| Hot News |
We regret to announce that testing is
suspended due to Covid-19.
KARS meeting on August 6 will be held on SKYPE.
Details will be announced on August 5th. We will post
information about a KARS meeting for September, when determined.
We will resume testing and face-to-face meetings when
State of Texas guide lines permit. Location will be announced at that
time.
Some now say Solar-Cycle 25 may be much
better than previously reported. See this link <www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/solar-cycle-progression
> for real-time data from NOAA. Two
compact vertical antennas for sale on the Swap Meet page.
For the latest discussions, see our GROUPS.IO page here.
This site is current a/o
27 July 2020.
|
| Introduction |
The seed for Amateur Radio was planted in the 1890's, when
Marconi began his experiments in wireless telegraphy. Soon he was joined
by hundreds. This section tells you what we are about 129 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.
|
| DX |
This page
will provide some "how to" ideas about working DX, tell how to find who is on
the air and give you 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.
|
| 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
MSK144, 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.
|
| Repeaters |
The 444.9
and 146.64 are both DR-2 machine are located ten miles north of Boerne on Tower Road.
145.19 has been converted to DR-2 at Fair Oaks Ranch. Click on "Repeaters" our current status.
|
| Field
Day
|
Many
stations on the air for FD 2020 with CW alive and well. See http://field-day.arrl.org/fdentry.php
for the ARRL entry form to submit your log. When
submitting, you will see a Club or Group Name field:
KARS members should type KB5TX-KARS in the
field for club credit.
|
| Presentations |
We have frequent programs on a variety of amateur radio
subjects. We also look for presentations from other clubs. Here,
see How to Build a Nano VNA by Daniel Marks KW4TI, Durham, NC. Also
see how to use
a SDR which can receive ADS-B tracking signals from aircraft passing
nearby, presented by Don Udel, KI5AIU.
|
| Technology |
Amateur
radio technology has come a long way since the spark transmitters of 100
years or more ago. See this page for how to use WSJT-X
on
a Raspberry Pi 3.
|
| 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. See this page
for tips how to prepare. We have 11 Volunteer Examiners and can test from Tech to Extra
once a month during our regular club meetings. See Training, Meetings
and Testing below 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 |
Have
something to sell or trade? Provide text and pictures in .jpg format
to the Webmaster
for posting. Latest offer: A Comet CHA 250B and a Tar Heel.
Both are great for small space. |
| 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
2020 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
|
|
You are visitor number
 |
KARS
-- P.O.
Box 1732 -- Boerne,
TX 78006
|
|
info@kb5tx.org
|
