| Hot News |
KARS meeting on 1 July,
2021 will occur at the Boerne EMS building at 1175 N. Main. See
Meetings, Training and Testing below for more information. Face masks are
optional.
For those wishing to
test. Please register beforehand. Do not walk in and
expect to be tested.
We need to know you are coming. See "Meetings, Training and
Testing" below. The room will open at 6pm. Only VE’s supervising tests will be
allowed to enter at this time. Testing starts at 6:30pm. Those wishing to
test must arrive early and get your paperwork filled out. Download
your Form 605 from Forms and fill it out
before if you can. Because we have a
meeting at 7pm, we can not offer the next test if you pass.
From
ARRL, 28 April, 2021. Bob, N6TV, has updated his presentation "Everything
You Need To Know About USB and Serial Interfaces" for 2021. His
presentation includes the history and evolution of serial ports, chipsets to
prefer and those to avoid, how to use software tools to troubleshoot issues
you might encounter, and how to best utilize the built-in USB to serial
functionality that has been built into some modern rigs to support CAT, CW
keying, and RTTY keying. This is a must read for anyone wishing to connect
their radio and legacy equipment to a PC and logging software,
particularly a PC without serial ports.
The FCC is now requiring those
wishing to test to register with the FCC first to to obtain their FRN
(Federal Registration Number) prior
to their testing session as we will now need this and can no longer accept
your SSN. Please log into the ARRL web page at
http://www.arrl.org/what-to-bring-to-an-exam-session which describes all
requirements. You do not need to be an ARRL member.
FCC to Require Email Address with
Applications and on File. Log into the ULS License Manager System with your
FRN and password to update your FCC license record. See
FCC to Require Email Address on Applications Starting on June 29, 2021 (arrl.org).
For the latest discussions, see our GROUPS.IO page here.
For Current Sunspot and Radio Flux improvement for Cycle
25, see
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/solar-cycle-progression.
So now, we hope to develop
ideas for the Membership to consider; e.g., a roadmap for Club growth and
direction, keeping mind that while we have a multi-capability repeater
system, we are a Ham Radio Club with members expert in a wide range of
Ham Radio activities. For example:
-
Field day is an annual
event for KARS. Should we expand our contest activity to other
annual events?
-
Would the Club like to
engage in Fox Hunting.
-
We have members skilled
in Satellite Communication. Would the Club like to learn more
about this?
-
We have a member who is
expert in First Aid. Would the Club like to learn first aid?
-
We have a number of
members skilled in CW. Would the Club like to learn CW as a club
activity?
This website is current a/o
8 June, 2021. Latest content: Update of schematics showing the
layout for Demark Board, Power and RF for repeaters located at Tower Road. |
| 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 page tells you what we are about 132 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 the Presentations folder.
Think about your first station as making an investment toward the
future. Try to make it a foundation upon which to grow. |
| Station Design for HF
to 50MHz |
Our members
operate stations from simple to elaborate. We can give you ideas for
yours and help you with your station design.
|
| 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? We do that. 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 for information about ARISS --
Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station. The ISS call sign is presently NA1SS. Downlink
frequency:145.8 MHz. Astronaut: Shannon Walker KD5DXB. See
https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html for
latest information. |
|
Contesting and DX |
This page encourages one to get on HF and
to work contests. You will find an ARRL link to nine pages of information how to
begin contesting along with all the do's and don'ts. This page also
provides some "how to" ideas about contesting and working DX,
plus how to find who is on
the air and find current propagation reports.
|
|
Software LoTW
& Club Log |
This subject
discusses Ham software, how to get the rare one in the log and then how to get the
confirmation. We can help you get started
with LoTW and Club Log. |
| Repeaters |
The 444.9
and 146.64 are both DR-2 repeaters located ten miles north of Boerne on Tower Road.
145.19 is a DR-2 repeater located at Fair Oaks Ranch. Click on "Presentations" to see
the roadmap developed in 4/2018 and followed to get to where we are today.
We will have some exciting information about system growth in a few
days. |
|
Field
Day
|
The COVID-19 pandemic-modified ARRL
Field Day rules
from 2020 will continue this June with the addition of a power limit
of 150 Watts imposed on Class D (Home Stations) and Class E (Home
Stations-Emergency Power) participants. See
ARRL to Extend Field Day Rule Waivers from 2020, Add Class D and E
Power Limit But, after checking with
ARRL, we can also engage in a normal Category #A operation using the
Club call sign KB5TX. |
|
DIY (Do It Yourself) |
Our presentations folder became crowded, so we stripped
out a collection of "Do It Yourself" projects developed by various members
of KARS. Informational items remain in "Presentations &
Discussion." Latest addition in DIY shows how KARS member
Gavin, KI5MCD installed his Yaesu FT-857D in his Jeep Wrangler. |
|
Presentations & Discussions |
We have frequent programs on a variety of amateur radio
subjects. Those most recent: Corky Sarvis, WB5CIT about Station
Grounding. Don Udel, KI5AIU, "What is Winlink (and why should I care?)"
Marsh Pronneke, WA5UBO, "KB5TX repeater update 2021" about building re-construction and current
status. |
| Meetings,
Training and Testing |
We normally meet the first Thursday of each month.
Register beforehand. 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 for requirements, and then call Brad Peace - N5PBP.
Follow the "testing" link for phone number and/or email
address 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. New
content, a compilation of various HP test articles and various Tektronics
books on how to use various items of test equipment from Steve, W5SCL. 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 |
Two antennas have been sold from the Swap
Meet page. Want to list something? Send text and picture to the webmaster,
K5NOF@ARRL.net. |
|
Administration |
Our home page became cluttered so we consolidated
a bunch of stuff into a new "Administration" folder. See this file for KARS membership application. Meeting
agenda template. Mailing, email address and current list of Officers and
Directors. Script for the VHF net. Constitution and By-laws.
History of KARS. |
| 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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You are visitor number
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KARS
-- P.O.
Box 1732 -- Boerne,
TX 78006
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For
more information, email K5NOF@ARRL.net
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