Kendall Amateur Radio Society

KB5TX

Welcome to the Kendall Amateur Radio Society (KARS). We are in the South Texas Section and located in Boerne, Kendall County, Texas around 30 miles NNW from Downtown San Antonio.  Our Club was formed in October 1980.  We have a current membership of around 70, and offer a variety of ham radio activities to amateur radio operators in the surrounding Texas Hill Country, and greater San Antonio areas.  We are an American Radio Relay League (ARRL) affiliated club and strongly support our National organization.  Our skills run from technology, to CW, SSB and Digital, working HF contests, chasing DX, 50 MHz, VHF and above.

We are growing because we always look for new members and we mentor those new to our hobby.  New Hams and experienced Hams find a home with us because of our welcoming atmosphere. Once you meet us and see what we are about, we hope you will join. Your participation will be welcomed.  Please come visit.

We have 11 VE's and can test from Tech to Extra.  One does not need to be a member to test with us.  Follow this link for more information about testing. 

KARS provides the following repeaters using the Club call KB5TX.  The VHF and UHF repeaters are Yaesu DR-2 analog/digital machines.

      
VHF: 146.64(-)  pl tone of 88.5.  DR-2 at about 1970 feet above MSL on Tower Road.
 
VHF: 145.19(-)  pl tone of 88.5.  DR-2 at about 50 feet AGL at Fair Oaks Ranch.

UHF: 444.9 (+) pl tone of  88.5. DR-2 using the upper UHF antenna on Tower Road.

KARS Net meets every Tuesday night at 7pm on the 146.64 repeater.  All are welcome.

 
Hot News

The KARS Christmas party is cancelled due to Covid-19.

KARS meeting for December will occur on Thursday, December 3rd at the EMS building on North Main St., Boerne.  See “Meetings, Training and Testing” for a picture of the building and the address.  This will be a hybrid meeting, face to face AND over Skype.  As before, the link will be published around 6pm on groups.io.  The link will be muted at EMS until testing is complete.

Yes, testing has resumed at KARS.  See the Testing link below-left and then make your appointment.  You do not need to be a member of KARS to test with us.

For those wishing to test.   The room will open at 6pm.  Arrive early and get your paperwork filled out.  Only test takers and VEs supervising tests will be allowed to enter at this time.  Testing will commence at 6:30pm.    Because the general meeting will commence at 7pm, we will not have time to offer the next test if you pass.

For those wishing to attend the general meeting in person.  The general meeting will commence at 7 PM.  Members will not be allowed to enter until testing is complete. We plan to have another panel discussion.  The topic will be announced later. 

Covid-19 is a problem so our approach is one of caution.  We follow the State of Texas guidelines.  Here are some things you need to know if you plan to test or attend:

1: All participants will wear a mask while in attendance.

2: Hand Sanitizer will be used before entering the building.

3: Distancing will be in place by arranging the seating before the event.

4: One of the Club Officers will be at the entrance taking temperatures, not admitting anyone with a fever. This same person will open the door for everyone.

5: Disinfecting of the training room will occur before and after the meeting.

A.      Wipe down all tables and chairs.

B.      Wipe down all counter tops.

C.      Wipe down doors.

D.      Clean floors and empty all trash.

 

      6: Training room will be the only room used.  The bathroom will NOT be available, so keep you pre-meeting hydration down.

Congratulations to Wayne Marco KC6BAV who successfully tested for General and to our new Ham, Gavin Bromfield who breezed through the examination for Technician.

Election for Board and Director positions was held on 5 November.  Ron Wood, Treasurer will be succeeded by Mark Seamans, N5YZB for 2021.  No other changes.  See the Officers link below-left.

For the latest discussions, see our GROUPS.IO page here.

For Current Sunspot and Radio Flux progression, see https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/solar-cycle-progression.

This site is current a/o 25 November, 2020. See Contesting and DX, LoTW and Club Log, and Repeaters  for updated content.
Introduction  The seed for Amateur Radio was planted in the 1890's, with Marconi experiments in wireless telegraphy. Soon he was joined by hundreds; now thousands worldwide.  This section tells you what we are about 131 years later.
Radio Choices Many new to Amateur Radio wonder what radio to choose after their hand-held.  Here is information about Yaesu, Icom and Flex, along with links to others.  There is more about Flex in Presentations.
Station Design for HF to 50MHz Our members operate stations from simple to elaborate.  We can give you ideas for yours.
Station Design for VHF The Hill Country has many locations that are good for VHF and UHF.  With proper antennas and low loss coax, one can work much further than could be imagined.
QRP Want to get started in QRP?  KARS past President, Bob Rosier - K4OCE, recently inducted into the QRP Hall of Fame, tells you how.
Weak Signal World & Digital New modes like FT4 and FT8 seem to be the fastest growing segment of our hobby.  See this page for FT4 and FT8 updates from Dave Moore, N7RF.
Space See the Presentations Folder below-left for information about ARISS --  Amateur Radio on the International Space Station provided by Ken Nichols - KD3VK.  See Space at left for latest information about the 3-U Neutron-1 CubeSat. The Neutron-1 beacon will transmit 1,200 bps BPSK telemetry every 60 seconds on 435.300 MHz.
Contesting and DX This page encourages one to get on HF, to work contests, and  provides some "how to" ideas about working DX, telling how to find who is on the air and find current propagation reports.  
LoTW and Club Log This subject discusses Ham software, how to get the rare one in the log and then how to get the confirmation.
Repeaters The 444.9 and 146.64 are both DR-2 machine are located ten miles north of Boerne on Tower Road.  145.19 is a DR-2 machine located at Fair Oaks Ranch.  Click on "Repeaters" our current status.
Field Day

There were many stations on the air for FD 2020.  ARRL says CW operators provided 44% of the total activity.  KARS had six entrants and a club score of 4530.  See the Field Day link at left for more.
Presentations We have frequent programs on a variety of amateur radio subjects.  We also look for presentations from other clubs.  Latest addition is information about Amateur Radio on the International Space Station.
Meetings, Training and Testing We normally meet the first Thursday of each month.  Find directions at the link. We also provide direction, mentoring and when you are ready, testing before the general meeting.  See this page for tips how to prepare.  We have 11 Volunteer Examiners and can test from Tech to Extra.   See Training, Meetings and Testing and then call Steve Verschoyle or follow the "testing" link to make an appointment.  You do not need to be a member of our club to test.  We are open to all.
Links Here are links to various websites of interest.  If you want to hear how ship to shore CW was done just 25 years ago, check out the Maritime Radio Historical Society.
Community Activities We have a strong association with Kendall Co. EMS, the Kendall County Sheriff's Department and other organizations.  See our communication plan for interoperability with local agencies.  
Swap Meet Four items listed for sale:  Icom ID-5100 Deluxe.  Comet 250B.  Tar Heel 100HP.  Alinco DR-635T VHF/UHF FM.  Send text and picture to the webmaster, K5NOF@ARRL.net.
Forms KB5TX agenda template, Membership Application and other club related forms.
Officers In addition to information in the footer, you will find the mailing address, email address, and a listing of KARS officers for 2021 here.
Constitution and By-Laws Our Constitution and By-Laws are current as of Summer, 2016.  These are updated for approval by the membership as circumstances dictate.
History of the Club KARS commenced informally around 1975 and was formally incorporated in 1980.  See this link for all the details.
Ideas for Improvement Please direct your flaming arrows at the webmaster.  A web site lives or dies depending on its content.  Judging from the hit-counter, we must be doing pretty well.  Your ideas are welcome. K5NOF@arrl.net

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KARS -- P.O. Box 1732 -- Boerne, TX 78006

For more information, email K5NOF@ARRL.Net