SARC web news archive!
Amateur Radio Fiesta 2008
Click here for a map!
The San Antonio area Amateur Radio Fiesta is January 12th, 2008!!!!
Hours are 8:00 am to 2:00 pm.
Only Five Tailgate spaces left!! All Tables Sold Out!!
The NEW location is:
Schertz Knights of Columbus Hall, 509 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, TX 78154
Admission and table prices will remain the same. Prices are:
| Admission | $3 in advance or $4 at the door (NOTE: Free admission for children (under age 12) |
| Dealer Tables | $12 each - SOLD OUT - |
| Flea Market Tables | $7 each in advance $8 at door - SOLD OUT - |
| Tailgate Spaces | $5 each in advance $6 at door - 5 Available!! |
| Extra Prize Tickets | $1 each or 12 for $10 |
Set up be as follows:
Dealers: |
Friday 5 pm – 9 pm |
Dealers, Flea Market, and Tailgate: |
Saturday 6:30 am - 8 am |
2008 Amateur Radio Fiesta
% San Antonio Radio club
P. O. Box 34263
San Antonio, TX
78265-4263
Talk In Frequencies
English 7.275 + or -
146.940- tone 179.9
Spanish 146.90- tone 88.5
Door Prizes
Early Bird Registration ARRL- Travel Plus for Repeaters CD-ROM-- 2007/2008 Edition. Version 11.0
Major Prize Icom IC-2200-H VHF Transceiver
Grand Prize Icom IC-718 hf Transceiver
Events
6:30 am Flea Market and Dealer Setup
8 am Open
9 am DX and WAS Card Checking (until 11 am)
9:30 am Testing 9:30 (until 11 am)
Please pre-register and/or direct questions to: hamtest@gmail.com.. (If no email, phone (210) 273-5927.)
Noon ARRL Forum
1 pm Grand Prize Drawing (or when the ARRL Forum ends)
2 pm Close
RV Parks and Motels
RV Parks
(6 miles)
Stone Creek RV Park
18905 IH 35 N
Schertz, TX 78154
Local phone: 830-609-7759
Fax Number: 830-609-2737
Website: http://www.texascampgrounds.com/stone%20creek%20rv%20park.php
(17 Miles)
San Antonio KOA
602 Gembler Road
San Antonio, TX 78219
Local phone: 210-224-9296
Toll Free: 800-562-7783
Fax Number: 210-224-8104
website:http://www.texascampgrounds.com/san%20antonio%20koa.php
(17 Miles)
River Ranch RV Resort
420 N. Business Loop 35 N.
New Braunfels, TX 78130
Phone: (830) 625-7788
website: http://www.riverranchtexas.com/
(19 Miles)
Blazing Star RV LTD
1120 W. Loop 1604 North
San Antonio, TX 78251
Local phone: 210-680-7827
Toll Free: 877-387-5777
Fax Number: 210-509-4069
website: www.blazingstarrv.com
(28 Miles)
Lazy L & L Campground
11699 River Road
New Braunfels, TX
Phone 830-964-3455
website: http://www.lazylandl.com/
Motels
(4 Miles)
Atrium Inn
17401 IH 35 North
Schertz, TX 78154
Phone: 210-651-4100
Fax: 210-651-4220
(4 Miles)
Hampton Inn & Suites
17702 I-35 North
Schertz, TX 78154
Phone: 210 566-6110
(5 Miles)
Super 8 Universal City
200 Palisades Road
Universal City, TX 78148
Phone (210) 659-5851
(5 Miles)
Clarion Suites
13101 E. Loop 1604 N.
San Antonio, TX, 78233
Phone: (210) 655-9491
Fax: (210) 655-8940
(10 Miles)
Days Inn-San Antonio/I-35
11202 N I-35
San Antonio, TX 78233
Phone: (210) 655-4311
(17 Miles)
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites-Northeast
3855 IH-35 North
San Antonio, TX 78218
Phone: (210) 226-4361
Fax: (210) 226-6909
(18 Miles)
Comfort Suites New Braunfels
1489 IH-35 N.
New Braunfels, TX 78130
Phone: (830) 643-1100
Fax: (830) 643-1112
(18 Miles)
Best Western Inn & Suites
1493 IH 35 North at Exit 190A
New Braunfels, TX 78130
Phone: (830) 625-7337
(18 Miles)
Holiday Inn New Braunfels
1051 IH-35 East
New Braunfels, TX 78130
Phone (830) 625-8017
San Antonio Radio Club
The San Antonio Radio Club held its annual election at the regular November meeting on November 8, 2007 7:00PM at KCOMM, 10815 Gulfdale.
President 2008 J.C. Smith, N5RXS
Vice President 2008 Paul Guido, N5IUT
Secretary 2008 Charles Land, KC5NKK
Treasurer 2008 Mike Check, K5UCQ
More information to be posted soon...
New to HF?
Check out the free information from the ARRL. http://www.arrl.org/HF Welcome/Welcome.pdf
New Extra Test Math Study Guide!
Jack Swinden W5JCK, has written a free guide covering all of the Extra Test math. The W5JCK math guide is the best I have seen for Extra exam.
Click here to go to Jack's web site for the information.
Feedlines
Tom O'Brien, AB5XZ, instructed the meeting atendees Thursday, September 13th 2007 about transmission lines for amateur radio use: a little history, how they work, different types, and some trade-offs, including a cost/benefit comparison between low-end and high-end coax types.
Here are AB5XZ's supporting documents.
Patent 514167
Patent 1835031
Powerpoint presentation from 9-13-2007
Red Cross - Emergency Communications Response Vehicle (ECRV) 4707 in San Antonio to provide support during the Texas Floods
See photos and read up on this great mobile communications platform.
PSK31 demo and ECRV 4707 visit at July SARC Meeting on July 12, 2007
Click here to see photos of the meeting!
Electricity from Sunshine
Charlie Land KC5NKK will present the March 8th Program
Controversy has arisen recently as to whether the costs and technology for generation of electricity from photovoltaic (solar) cells is ready for mass residential implementation. Charlie shows the costs and benefits, and concludes that prices of solar panels will have to drop by about 75% to make “solar on the home” feasible. It is not a question of “if”, it is a question of “when” the solar revolution will change our lives.
Click here for a link to the presentation.
The 41st Central States VHF Society Conference
San Antonio from July 26 through 29, 2007.
Are you interested in the bands above 50 MHz? Then you been to go to the CSVHFS conference in San Antonio, Texas.
Check out the conference Web site at: http://csvhfs.org/conference. You will find registration materials, contact info and hotel accommodations for the event.
The following Dealers will be present:
Discovery Amplifiers
Downeast Microwave
Flex Radio
***The Flex - 5000 series radio will redefine the standards that all radios will be judged, N5IUT
Hanger 18 Surplus
TESCO
Yaesu
Just a sample of what is to be presented:
"Backyard Microwave EME" + supporting construction articles - WW2R
"Basic Primer on WSJT" - KM5PO
"Beginners Presentation on Electromagnetic Spectrum Basics" - N6TX
"Old Dogs Can Teach Themselves New Tricks (PCB Layout)" - K5QJX
"Flexware new radio the SDR 5000 and operation on VHF+ with transverters" - K5SDR
With papers on:
"Noise and Noise Figure" - K4CSO
"Some Notes on Drilling and Tapping" - K0VXM
"The 2006 Japan to USA ES Openings" - N0JK
"Time and Frequency Standards" - K4CSO
Plus a Getting Started on VHF+ Program
Antenna System Parameter Calculator - ND2X
Building Cheap Yagis (workshop) - WA5VJB
How to stack antennas - WA5VJB
***Kent, WA5VJB, is the best presenter I have ever seen. Do not miss him. N5IUT
Kenneth Boston, W9GA, invites everyone to the CSVHFS conference in San Antonio, Texas, at the Omni hotel on July the 26 through 29, 2007.
Austin Summerfest 2007! August 3rd and 4th 2007
August 3rd and 4th 2007 at the Wyndham Garden Hotel and Conference Center
All the activity is concentrated on Friday night and Saturday, to allow you flexibility in your weekend travel plans. But do come early, as things fire up at 6 Friday evening and go 'till 9, and start up again Saturday at 8 am, with swapping 'till 3:30 and dealers & sessions 'till 4:30. The Texas VHF-FM Society meeting will run from 1 to approximately 3 pm, so mark your schedule.
Swapfest: Friday 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM and Saturday 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Tailgate Swapfest:
Good news! Austin Summerfest will have an outdoor Tailgating area.
Similiar to previous years they will have (25+ parking spaces). They will be in the South East section of the Hotel parking lot where there are a few trees. The tailgate area will open at 7:00 AM Saturday morning. If you bring a loaded trailer, please park the tow vehicle elsewhere to conserve space for other tailgaters, your buddies will appreciate it.
Link to Technical Session Schedule
ARRL Forum
Central Texas DX & Contest Club
Software Defined Radio
QRP workshop
Roadrunners Microwave Group
New Hams Forum
Amateur Radio Satellites
Emergency Communications
Weather
License Exams
Grand Prize is an Icom IC-706MK IIG all-band, all-mode radio.
Featured Prize is an *Icom IC-V82 2 meter handheld radio.
Bonus Prize is an *Icom IC-V8 Sport 2 meter hand held radio.
Field Day 2007!
The San Antonio Radio Club was a class 3A station at City of Shavano Park City Hall, for Field Day 2007.
Everyone operated! If they were new to Field Day and/or HF operations, they were encouraged to get on the air.
Logging was by computer. We used the N3FJP’s software and three networked computers this year. It worked great! You can download the software at no cost to play with at http://www.n3fjp.com/
The club portable shelter worked great rain and shine.
Click here for more pictures from the San Antonio Radio Club Field Day 2007.
Global EmComm Conference in August
The 2007 Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference (GAREC-07) is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, August 16-17 in Huntsville, Alabama. GAREC-07 registrants will participate in emergency communications-themed presentations, discussions and demonstrations. The conference will be held just before the 2007 ARRL National Convention and annual Huntsville Hamfest, which take place on Saturday and Sunday, August 18-19.
Details for GAREC-2007 are now being finalized. Information about GAREC-07 and the related events is available at these Web sites: http://www.arrl-al.org/GAREC07.htm and http://www.iaru.org/emergency/. The sites will be updated as more information becomes available. To register for GAREC-07, please see the registration page https://www.arrl.org/forms/misc/garec07.html. GAREC-07's tentative agenda http://www.arrl-al.org/garec_schedule.htm is also available.
VE Session Report
February 24, the San Antonio Radio Club sponsored a VE session at Broadway National Bank. Many thanks go to Paul Guido and David Freiberger for all their help preparing for the event. We had 28 pre-registered candidates, and wanted to be prepared for an unknown number of walk-ins. (It turns out that our 4 no-shows balanced our 4 walk-ins.)
Congratulations go to 3 new Technicians, 18 new Generals, and 4 new Extras. 25 of 28 candidates were successful in earning new licenses or upgrades. Of the 18 Generals, 6 were paperwork upgrades (one of whom wound up with the Green Team). We had one person who went from zero to Extra, and four more new hams.
Click Here for the rest of the report.
A new Technician wife kissing her new Extra husband!
APRS Data from December meeting posted
Click here to see the links discussed at the December meeting and the PPT file.
General Class Written Test - Study and Preparation
Free General Class Written Test training resources on the web.
For a great General Class written test study manual for instructors and students check out http://telemetry.nmsu.edu/~shoran/radio.html and click on the General Instructor Manual or the General Student Manual links to the PDF Files.
For a complete but concise General Class written test study guide for students check out N8KBR's study guide at http://studyguide.eqth.org/ and click on General Class License Study Guide on the left side of the page.
For practicing the test go to http://www.kb0mga.net/exams/ this is a free site that tracks how you are doing on the test. Please give it a try.
To have a practice test emailed to you go to http://www.aa9pw.com/radio/ and choose Email Exams on the left of the page.
Of course you can also practice the test at http://www.qrz.com/p/testing.pl
If you are still having trouble with some of the subjects covered, use the following resources:
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Ham Wiki http://www.hamwiki.info/
Join and ask a question at the HamRadioHelpGroup Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HamRadioHelpGroup/
Find a local ham club at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/clubsearch.phtml
Find a local test at http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/examsearch.phtml
For more training links click here!
Books and other information (Not free but very good)
The ARRL General Class License Manual http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=9205#top
The Gordon West General Class Study Manual http://www.w5yi.org/catalog.php?sort=4
Online instruction and software try http://www.hamtestonline.com/
Study and pass. Please pass these links along to anyone considering upgrading from Technician to General.
73
Paul Guido, SARC Education Committee, N5IUT
SARC/AARO JOTA Outing a Success!!
The joint efforts of the San Antonio Radio Club and the Alamo Area Radio Organization led to a very successful 2006 Jamboree On The Air at McGimsey Scout Camp on Saturday, October 21, 2006. Three HF stations and two VHF stations were set up using several verticals, an inverted V, a 2 meter loop, and a Hamstick dipole antenna.
Bob, W2IK demonstrated his completely self contained HF/VHF station which included numerous antennas of his own design.
Paul, N5IUT led 12 scouts, from Troops 512 and 90, through the necessary steps to complete their Radio Merit Badges. Many more Scouts participated in the day's radio activities. Members of both clubs served as Control Operators while the Scouts talked to other Scouts on HF.
Mike, KD5OZM, President of AARO, brought his IC-7000. The radio was active on HF, six meters and NTSC broadcast video. The radio's capabilities from RTTY receive to television display plus its small size made it a quite a topic of conversation.
A total of 53 Scouts attended the event.
Radio Operators that signed in are:
WE5ET Bill Reichert
N5IUT Paul Guido
KD5OZM Mike Falcon
W2IK Bob Hejl
K5OLE David Freiberger
KE5HBF Floyd Gordon
N5RXS J.C. Smith
KE5IFU Jill Buck - Thanks for the QST's!
KE5CJB Clifford J Buck
KI4ENY Chris Lube - Scout
KE5FRP Chris Weimer - Scout
KD7SSL Dale Offret Jr. - Scout Leader
KE5IJS Frank Rohm and Family
David, K5OLE, President of SARC, would like to thank all who participated
Auction time again!
Bell & Howell
Oscilloscope
Model #: 100-4540
You get the manual but no test leads. The scope turns on. No functions have been checked.
The final bids will be taken at the April 12 meeting.
Current high bid is $5
J C Smith, N5RXS
Email JC at "
n5rxs @ w5sc . org" to place a bid on the scope by email. Please reassemble the email address.
NVIS Antenna Test
On March 31st, W2IK in San Antonio and STARC/Coastal Bend ARES in Corpus Christi will be conducting NVIS to NVIS antenna tests. Both stations will be using identical "W2IK Emergency NVIS" antenna systems. http://hometown.aol.com/alonestaryank/ENVISANT.html
The testing will take place in the morning at about 9:30 AM. The San Antonio site is slated to be at: Bullis County Park (aka Blanco Road Park).
Map - Bullis Co Pk This site subject to change.
The Corpus Christi site will be at: Coastal Bend Tailgate Meeting, Mount Olive Lutheran Church, 5101 Saratoga, Corpus Christi, TX. Various other demos will be at this location as well. Map
Bob W2IK
TWO-METER TEXAS "SHOOT OUT"
Location to be anounced.
On Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 10 AM, the RADIO OPERATORS OF SOUTH TEXAS (ROOST) will hold a TWO-METER TEXAS "SHOOT OUT" where amateur antenna builders will compete to see who has built the best home-brew antenna in seven different categories. Winners will hold "bragging rights" for a year, until the next "shoot out". Anyone, ham or non-ham, may enter or attend.
There is NO entry fee to compete. Those who wish to be a part of this contest will abide by the simple rules: your antenna cannot be a commercial product that you've assembled or reassembled, ie, kit. It must be an antenna you've built using basic building materials such as wire, coax and connectors, metal tubing, wood, foil, brazing rods, PVC, insulators - whatever you can put to use. It's perfectly acceptable to use any antenna design you find in a publication such as QST, CQ, League publications or the internet. You're welcome to enlist the help of your friends, such as other hams or guys with incredible machine shops. Just be sure your entry is not a commercial antenna.
Antennas entered last year include a beam made of brass brazing rods, a tape measure beam, a four element quad, a 300Ω twinlead j-pole, and a 2 element phased vertical ground plane. A bicycle chain dipole was entered by KI4ENY and took 1st Place Kitchen Sink.
The judges determinations are final. There will be SEVEN categories:
Single element Vertical - Technician Class/Non-Ham
Single element Vertical - General Class or higher
Multi-element Vertical - Technician Class/Non-ham
Multi-element Vertical - General Class or higher
Multi-element Beam * - Technician Class/Non-Ham
Multi-element Beam * - General Class or higher
Kitchen Sink - Anything Goes - If you can get it to the range, you can enter it
* Beams will be limited to 5 elements maximum.
Think about it, folks........anybody who enters is a winner. They go home with a slick antenna they didn't have before the contest and they've learned a heck of a lot in the process. Personal satisfaction alone makes the contest a worthy endeavor. GET BUSY!
73
WA5KRP
