Winter Field Day will be held January 25 – 26 starting at noon on Saturday and running to noon on Sunday:

American Legion Post 300
3290 Grosenbacher Road
San Antonio, TX 78245

If you have questions, please feel free to contact our Winter Field Day coordinators:

KE5WYV Steve (AARO President)
&
KD5JGD Keith

Help us celebrate the end of the year by attending our party on December 4th at 7 pm. This is not limited to members only. All fellow hams from any club affiliation is welcome to attend.

Fees:

We only ask for a 5 dollar donation which entitles you to 1 raffle ticket

At time of paying your entry fee you can buy additional raffle tickets for 1 dollar. 

We will be equipped to handle membership dues at the venue.

Well over $300 Dollars worth of gifts and prizes will be given:

Grand Prized is a Yaesu ft-70DR HT Radio

There will be additional gifts handed during the drawings

This is a buy your own plate venue which allows you to pick to your liking.

Menu Info

Location: 

Blanco BBQ

 

With Heavy Hearts we are sadden to report the passing of a fixture to the 147.380 repeater. W8SYD, Byron passed early Monday Morning.  Survived by His Wife Christy and children.

Byron L. Armstrong, age 77, passed away April 22, 2019. He was born in Barberton, OH. He graduated from Norton High School and from Ohio State University. He completed officer training at Lackland AFB, was stationed at Keesler AFB, Malstrom AFB, Andrews AFB, as well as Udorn Royal Thai AFB, Thailand and Ching Chuan Kang AFB, Taiwan. He earned the rank of Captain. Byron obtained a LMSW from OLLU and was in private practice as a psychotherapist until his retirement in 2015. Byron was an avid Amateur Radio Operator and earned his license (W8SYD) at age 12. He was fluent in Thai, was a skilled keyboardist and singer. He was preceded in death by his parents, Frank W. and Nelbirtus Armstrong. He is survived by his wife Christy MacKinnon, brother-in-law Frederick MacKinnon, Hale MI, sister Sandy Adamich, Barberton OH, Patricia Danford Armstrong, Belaire OH, the mother of his daughters, Jennifer S Smolenak, St. Clairsville OH (Kirk), and Nan Croy, Davidson NC, (Mike) and grandchildren Gabrielle and Shane Smolenak, and Hannah and Madeline Croy. Byron was a dedicated husband and friend to many in the Amateur Radio community. A private memorial service is planned for later.

For personal acknowledgement, you may sign the online guestbook at www.missionparks.com in the Tributes section. Published in Express-News on Apr. 28, 2019

May he rest in peace

The annual Fiesta Wildflower ride is going to be happening this year on Sunday, April 28th. Unfortunately, many of the regular ham volunteers will be helping out with the BP MS 150 bike ride that same weekend.

So, we need to build a new team of ham operators to assist this ride. 

Typically the organizer will provide a prepaid, limited amount, Valero fuel card to reimburse the operator at each breakpoin for driving out to their location and back. It’s not much, but then again we’re not supposed to be getting paid for using our ham radios, are we?

The event will be benefiting the Morgan’s Wonderland location, and the start and finish line will be at Rolling Oaks Mall, off of Loop 1604 and Nacogdoches Road. This year they are not having a 100 mile route, so the event should get over by 4 p.m. at the latest.

Expect 7 or 8 breakpoints to be mend, plus net control. We always want more than one person at that control so that you can take a break.

Even though I cannot be there in person, I have agreed to help organize the ham Communications for this event. We normally do not have designated Rovers on the route, but it never hurts if you want to volunteer to sweep the route from your breakpoint up to the next breakpoint to make sure nobody gets lost. 

The SAG Vehicles will be coordinated by cell phone through net control. The primary purpose of the ham at the break point is to let neck control know if there are any problems. That could be supply shortages like needing more water or ice, or medical issues.

Please contact me Direct, rather than replying back to the different group email list that I have sent this to. My address is below. 

Thank you in advance for considering it. Oh, did I mention that you might get a free t-shirt out of the deal? Haha.

Lee Besing, N5NTG 
info@sanantoniohams.org
210-771-7075
San Antonio TX

Winter Field Day Association (WFDA) is a dedicated group of Amateur Radio Operators who believe that emergency communications in a winter environment is just as important as the preparations and practice that is done each summer but with some additional unique operational concerns.

 We believe as do those entities of ARRL Organizations like ARES & RACES that maintaining your operational skills should not be limited to fair weather scenarios. The addition of Winter Field Day will enhance those already important skills of those that who generously volunteer their time and equipment to these organizations. This is why WFD is open to all licensed amateur radio operators worldwide.

 Disasters are unpredictable by nature and can strike when you least expect them. WFDA’s goal is to help enhance your skills and ready you for all environmental conditions found in the US and Canada during the spring, summer, fall and winter Preparedness is the key to a professional and timely response during any event and this is what local and state authorities are expecting when they reach out to the emergency service groups that offer their services.

 If you are serious about emergency communications as we are; we welcome you to join us for our yearly event. We are sure you will find this event a pleasant change and challenge to that of a normal summer time field day.

Note: FT-8 is not a Form on communication with the WFDA

Additional AARO Event Information

A long time tradition in San Antonio is the San Antonio Radio Club’s annual Radio Fiesta. This event brings together amateur radio operators, vendors, and those interested in the hobby for a day of exploration, testing, and informational sessions.

Radio Fiesta 2019 is scheduled for Saturday, January 12, 2019, with setup for dealers and flea market participants on the afternoon and evening before. The operating hours will be 8:00 a. m. to 2:00 p. m. on Saturday, January 12, 2018. In addition to dealer and flea market tables, there will be a tailgate area, a program of presentations, and amateur radio license testing.

For More information Click Here

It’s with heavy hearts that we announce the passing MIke Falcon KD5OZM (Former Club President & Member)  on Monday. Prayers out to Mike and his family during this time of sorrow. Till we meet again,

Mike Falcon Memorial service will be: 

Gilbert Santana, N5CDA
President 

We’re still needing more ham radio operators to help with the 2-day BikeMS Valero Ride To The River on the first weekend of October, Saturday the 6th and Sunday the 7th. We’ll be using mostly 2 meter frequencies.

Volunteer Hours are generally 7am until 6pm, but may vary depending upon your assignment. Some assignments may require being in position way before sunrise, others not until 8 or 9am.

The ride on Saturday starts at Rolling Oaks Mall on the Northeast side of SA (1604 & Nacogdoches), then wanders thru the countryside via mostly back roads over to Seguin and back to a finish line at the Comal County Fairgrounds in New Braunfels. (River Road will be involved both days.) The event will finish up Saturday before 7pm, but most rest stops will close way before 5pm.

On Sunday, the 2 routes start at, and return to, the Fairgrounds. Both routes include River Road, coming one direction from Sattler. Sunday is shorter due to shorter routes.

See this link for a PDF guide entitled “The Bike Tour Survival Guide For Hams” thst provides some basic advice about the duties for the various types of assignments needed during a larger bike ride.

http://sanantoniohams.org/pubs/The%20Bike%20Tour%20Survival%20Guide%20for%20Hams.pdf

We need more help in these areas:

SAG VAN drivers & co-pilots (picking up stranded riders in a rental 15 passenger van or pickup truck) Can be ham & a non-ham team, or just a ham driver. Preference is given to team assignments (driver & co-pilot) especially for newbies.

Motorcycle Safety Marshals (need to train w group before the actual ride). Can be non-hams also

Ham shadows for event officials (ride with them all day, relaying msgs). Most likely riding in another person’s vehicle, so be prepared with mag mount antenna and power source (cigarette plug splitter, etc).

Medical rovers / first responders (EMTs, ham shadows). Most likely riding in another person’s vehicle, so be prepared with mag mount antenna and power source (cigarette plug splitter, etc).

Rest Stop Hams (relaying msgs to/from medical, the Rest Stop captain (supplies), or when a need to have riders picked up). Great chance to test your emergency go-kit setup, solar power or generators. Many just use their vehicles, but be leery of dead batteries. (Been there, done that, have portable battery jumper in every car now.)

If you have questions about any of these types of assignment, please contact Lee at his info below.

Criminal background checks are required for some, but not all positions, paid for by National MS Society. Driver DMV checks are required for Van & Truck drivers (also paid for). Some online driver training is required for those driving rental vehicles, but we’ll make that training available during the second half of the training / briefing meeting. Online volunteer registration is requested.

Free t-shirts will be provided. All fuel expenses for event vehicles and motorcycles are covered without need to pay up front and then waiting for reimbursement (i.e event only gas credit card).

A 2 hour training / briefing meeting is typically held the weekend before the event to cover the routes, assignments, pass out maps & other items (like t-shirts), etc. Teleconferencing will be available for those unable to attend training in person, especially for our out of town volunteers. But if you are not experienced with this event, attendance in person is highly recommended.

Optional training may include a route trip in the weeks leading up tro the event. We’ll all pile in a vehicle, or caravan, and drive the route, checking out the designated rest stop areas to find potential problems before the event.

Ham Coordinators are Charlie Land KC5NKK, MaryAnn Horn N5NYM, and Lee Besing N5NTG.

Motorcycle Safety Marshals are coordinated by Ray McLeaird N5RAM.

Medical Rovers / First Responders are coordinated by Neil Martin WA5FSR, with an actual doctor in overall charge.

Police coordination with SAPD, Guadalupe Sheriff, Comal Sheriff and New Braunfels police has been arranged. Major intersections will have a police presence.

This would be a great training opportunity for ARES and CERT groups as well, perhaps with several volunteers helping out at one or more rest stops. Hill Country REACT members are involved also.

Note: SAG Van & Pickup Truck assignments are expected to be 2-day assignments, with the vehicles being picked up from designated rental agency location on Friday (before 6pm) and returned either Sunday night or Monday morning. We do have a couple of Saturday only Truck Sag assignments if needed, due to an expectation that some percentage of riders, especially with MS, will opt to not ride on Sunday because of health reasons.

Rest stops can be assignments for 1 or both days since locations change each day. Hours vary by position relative to start and finish line. We usually have 8 stops on Saturday and 5 stops on Sunday.

While we prefer ham shadows to be a 2-day assignment with the same position, we understand that some folks might not be available both days. Preference in assignments is given to those able to do both days of course. Ham shadow positions might be with law enforcement, medical personnel, or key event officials.

Please contact Lee for more info. If you email / call / text / or leave voicemail msg, please include your name, callsign and your contact info. (Hint, he seldom answers his phone before noon because he works nights.)

Thanks in advance.

Lee Besing, N5NTG
lee@besing.com
210-771-7075
San Antonio TX

QST:

HANGAR 18 SURPLUS will have a moving out sale on Saturday 8 AM to 12 noon, 18 AUGUST.

Last chance for local supplies from HANGAR 18 SURPLUS before they move back to Bulverde.

Sincerely,
Tom O’Brien
San Antonio, Texas