Bexar County ARES
Bexar County ARES draws support and volunteers from local amateur radio clubs. As such, it is not necessary to contact these clubs directly for emergency and disaster communications support. The Bexar County Emergency Coordinator Don Perese AC5XK can be reached by phone at 210-826-5633, or by email at ec@bexarcountyares.org. Visit their new web site (as of April 2006) at www.bexarcountyares.org.
Bexar County ARES is strictly involved with emergency and disaster communications, and does not provide amateur radio communications support for public service events such as parades, marathons or other not-for-profit events. Requests of this nature should be directed to the local amateur radio clubs. ARES is part of the field service organization of the ARRL. The ARRL is a member of National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) and is an affiliate organization of Citizen Corps. For more information - Shane O'Neal NS5D, Assistant EC, Bexar County ARES 210-473-4847 info@bexarcountyares.org
Hill Country REACT Team #4804
Hill Country REACT normally meets on the third Tuesday of the month at the Bulverde Volunteer Fire Department in Boerne. See their website for directions. Meetings begin at 7pm. Visitors are always welcomed at meetings or events. In 2005, the two teams in Bexar County and Comal County merged into Hill Country REACT with members in four counties (Bexar, Comal, Kendall and Guadalupe). It has been a challenge to merge the two teams, but it helped that they had been sharing almost the same set of officers since January 2004.
The Team is frequently called out to provide communications for missing person searches by Law Enforcement and the Heidi Search Center of San Antonio. Their club call is K5BCR and they help SARO with financial support for the 147.14 Buzzards Roost repeater located in Comal County. Their website is located at www.hillcountryreact.org
REACT is an all volunteer, not for profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing public service and emergency communications to our community. Their members are trained in emergency communication methods, crowd control, parking and traffic control, Incident Command Structure (ICS) and other topics which enable them to be more professional in how they deal with situations in the course of their volunteer duties or assignments.
This REACT Team has a communications trailer capable of operating Amateur, GMRS and CB simulatenously, while also serving light food and drinks out the back as a disaster canteen for large searches or other emergency operations.
In June 2004, REACT members manned the Comal County EOC during a two day county-wide drill which involved almost all county agencies, fire and police departments, plus all municipalities within Comal County. In the two photos shown, REACT members operate radios in the communications center (Brian NB5R front, Connie KD5UXU rear). Click on photos for larger view if interested.
REACT is a member of National (VOAD), the Texas chapter of VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster) and the San Antonio Chapter, SAVOAD. The Texas REACT State Council has a representative on the TX VOAD Board of Directors currently serving as First Vice President (will be President as of March 1, 2005). REACT Teams are chartered annually by REACT International located near Washington DC. The Team and all members are covered by a $1 million liability policy against third party claims or accidents, although they are proud to have a good safety record to avoid that need.
Quarter Century Wireless Association,
Chapter 38 - San Antonio, TX
If you have held your Amateur License for at least twenty-five (25) years, you are eligible to become a member of the Quarter Century Wireless Association. Visit www.qcwa.org for info about the national group. The local chapter meets on the air each Sunday at 8:30pm local time on 28.650 Mhz. Net Control is Gus W5HRF. The club meets in person for breakfast or lunch on a regular basis. For more information contact the club's officers: Bill Minton AA5HI, Clay Laster W5ZPV or Jim Wright, K5CDT.
Radio Operators of South Texas (ROOST)
ROOST meets on the second Friday of the month at 7:30pm at 7201 Palm Park Blvd. just off Hwy 181 (Click here for map to location) on the SE side of San Antonio. Their website is www.w5ros.org. Their Club Call sign is W5ROS. They maintain several repeaters in the area, plus have a hamshack that all members can utilize on HF. Their three repeaters are on 146.86 and 147.34 with a PL tone of 123.0 and a Six-Meter repeater on 53.09 mHz. The 147.34 may be down occasionally due to interference from across the border.
The ROOST has moved further down Hwy 181 from their old location that was on Foster Rd @ Hwy 181. Click Here for map.
ROOST is the clear leader in this area for Ham Testing, featuring a team of experienced VE's who provide test sessions on the first and third Saturday from 1-3pm year round. ROOST also offers testing for ARRL's Emergency Communications Courses (by advance arrangement).
San Antonio Emergency Managment (SAEM)
Meetings are held at 6pm on the first Monday of every month. Attendance is by invitation only due to the restricted nature of where they meet. Note - since the reorganization of Bexar County ARES was completed in 2006, this group has sometimes merged meeting locations / purposes with the ARES group.
This is the core group of emergency operators who work to support the City of San Antonio during communication emergencies such as the opening of shelters, mass flooding, telephone failures area-wide, or other reasons. This group crosses all boundaries of club membership in this area, recognizing that in a true emergency, no one single club or group will have sufficient manpower to meet the radio operator needs for a 24-day/7-days a week type of operation. Please note that during a real emergency, seldom will they ask for operators to report downtown to the San Antonio Emergency Operations Center (EOC), but rather will direct them straight to their assignments at various shelters, shopping malls (for info centers) or other critical locations.
To find out more about this group, simply check in on their weekly 2-meter radio net held on Sunday evening at 9pm on the 147.18 repeater. See the web page dealing with Radio Nets for more info. Club Call (per se) is K5EOC used only during drills, nets or emergencies.
San Antonio Hispanic Amateur Radio Association (S.A.H.A.R.A.)
S.A.H.A.R.A. exists as an emergency or disaster radio system network operating throughout Texas. Club call sign is KD5GAT. Their club web site is found at www.qsl.net/kd5gat. In times of non-emergency licensed amateur radio operators are welcome to use the Repeaters & Link System. Chartered on Nov. 7, 1991 the San Antonio Hispanic Amateur Radio Association is a Texas non-profit, Corporation, operating under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code.
They operate two area repeaters, one on 146.90 (negative offset, 88.5 tone) and the second on 443.400 (positive offset, 88.5 tone). We have EchoLink connected to the 443.400 repeater using the club callsign of KD5GAT-L and a secondary PL tone of 100.0. They operate a weekly net Sunday nights on 40 meters using the 7.266mhz LSB at 9:00pm CST plus a local/Echolink net on 443.400 on Tuesday nights at 8:00pm CST. Please note that Echolink will be using the PL tone of 100.0, not our normal 88.5 tone for local operation only. Nets are bilingual and open to all licensed amateurs.
El Radio Club SAHARA Está Enlazando los Repetidores con el programa de EchoLink a travée del Internet. Sino tienes el programa ECHOLINK bájalo! Regístrate, luego espera unos minutos para que verifiquen tus indicativos, ya que estés registrado están en los sigente nodos enlases desde San Antonio TX, Laredo TX, Eagle Pass TX y la frontera y el interior de México.
San Antonio Repeater Organization (SARO)
Without a doubt the largest repeater organization in the area and the sponsor of more repeaters than any other club in San Antonio or nearby cities for that matter.. They normally meet at 7:30pm on the fourth Friday in January, April, July, October. Their Club Callsign is WA5UNH. Their club website is now up at www.SARepeater.net. The April meeting may move each year due to the timing of Fiesta Week in San Antonio.
Besides maintaining numerous repeaters in the area (2 mtr, 440, 220, and 6 mtrs), members of the club work numerous public safety events during the year. See their website for more details about this club.
South Texas DX and Contest Club (STXDXCC)
The South Texas DX and Contest Club, was formed by Ham Radio operators who have a shared interest in DXing, Contesting and Ham Radio. This is a new club and they are just getting started. It shall be their purpose to further the exchange of information and cooperation between members, to promote radio knowledge, fraternalism and individual operating efficiency, and to conduct club programs and activities as to advance the general interest and welfare of Amateur Radio in the community, with a focus on DXing and contesting.
You can contact Ed KS5V at 210-414-8002 or via email or find them on the air on the two-meter 145.450 repeater (pl 141.3 tone). They have a new yahoo groups web site found at either www.stxdxcc.org or www.w5rta.org. Their club meetings are held the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7pm. Location is Checker's Restaurant at 13835 Nacogdoches Rd, south of O'Conner Road, near Higgins Rd, on the NE side of San Antonio.
