Bexar Wire. Field Day Planning. Raspberry PI, etc. San Antonio Radio Club W5SC

Transcription

1 Bexar Wire San Antonio Radio Club W5SC 2017, No. 7 July 2017 Field Day Planning NOTE: Field Day 2017 story starts on Page 6. Richard Elder, WB5ACN, following up on his presenting on the BITX40 QRP SSB Transceiver Board last month with a show and tell of the finished radio at the SARC meeting on June 8, 2017 Mike Harrison, KB5KST, Vice President, SARC, delivering the City of Shavano Park proclamation on Amateur Radio to Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, President, SARC Raspberry PI, etc. Our next club meeting will be at 7:00 p. m. (1900) on Thursday, June 8, 2017, at Grady s Barbeque, 327 E. Nakoma Dr., San Antonio, TX The program will be presented by Paul Guido, N5IUT, on Raspberry Pi, Computer Security and Linux Mint as a desktop replacement to Windows. At the 7:00 p. m. meeting on Thursday, May 11, 2017at Grady s Barbeque, 327 E. Nakoma Dr., San Antonio, TX 78216, the focus was on planning for Field Day However, after introductions, Richard Elder, WB5ACN, did a follow-up show and tell on the radio he built using the BITX40 QRP SSB Transceiver. Richard Elder, WB5ACN, brought the finished, working transceiver that he built using the BITX40 QRP SSB Transceiver board from India as the starting point. He had an old modem around so it used its case as the case for the BITX40 QRP SSB Transceiver board, power supply, switches, fuses, antenna connections, etc. He used an old Motorola microphone and included an external speaker that he mounted on top of the case. The result was a very functional transceiver on the 40M frequency band that will do voice SSB. During the Vice President s report, Mike Harrison, KB5KST, delivered the City of Shavano Park proclamation on Amateur Radio to Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, President, who accepted it on behalf of SARC. Mike, KB5KST, reported that the City of Shavano Park was very appreciative of the SARC President s Certificate of Appreciation that he presented to Mayor Robert Werner at the same meeting of the City of Shavano Park Mayor and Council. Harold, AE5AS, thanked Mike, KB5KST, for representing SARC at that important meeting of the City of Shavano Park. (Continued on Page 5) 1

2 SAN ANTONIO RADIO CLUB PRESIDENT S RADIOGRAM NUMBER PRECEDENCE HX STATION OF ORIGIN CHECK PLACE OF ORIGIN TIME FILED DATE 7 R AE5AS San Antonio, TX July TO W5SC Field Day 2017 is now history. There is good history, and there is bad history. For me, this will be good history. I looked over the After Action Report for Field Day 2016 and noted that SARC as a group made significant progress on the areas that needed improvement for Field Day 2017 without losing any of the things done right in Field Day Field Day 2017 preparations were set back when Joe Bruno, W5AUQ, broke his leg. My stepping in as Acting Chairperson seemed to be the best course of action as Joe, W5AUQ, is expected to make a full recovery and then be able to do the Chairperson, Field Day Committee job. Joe, W5AUQ, was a source of information for our preparation activities. Even though Richard Elder, WB5AXN, could not be at Field Day 2017, he helped immensely when it came to the identification of antennas, antenna poles, and other field day equipment such as our need for gas cans and pins for the trailer tower. He also lent eight (8) RF Calbes of various lenghts that allowed SARC to avoid buying more RF cable. Rich Roudebush, N4DCA, accepted the job of Generator Man. He did such a good job beofre, during, and after Field Day with the generators that I can still say that I do not know how to start them. He owned the generators and took complete responsibility for them. The importance of Rich, N4DCA, and his work with the generators to SARC s overall success cannot be overstated. During execution, Paul Guido, N5IUT, and Lloyd Swartz, KF5ZHW, made additional important contributions. Paul, N5IUT, was our computer, tent, and bearm antenna expert. Lloyd Swartx, KF5ZHW, took care of water and our BBQ supper. SARC drank a lot of water. I appreciate the participation of everyone who came out for Field Day 2017 and hope that those who did hard a worthwhile time. AE5AS Published monthly by: San Antonio Radio Club Bexar Wire Harold C. Fleischer, III AE5AS President Harold C. Fleischer, III AE5AS Editor haroldcf@swbell.net The due date for articles is the Friday before the first Monday of the month. 2

3 San Antonio Radio Club Meeting Minutes June 8, 2017 Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, President, called the meeting to order at 7:06 p. m. at Grady s BAR-B-Q, 327 E. Nakoma Dr., San Antonio, TX There were 19 members and 4 guests in attendance. Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, then introduced himself as Harold AE5AS and then in accordance with SARC custom asked everyone else to introduce themselves. Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, then introduced Richard Elder, WB5ACN, who did a brief follow-up on his BITX40 QRP SSB Transceiver presentation that he did at the last meeting. He had finished taking the board and putting it in a case with the required power supply, speaker, microphone, etc. He then passed it around the room. (12 minutes) Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, then reviewed the printed agenda, especially the sequencing of the Field Day Committee report as last for the committees, for meeting with the members present and asked if there were any modifications. There being no modifications suggested, Harold Fleischer AE5AS announced the printed agenda as orders for the meeting without objection by unanimous consent. Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, then stated that whereas the minutes for the last meeting on May 11, 2017 had been distributed in the June 2017 Bexar Wire newsletter that unless there were corrections or objections that we would dispense with the reading of the minutes and approve them as written without objection by unanimous consent. Officer Reports: President Appointment: Mike Harrison, KB5KST, is appointed Chairperson, JOTA Committee, and has been advised that his predecessor Bob Rodriguez, K5AUW, will serve as Assistant Chairperson if asked. SARC Key Control was announced to ensure a written record exists in the minutes. Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, has a key to the trailer padlock and a key to the two padlocks on the High Value (radios) Cage. Joe Bruno, W5AUQ, has a key to the trailer padlock. Rich Roudebush, N4DCA, has a key to the two padlocks on the High Value (radio) Cage. Need a Newsletter Editor Need a Webmaster. This is something that needs more follow-up with the interested parties. Vice President The Board approved the purchase of a video projector, screen, and remote. Their debut performance is tonight for the Field Day Committee report. Mike Harrison, KB5KST, picked up the proclamation from the City of Shavano Park at their 6:30 p. m. meeting on Monday, May 15, Future Program: The July 13, 2017 meeting will be Raspberry Pi, Computer Security and Linux Mint as a desktop replacement to Windows. Secretary Bob Thompson, K5RWT, was absent due to an eye problem. He advised ahead of time that he had no report. Treasurer Financial Report was distributed by the Treasurer who noted that, as expected, Field Day expenses are peaking and that presentation equipment had been bought. Newsletter Editor - The June 2017 Bexar Wire newsletter was sent out by Bill Crabtree, K5FRQ, on June 5, The deadline for input, as stated on the bottom of page 2, remains the last Friday of the month. Webmaster The planned two monthly updates for News Blast! and the Bexar Wire were made. Richard Elder, WB5ACN, asked that the Tail Gate Swap Meet be added to the News Blast! Chairman of the Board Report Bob Rodriguez, K5AUW, announced that the Board did meet briefly last month after the general membership meeting. The Board approved expending funds to: 3

4 Purchase a video projector, screen, and remote control for presentations. A new VHF/UHF Antenna to replace the old one which is not repairable. Committee Reports Education and Training Bob Rodriguez, K5AUW, reported that the Technician class on Saturday, May 27, 2017, and Saturday, June 3, 2017 at Christus Santa Rosa had 17 students take the examination with 12 passing. A number of those joined SARC. He appreciates the support of Pat Knight and the VEs. He will be doing a Technician Class only for CERTS teams starting Sunday, June 11, The VEs will support the testing at the end of the class. He is planning a General Class to start in late September He encouraged experienced Hams to Elmer new ones at Field Day Emergency Communications JC Smith, N5RXS, was not present, but he planned to report that MARS will be working to revitalize MARS for all services at Ham-Com 2017 in Irving, TX, on June 9-10, Executive No meetings since last month. Finance and Review Inactive until next January. JOTA No report. Membership Tom O Brien, AB5XZ, reported that so far, we have 1178 members for 2017 with 87 paid and 30 free. Nothing more has been done on the identification of new hams per the FCC data base. Nominating (Inactive-no appointments) Radio Fiesta No report. VEC They did support Bob Rodriguez, K5AUW, and his Technician Class on June 3, There will be a closed test session on June 18, 2017 to support the CERTS team class. There will be a test session at 10:00 a. m. on June 24, 2017 at the Great Northwest Library. There will be a test session at HAMster on July 1, Centennial Commemoration (Temporary) - no report. CW Training (Temporary) Joe Bruno, W5AUQ, no report. Tailgate Swap Meet Committee (Temporary) Richard Elder, WB5ACN, has set up a tailgate swap meet for June 17, 2017 from 7-10 a. m. at Hangar 18 Surplus. Field Day - Joe Bruno, W5AUQ, is home and doing rehabilitation. He will be unable to participate in Field Day He is still available for advice. His wife Linda is giving us good support at our storage site and will make sure it is open when needed during Field Day weekend. Harold Fleischer, AE5AS made a presentation on Field Day 2017 with the following key points: Objectives: Have Fun, Eat Well, Be Safe, Operate Radios, Learn & Experience, and ARRL Contest. Site Plan. Tent Area. Tent Layout. Antenna Area. Schedule Load Lists Work Plans Antenna and Cable Plan Work Plan Sign Up Station Plan Sign Up Internal Communications by UHF HT Communications Plan Old Business - None New Business - None Announcements For The Good of Amateur Radio - None 4

5 The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p. m. Lloyd Swartz, KF5ZHW For Bob Thompson, K5RWT Secretary Field Day Planning (Continued from Page 1) Bob Rodriguez, K5AUW, making the Chairman of the Board s report at the June 8, 2017, meeting Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, then reported on behalf of the Field Day Committee on the plans for Field Day This was done using the video projector, screen, and remote control just acquired for SARC by Mike Harrison, KB5KST, Vice President and Program Committee Chairperson. These items, as reported by Bob Rodriguez, K5AUW, Chairperson, Board of Directors, were authorized by the Board at their meeting on May 11, They worked very well with the personal computer that had been brought in. Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, presenting the plans for Field Day 2017 at the June 8, 2017, meeting The Field Day 2017 planning presentation is summarized in the minutes of the meeting. Suffice it to say, a lot of physical effort had been placed into preparations by Richard Elder, WB5ACN, Rich Roudebush, N4DCA, and Paul Guido, N5IUT. In addition, several other members had stepped up to make various commitments in support of Field Day Since Field Day 2017 has already happened before this Bexar Wire newsletter was published, there is no need for an in-depth report on the plans. Left side room wide view of members at the SARC meeting on June 8, 2017 shortly before the official start Right side room wide view of members at the SARC meeting on June 8, 2017 shortly before the official start 5

6 Field Day 2017 Field Day 2017 on Friday-Sunday, June 23-25, 2017, was a big success for SARC. Most of the plans worked out as intended. SARC got the tent set up Friday afternoon and weighed down with the folding tables. Paul Guido, N5IUT, was the tent erection supervisor. Around 8 members followed his instructions and in short order the tent with infra-red sun ray tarps was up. Members then walked the field and planted marker flags for the antennas to be erected the next morning. The pictures taken earlier by Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, and Rich Roudebush, N4DCA, on their earlier site visit were very helpful. The hero of the afternoon was Lloyd Swartz, KF5ZHW. He had accepted the task of having bottled ice water for Saturday and Sunday, but over achieved by bringing some out Friday afternoon when the highest temperatures of the year so far in San Antonio, 103ºF, was recorded. The time schedule of 3:00 p. m. for load out in Schertz and of 4:30 p. m. for tent erection in Shavano Park was validated. The work of the load out team, Brad Crabtree, W5FRQ, Mike Harrison, KB5KST, Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, and Rich Roudebush, N4DCA, in Schertz is especially appreciated. Mike Harrison, KB5KST, pulling the SARC Trailer to Field Day 2017 SARC Field Day Tent with Mike Harrison, KB5KST, working at the Patch Panel Saturday, June 24, 2017, started with the loadout of the trailer with antennas, generators, RF cables, and other equipment at 8:00 a. m. The loading team of Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, Paul Guido, N5IUT, Mike Harrison, KB5KST, Rich Roudebush, N4DCA, Steve Serold, KE5SBE, and Bob Wymer, WD5EDU, followed the load list for vehicles and the load plan for the trailer and were outbound for Shavano Park by 8:45 a. m. Meanwhile, members went straight to Shavano Park. By the time the trailer arrived on schedule at 9:30 a. m., Lloyd Swartz, KF5ZHW, had the iced water in place, tables in the right locations, and his fluorescent lights in the tent. Unloading went quickly. The pre-announced work plan for set-up than swung into motion. Rich Roudebush, N4DCA, got the generators for the computers into operation followed by the generators for the radios and 6

7 Mayor Bob Werner, City of Shavano Park, and Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, President, San Antonio Radio Club, at Amateur Radio Field Day 2017 at Shavano Park lights. Paul Guido, N5IUT, got the computers for logging networked together and into operation. Paul, N5IUT, then applied himself to getting the 10M-15M-20M beam antenna on the trailer tower into operation. On the third track, Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, took the lead on installing the patch panel, RF cable drops into the tent, and the SARC antennas up. This track of the work plan was the longest one. There were 8 SARC antennas and 3 personal antennas in this track. It went from 9:30 a. m. until 3:00 p.m. There were numerous people helping to put up antennas. Eric Harris, KG5SZV, Mike Harrison, KB5KST, and Bob Ream, AG5IQ, were ceaseless when it came to erecting antennas. They just went on and on. JC Smith, N5RXS, brought his antenna tripod mast out for the 40m and 80M dipole antennas and guided SARC s antenna erectors in getting those two antennas safely up. The last track was water and food. Lloyd, KF5ZHW, had the water in place very early and did the BBQ sinner pick-up in the later afternoon. SARC Members Getting Ropes to Put Up Antennas 5KW Generators for Radio and Light Power with Transfer Box Between Them The official start of Field Day 2017 in SARC s time zone was 1:00 p. m. At least two HF stations went on the air at that time. HF Station 1 with SARC s Alinco DX- SR9T Transceiver was connected to the Beam Antenna, and HF Station 4 with Bob Rodriguez, K5AUW, HF equipment operating digitally was connected to his tripod mounted 20M dipole antenna. Lloyd, KF5ZHW, had HF equipment for HF Station 2 and Tom O Brien, AB5XZ, had HF equipment for HF Station 3. SARC s VHF and UHF equipment was placed at the Get On The Air (GOTA) station, but this 30-year-old equipment did not really function so the GOTA Station was never really active. Lloyd, KF5ZHW, had VHF/UHF Transceiver equipment for the authorized extra VHF/UHF Station, but it did not provide good service. In any case, by late afternoon, SARC had settled into routine radio operations, which prevailed through the evening, night, and early the next morning. The one exception was the Rudy s BBQ supper. Lloyd, KF5ZHW, had picked up an excellent spread and set up a nice buffet line on the food table with it. Two City of Shavano Park police officers joined SARC for supper. While the Shavano Park Fire Department 7

8 was given an invitation on the preceding Thursday, they did not appear for supper. SARC Radio Operations Tent with sides up for ventilation Radio Operations are In Progress Lloyd Swartz, KF5ZHW, (right) hosting the Rudy s BBQ Buffet Lloyd Swartz, KF5ZHW, (right) hosting more people at the Rudy s BBQ Buffet Pete Shavney, WA3OVH, is ready to try his hand at CW The three key members for Field Day 2017 were Rich Roudebush, N4DCA, Bob Rodriguez, K5AUW, and Jeff Boyes, AK6B. Without these three members, the Field Day 2017 set-up by SARC would not have been possible. They stayed the whole night operating radios and in the case of Rich, N4DCA, the generators. They provided the physical presence necessary to secure the radios, antennas, generators, tent, etc. They also took advantage of the usually better propagation after dark to run up the number of contacts made by SARC. Without all-nighters, SARC would have to have a different Field Day participation plan. Around 8:00 a. m. on Sunday, June 25, 2017, unused equipment was dismantled and put away. For instance, the inoperable GOTA radios and the unused GOTA related VHF/UHF antenna. As other equipment went out of service, it was also dismantled. At 10:00 a. m., radio operations stopped. Generally, over the air traffic had dropped off. The tear down work plan than went into full effect. Rich, N4DCA, closed down generators when they were no longer needed. For the tear down of the beam antenna, he actually restarted one. Paul, N5IUT, took down the computers after pulling the files needed for the Field Day Report to ARRL. He then plastic wrapped all computer equipment and loaded it in his vehicle for transport back to Schertz. Paul, N5IU, then supervised the tear down of the beam antenna. Harold, AE5AS, assisted especially by Brad Crabtree, W5FRQ, Eric Harris, KG5SZV, Mike Harrison, KD5KST, and John D Andrea, AA5JD, took down the antennas, removed the RF cables from the tent, and disassembled the Patch Panel. Lloyd, KF5KST, kept the tear down team in water. Once only the tent was left standing, it was taken down and packed up. As the tent went down, the first scattered rain drops dropped on to Shavano Park, but a real rain show did not happen. The load list in reverse was used. The load plan for the trailer was slightly modified to put more weight on the trailer tongue. At 1:53 p. m., the convoy to Schertz departed. 8

9 Jeff Boyes, AK6B, (red hat) showing guests how an HF Station works Jeff Boyes, AK6B, (foreground) one of the round the clock operators The happy Bob Rodriguez, K5AUW, at his 20M HF Digital Station Lloyd Swartz, KF5ZHW, and Brad Crabtree, W5FRQ, (foreground left and right) in Radio Operations Tent Rich Roudebush, N4DCA, (left) talking with a visitor Night Operations at the 5KW Generators Night Operations with Beam Antenna on Trailer Tower (left) and Radio Operations Tent (right) The convoy to Schertz encountered heavy rain shower enroute and arrived in a second heavy rain shower at the Schertz storage site. Everything was unloaded and put in its proper place. The trailer was chained to its telephone pole. Brad Crabtree, W5FRQ, Harold Fleischer, AE5AS, Paul Guido, N5IUT, Eric Harris, KG5SZV, Mike Harrison, KD5KST, and Rich Roudebush, N4DCA, left the storage site in Schertz for home at 3:15 p m. 9

10 Paul Guido, N5IUT, pulled this map from SARC s computer log of all the ARRL sections contacted from Nova Scotia and Puerto Rice on the eat to Hawaii on the west with northern Canadian Provinces thrown in for good measure Generator Man Rich Roudebush, N4DCA, pouring gasoline into a 5KW Generator Radios are all about the transmission of electro-magnetic energy. Rich Roudebush, N4DCA, accepted the opportunity to be Generator Man for Field Day In addition to operating the generators at Field Day, he conducted two 4-6 hour generator parties. The first was about 2 weeks before Field Day 2017 where he was found to have a golden right arm each generator started on the first pull. The second was 3 days after Field Day 2017 to run each generator out of the ethanol tainted gasoline and put straight unleaded gasoline in them for storage. Some work is needed on the 1KW generator, but SARC got through Field Day 2017 without generator problems due to Rich, N4DCA. 10

11 Antennas for Field Day 2017 The Antenna Plan for Field Day 2017 on the last page of this article was executed with one exception. Bob Rodriguez, K5AUW, did not bring his satellite dish antenna because the data for amateur radio satellites did not show an adequate sized window. Antennas were emplaced generally in accordance with the plan, probably within 5-20 feet. All antennas went up Saturday starting at 9:30 a. m. with the last one emplaced by 3:00 p. m. It is known that some were not used or minimally used, but they were all erected. The antennas came down after sun up on Sunday. The last one down was the beam antenna because the work plan called for it to be taken down after the computers were packed and loaded. The rest of this page and the 2 pages following are photographs of the various antennas. Multi-Band Dipole of Lloyd Swartz, KF5ZHW, was the farthest set out antenna 10M-15M-20M Beam Antenna on Trailer Tower 10M-15M-20M-40M R7 Cushcraft Antenna 11

12 20M Dipole Antenna with Center Pole 10M Dipole Antenna with Center Pole 40M Dipole and 80M Dipole at right angles on tripod mounted push pole of JC Smith, N5RXS SARC MFJ-1522 VHF/UHF Antenna (right) with 15M Dipole Antenna with Center Pole behind it (left) Top of 40M Dipole and 80M Dipole at right angles on tripod mounted push pole of JC Smith, N5RXS VHF/UHF Beam Antenna of Lloyd Swartz, KF5ZHW 12

13 10M-15M-20M R5 Cushcraft Antenna 20M Dipole of Bob Rodriguez, K5AUW 13

14 14

15 Successful License Test on Saturday, June 24, 2017 Pat Knight, AD5BR, Chairperson, Volunteer Examination Committee, and several members of that committee conducted amateur radio license examines on Saturday, June 24, The test session started at 10:00 a. m. at the Great Northwest Library. This was a successful test session and some newly licensed Hams then went to Shavano Park to see or participate in Field Day. Some SARC members who had been Volunteer Examiners, also went on to Field Day. The Central Texas DX and Contest Club (CTDXCC) is a group of amateur radio operators in the Central Texas area with a special interest in amateur radio DXing and radiosport contesting. The Central Texas DX and Contest Club (CTDXCC) is proud to be the continuing sponsor of the DX and Contest Forum at Austin Summerfest. The 2017 Austin Summerfest is August 4th and 5th, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 6121 North IH-35, Austin, Texas, (northeast corner of IH-35 and US290E). The DX and Contest Forum will be from 10 AM to noon on Saturday. For more information go to JOTA Mike Harrison, KB5KST, has been appointed Chairperson, JOTA Committee. Bob Rodriguez, K5AUW, asked to step down from this position, but then immediately volunteered to be the Assistant Chairperson. Anyone interested in helping Mike, KB5KST, should contact him. JOTA will be held at the Texas Transportation Museum on October 21, It was quite successful there last year, and it is anticipated that it will be again. 15

16 Ham Tailgate Swap Meet Sponsored by Hangar 18 Surplus Saturday, July 15, 2017, from 7 a. m. until 10:00 a. m. Coffee and Donuts Location: Hangar 18 Surplus 2538 Boardwalk San Antonio, TX Hangar 18 Surplus carries a wide selection of coax adapters, cables, and the $1.00/pound electronic chassis/things to be repaired. For the Ham Tailgate Sway Meet, Hanger 18 Surplus will also have a trailer with a selection of used, empty transit cases suitable for use by Hams as GO-KITS and outdoor cabinets suitable for use by Hams for antenna tuners. The cases will be priced at $1.00/pound. Hangar 18 Surplus has many embroidered hats and shirts available from an additional product line in which they also do business. 16

17 Yahoo Groups SARC has had a Yahoo Group for a number of years now. Its name is W5SC. W5SC is being used to publicize SARC business meetings. It can be used for other things like promotion of VEC testing and classes. Members of the W5SC Yahoo Group can and have asked each other technical questions or sought assistance. W5SC is a closed group. To become a member, go to groups.yahoo.com. (You may need to have a Yahoo account.) This will take you to a website where your groups, if any, are shown with a Search Group box at the top. Enter W5SC. This will take you to the search results page with W5SC on it. Select W5SC to go to the W5SC Yahoo Group. You will then need to select + Join Group. This generates a message. SARC members can expect approval to join the W5SC in probably less than 24 hours. SARC Tweets Reminder: there are two Twitter accounts for the San Antonio Radio Club. They is being used to publicize SARC meetings. It can be used for other things like promotion of VEC testing and classes. As Radio Fiesta 2018 work has not yet commenced, is currently in standby mode for the January 13, 2018 Radio Fiesta. SARC members are encouraged to follow both Twitter accounts. SARC Facebook There is a San Antonio Radio Club SARC (@saradioclub) Facebook Page. The newsletter editor is making posts about SARC meetings and other activities. Any Officer, Committee Chairperson, or member who believes that they have information that should be posted to this page should contact the newsletter editor using the contact information for the newsletter editor on page 2 of this newsletter. SARC members are encourage to follow this Facebook Page. 17

18 SARC has a website: w5sc.org Amateur Radio License Classes Webmaster: webmaster@w5sc.orgt A General Course is currently being planned with a start date in late September SARC Meeting Dates for next 12 Months July 13, 2017 August 10, 2017 September 14, 2017 October 12, 2017 November 9, 2017 December (None) January 11, 2018 February 8, 2018 March 8, 2018 April 12, 2018 May 10, 2018 June 14, 2018 Meetings are held at Grady s Barbeque, 327 E. Nakoma Dr., San Antonio, TX at 7:00 p. m. Come early and eat with other members coming early. As this class s plans firm up, they will be summarized here. License Testing Dates for 2017 and early 2018 June 24, 2017 August 26, 2017 October 28, 2017 January 13, 2018 February 24, 2018 April 28, 2018 Times and locations along with required document information can be found on SARC s website. SARC does all its licensing testing as a part of ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) organization so all the Volunteer Examiners in SARC are duly authorized Volunteer Examiners of ARRL s VEC. Field Day 2018 Setup: Friday, June 22, 2018 Operations: Saturday, June 23, 2018 & Sunday, June 24, 2018 Where SARC proves they are an eating group with a radio problem. More information to follow, but hold these dates. Radio Fiesta 2018 January 13, 2018 Schertz Civic Center See newsletter article for more information 18 JOTA Boy Scout Jamboree On The Air This year s date is Oct 21, The plan is to again hold it at the Texas Transportation Museum. For more information, contact: Gary (Mike) Harrison, KB5KST Emergency Communications If you are interested in emergency communications, contact: JC Smith N5RXS