two copies, however, we can usually make copies on site if we need to. Last time in Sept there was a problem and since I leave the copy tasks up to Darren/WD5GQT I will have to check with him to see if the problem has been fixed or is fixable before the 22nd.
Also bring two forms of ID, here we usually get your drivers license and in the Texas of Today your CHL is usually the number two choice. If you are not licensed to carry I can accept many different forms of identification as a second ID. I have had to resort to using a birth certificate as the only means of ID before so if there is a question in this area please contact me. I can afford to be somewhat liberal in this area.
If you are a first timer testing for a new license, bring your ID and we will take care of the rest. As always one test will costs you $15 and if you pass that one you can take the next test in the sequence without paying a second time. If however you fail an element and wish to take it over using another version of the test we have on file you would need to pay another $15. Usually that isn’t a problem.
This is also a call for certified ARRL VEs who can help out. Please drop me an email if you can help so I can plan accordingly.
—
Gary S. Tangrady
USAF Retired
k5gst01@gmail.com