San Antonio Hams

I am very sorry to announce that fellow HAMster and long time Amateur Radio Operator Harry Jordan W5CRS passed away yesterday at 4:pm.

Harry has been hospitalized for little over a month after suffering a sever stroke and unfortunately did not recover from the results of the stroke which left him unable to speak, or open his eyes.

Harry will be remember for his sense of humor, and his high energy level and enthusiasm for Amateur Radio, even though he was in his 80’s he was still full of energy and excitement like a kid when it came to HAM Radio and was hard at work to build a high quality 2 meter SSB Station to take part in many of the HAMster activities, building a repeater and was hard at work building a 6 meter repeater.

Harry will be missed.

Please keep Harry and his family in your thoughts and prayers during this rough time.

Service Announcement for Silent Key Harry Jordan W5CRS.

Visitation will be Wednesday June 27th from 6-9pm, Funeral will be June 28th at 11:am.

Both will be at Mission Burial Park South, followed by as procession to Oakley Cemetery on Hardy Rd, then a reception to follow.

Greg N5XO

I am sad to announce that Royce Taylor KA5OHJ passed away on Friday, May 25, 2018 of Heart Failure. Voice had suffered multiple heart attacks in the past in had been suffering poor health for the past couple of years.

He and his wife Diane, just gone shopping and returned home. He collapsed as he entered the house. EMS was called, But they could not revive him. A private ceremony was held this past Saturday, on June 16th for family and close friends of the family only.

Discussion was held regarding a memorial service being held at a later date, but I have no information concerning it.

The annual amateur radio field day weekend is coming up this weekend on June 23rd 24th . There are gonna be multiple sites around the area where the different ham clubs are going to be setting up.

Following is a summary of local area clubs Field Day 2018 plans:

SARC – Setting up at Shavano Park City Hall starting Friday at 3pm. Operating for 24hrs starting 1pm Saturday. Having a BBQ catered by Grady’s 6pm Saturday.

KARS – See website at KB5TX.org for directions to and schedule of activity.

HCARC – At Our lady of the Hills Sports Complex off HWY 27 just past the airport if traveling North toward Kerrville. Take exit 454 off I-10. Operating 24hrs. Shrimp Boil at 6pm Sat.

ROOST – Operating from their Clubhouse as usual. 7201 Palm Park Blvd.

MCARC – Setting up at Castroville City Park. Running 24hrs

AARO – Setting up at American Legion Post 300 at 3290 Grosenbacher Rd, just past the Bullet Hole. Running 24hrs starting at Noon on Sat. Planning to run 15 stations.

I’m just going to refer you to the different websites for more location information.

Kendall Amateur Radio Society in Boerne (KARS/KB5TX)
http://kb5tx.org/Field_Day.htm

Alamo Area Radio Organization (new field day location) (AARO/AA5RO)
Http://aa5ro.org

San Antonio Radio Club (SARC/W5SC)

Home

Guadalupe Valley Amateur Radio Club (GVARC) at 3485 River Road. Same location as prior years. Talk-in on their 147.000 repeater in New Braunfels. (-, 103.5 tone, I think)

Radio Operators Of South Texas (ROOST / W5ROS) will be operating from their clubhouse on the SE side of San Antonio, off Hwy 181. 7201 Palm Park Blvd.

South Texas DX Contest Club has a club location near Bandera, TX, referred to as the Goat Ranch. I’m not sure about the details or if they have active plans.

Medina County Amateur Radio Club had a great setup last year in a clubhouse for a neighborhood association. This year they will be at Castroville Park. Http://mcarc.org.

You can find out more field day sites at ARRL’s website, http://arrl.org

The San Antonio Radio Fiesta is scheduled for Saturday, January 13, 2018 at the Schertz Civic Center, 1400 Schertz Pkwy, Schertz, Texas.

The Schertz Civic Center offers more floor space and tables in the exhibit hall. With multiple programs scheduled, plus the winter meeting of the Texas VHF Society, we believe our attendance will increase.

VE testing starts at noon, just a few blocks down the street at the Schertz Public Library. Advance RSVP is highly recommended to hamtest@gmail.com. Bring a original & a copy of any current / previous ham license (if upgrading), your photo ID, and $15 cash for the session. No credit cards accepted. Contact Pat AD5BR at the above email address for more info.

SAN ANTONIO
RADIO CLUB

• HOURS: 8:00 am to 2:00 pm on Saturday.
• LOCATION: Schertz Civic Center – 1400 Schertz Pkwy, Schertz, TX
• Amateur Radio Fiesta set up:
  • Friday Night – 4 to 9 pm
  • Saturday – Set up starting at 6:30 am with the doors opening at 8 am.
• Admission Ticket: $10 at the door
• Dealer Tables: $14 at the door, if available
• Flea Market Tables: $10 at the door, if available
• Tailgate Spaces: 1 free with purchase of an admission ticket to hall, (extra tailgate space) $5 each
• Extra Prize Tickets: $1 each or 12 for $10

Also, If you want to join, or renew your membership, with the San Antonio Radio Club, you can save $3 by paying at the Radio Fiesta. Look for the SARC table near the front entrance. Dues: $12 for entire family by Jan 14 ($15 after). Sign up every ham in your family for one low price! Cheapest club rates in town (compared with those groups who charge annual dues)!

For additional information on our great programs and schedule of events, please view our website at http://w5sc.org.

Vernon F. Kelley N5JFA passed away 01/01/18 at the age of 81. Vernon was born in Hamburg, Arkansas on 03/02/1936.

He was a 27 year veteran of the Air Force, which he followed as a Vice President at SACU. He was a member of the Harlandale Masonic Lodge, the Scottish Rite Temple and a Shriner. He was a 25-year member of St. Andrews Lutheran Church, and a recent member of Abiding Presence Lutheran Church.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 60 years, Joanna Kelley, his daughter and son-in-law Kathleen Kelley-Sanchez and David Sanchez, his son Brian Kelley, and a wealth of close friends who will miss him dearly.

He had a very full life. He loved to fish and play pinochle. Was an avid HAM radio operator N5JFA and a die-hard lover of the Cowboys, Longhorns and Spurs. His years of military service and traveling with his family took him many places in this country and abroad.

Visitation 01/11/18 4pm-6pm; Funeral Services to follow at 6pm at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church with a graveside interment 01/12/18 at 9:15 am at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Published in Express-News on Jan. 7, 2018

Location: Hill Country State Natural Area – Bandera County, Texas

When:    6th and 7th of January 2018

Description: 25k, 5ok and 100k Ultra-Matathon

It is that time of year, to start marking your calendars and making preparations for the 16th Annual Bandera 100k Ultra-Marathon held at Hill Country State Natural Area in Bandera County.

Tejas Trails Communication Group – Coordinated by Hill Country REACT with support of Highland Lakes Amateur Radio Club, Chaparral Amateur Radio Club, and other dedicated Amateur Radio Operators from San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Kerrville and other locations throughout the state, have supported and provided communications for this event the past 12 years. The team is responsible for communications, health and welfare, tracking, and occasionally Search and Rescue. We also manage the parking at o’dark-thirty to get the 900 runners and crews parked and to the start-finish line on time.

There is little to NO cellular coverage at this venue, thus the participants, families, crews and promoters rely on the skill and expertise of the Amateur Radio Community.
We have 4 Aid Stations/Break Points, Net Control and Rovers to cover for approximately 20 hours.
This event typically requires 14 – 18 Amateur Radio Operators in a situation that is similar to what an Emergency Communications Operator would experience in a disaster zone. Remote operations little to no permanent infrastructure. Bring it, work it, test it, and enjoy it!

Horseback Hams are also needed and greatly appreciated by the participants.

If you know of a youth organization that needs public service hours, this is a great opportunity to get them in.  We have numerous positions from assisting the communications team to helping serve the runners at the aid stations.

UHF, VHF Voice and Packet communications are involved in this event.  We have been wanting to deploy a Broadbrand-HamNet but research and development has stalled. Anyone with experience in this area is encouraged to help us out.

Read the rest of this entry »

San Antonio celebrates it’s 300th year in 2018. To help with this event, W5BOG (Bexar Operators’s Group) will be operating a special events station on several dates during the 2018 year beginning on January 1st and 2nd and again on May 5th, Cinco de Mayo. If you work our station, just send us your QSL card (to the QRZ address of W5BOG – PO BOX 6731, San Antonio, TX 78209) and we will send you back both a Special Events QSL card and a special color certificate. We will be active on both 40 and 20 meters.

Just a reminder….

The Texas QSO Party occurs on the last full weekend in September. The 2017 dates are the 23th and 24th of September. Operating times are from 1400Z on SATURDAY to 0200Z on SUNDAY and from 1400Z to 2000Z on SUNDAY. Operation on all bands except on 60 meters, 30 meters, 17 meters, and 12 meters is permitted. Stations may work the entire contest period. Be sure to submit your scores by October 31.

This is a great chance to work your fellow Texans and it’s fun, too!  Just read the rules at: http://www.txqp.net/  and try to work as many stations in Texas as you can. BUT WAIT! You are in Texas, too, so try to work as many states and countries as you can. Just call: “CQ Texas QSO Party”.  Each new state or country counts as a multiplier. No matter how many or how few stations you work, turn in your score as per instructions on the home page.

W2IK will again be running mobile in 10 counties south of San Antonio using a special 38 ft antenna designed and made for this contest. He will be operating on 20 and 40 meters. If you work him, please post on DX Summit.

The Radio Operators Of South Texas ARC will be operating a special event station at Beethoven Maennerchor celebrating 150 years as a German singing society in San Antonio Texas.

Location at Beethoven Maennerchor 422 Pereida St. (King William area) every Saturday in September from 9a.m. to 9p.m. Dates Sept. 2,9,16,23,30.

Open to everyone, even if not a ham!
Operation will be in 14.255+or- and on 146.860 repeater (123.0 tone).

Certificate will be rewarded to all contacts made via SASE return mail.

QSL manager is Tom Winn, K0ZGC

Email Chris, k5vcr@ziplinkmail.com
Phone 210-838-8375 voice or text

The VE Ham test session that was scheduled to happen on Saturday August 26th at 10 a.m. at the Great Northwest public library, off of Grissom Road, has been canceled due to Hurricane Harvey. The library itself will be closed, thus preventing the test session from being conducted.

Please contact Pat Knight AD5BR at hamtest@gmail.com for any additional information.