At 9ER’s Grill on Kingsland, just EAST a bit from 99.

http://www.9ersgrill.com/resturants.htm

All club members are welcome! We’ll discuss plans for Field Day and our next club meeting!
73, Dave KD5FX KARS Prez

DATE: May 29, 2012 (Tuesday)
PRE NET: 1930 hours (7:30 pm)
NET TIME: 2000 hours (8:00 pm)
FREQ: 147.200 PL 141.3 HZ
NCS: Mr. David Land (KD5FX)

Pre-net: 1930 hours (7:30) Open discussions, we can discuss anything…
Net topic (Question): TBD

Please check the Net Script so you can read along for the practice.

http://www.katyars.com/about/net-info/

Houston, TX, May 23, 2012:

Houston area based Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club will celebrate its fifth year of participation in the annual Museum Ships Weekend Event, June 2-3, 2012 by offering a special commemorative certificate to amateur stations who contact all five Texas Based Museum ships during the event. The five museum ships and their call signs include the Submarine USS Cavalla and Destroyer Escort USS Stewart (KK5W) in Galveston, Texas, The Battleship USS Texas (NA5DV), in La Porte Texas, The Tall Ship Elissa (N5E) also in Galveston and the Aircraft Carrier USS Lexington (W5LEX) in Corpus Christi, Texas.
To earn the Texas Navy Certificate, amateur stations must submit proof of contact with all five Texas Museum ships to QSL Manager, KK5W along with a #10 SASE. The address is in QRZ.com.
Museum Ships Weekend is an annual operating event sponsored worldwide by the Battleship New Jersey Amateur Radio Station with more than 90 ships participating this year. “We decided to put in a special Texas twist to the event to commemorate our five years of taking part”, said Ron Litt, K5HM, one of the Event Coordinators.
The Texas Navy Certificate is a cooperative effort between four different area clubs, In addition to the Brazos Valley club, members of the Battleship Texas Amateur Radio Station, The Tidelands Amateur Radio Society and the South Texas Amateur Radio Club are participating as well.

For more information contact:
Ron Litt, K5HM
281-961-4570
K5HM@arrl.net

Planning for the second KARS SOTA (Summits on the Air) expedition is underway. This year’s goal is W5T/DW-001 – Mount Livermore in the West Davis Mountains near Fort Davis, TX in far west Texas.

Mount Livermore is a 10 point (out of 10) mountain on the SOTA summit scale. The mountain is 2554 meters/8379 feet. This is 500 ft shorter than Guadalupe Peak we climbed last summer. The vertical gain is just under 3000 ft with a round trip horizontal distance of approximately 6.4 miles compared to 8.2 at Guadalupe Peak. Most of the hike is along a service road so while it will be strenuous, it shouldn’t be as difficult as Guadalupe Peak. The mountain is on the Davis Mountain Reserve which is privately owned by the The Nature Conservancy. It is only open to the public a couple of weekends a year. This year the mountain is open over the weekend of July 13, 14, 15. For more information on the Davis Mountain Preserve go to this web site:

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/texas/placesweprotect/davis-mountains-preserve.xml

The plan is to climb and activate the mountain on Saturday July 14th. We are hoping that more people will participate this year. For those who wish to attend but do not want to climb the mountain, we would love to have you join us. We are proposing that a base camp be established just inside of the conservancy gate near the visitor center. If someone would like to drive an RV there, all of the comforts of home will be available. If not, an EZ up can be erected for shade. Set up an HF rig and operate, or just follow the climb via 2-meter FM. It will probably be hot, folks, but it will be fun. The average daily high in the middle of July is 89 degrees, the average low is 61 degrees, and the mean is 75 degrees, so it should be manageable. This is a great excuse to start walking now and lose a little weight. I can guarantee you won’t regret taking the trip. It’s going to be a blast!

The nice thing about this trip is that accommodations are much better than around Guadalupe Peak. My wife will be going (not climbing) so we will either stay at the campground or at the Indian Lodge which located inside the Davis Mountains State Park. The park is about 30 minutes from the trail head.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/davis-mountains

The parks has a variety of campsites for everything from rugged tent camping, to tent camping with electricity, to RVs. Camping rates are reasonable. The Indian lodge located in the park has rooms that run $95 a night for one double bed up to $135 per night (2 people) for a 2 room suite. Other accommodations are available in nearby Fort Davis and Marfa. The park has several walking and biking trails. There are other attractions in the area including checking out the mysterious “Marfa Lights” and visiting the McDonald Observatory. Why not make a mini-vacation out of the trip and take some time to see what stars are really look like.

Make plans now and make your reservations quickly so you don’t miss out on this opportunity to make radio contacts in one of the most radio quiet areas in the state of Texas. It will be a blast!

My wife and I are planning to drive over on Friday the 13th, climb the mountain on the 14th, spend Sunday the 15th in the park and then drive home on Monday the 16th. Everyone is welcome to drive over with us, go earlier for an extended vacation, or come for the day of the climb only. Do whatever works for you just be there on the day of the climb. The older I get the more I come to realize that work is over rated. It is very easy to rationalize why we can’t do it, so take a break, have some fun, and find a good reason to do it with us this summer.

See ya there!

73,

Tom Maxwell/AE5QB

I’ve got this posted over at the www.na5dv.org site, but since we always have such a good turnout from KARS, I wanted to make sure everyone knew the details and how quickly it’s coming up!

The Battleship TEXAS will be participating in this year’s Museum Ships Weekend 0000Z June 2, through 2359Z June 3, 2012. During the day, we’ll be primarily on the upper bands, 10m/15m/20m. During the evenings we will shift to 20m/40m/80m.

We stay in the General part of the band, and usually on the upper end, wherever we can find a clear spot. We QSL 100%, all we ask is that you please enclose a SASE, and you’ll get a nice full-color QSL card in return. If you include the operator’s name, we’ll do our best to get them to personally sign your card. We usually make quite a few QSOs during the operating period, so that usually results in a LOT of QSL cards to issue. We ask your patience in allowing us time to respond.

Hams (and potential hams!) that wish to operate from the ship are encouraged to come out and enjoy the fun of being on the receiving end of a pileup for a change! In addition, we will be operating 24hrs on the ship, and we have a limited number of overnight spots on the ship. If you want to operate the full stretch with us, we will need advance notice of your intent to stay overnight by emailing prez@na5dv.org. Our activities must be cleared with the TPWD in advance, and we simply are unable to accommodate folks who ask to stay on the ship the day they arrive. Your understanding is appreciated!

DATE: May 22, 2012 (Tuesday)
PRE NET: 1930 hours (7:30 pm)
NET TIME: 2000 hours (8:00 pm)
FREQ: 147.200 PL 141.3 HZ
NCS: Mr. Joe Peet (N5IDF)

Pre-net: 1930 hours (7:30) Open discussions, we can discuss anything…
Net topic (Question): TBD

Please check the Net Script so you can read along for the practice.

http://www.katyars.com/about/net-info/

On Saturday May 12, 2012, 7 members of the Katy Amateur Radio Society (KARS) gathered at the West I10 Fire Station #4 for a 2 meter tape measure yagi build session. The antennas built are a slightly modified version of Joe Leggio’s/WB2HOL original design. Rather than using the schedule 40 PVC crosses and hose clamps of the original design, this design uses thin wall class 200 PVC for cross-members and #6 hardware to hold the elements in place. The result is a slightly cleaner look and a less massive antenna. Unlike the original design which allows for a simple build, this design does require drilling PVC and the tape measure elements. The session was organized by Tom Maxwell/AE5QB. Dell Partridge/W5QQ provided technical assistance and mentoring, Ron McDonald/K5CE took photographs, and Dave Land KT5FX stopped in to assure our needs were met. At the end of the day, 6 of the 7 antennas built passed antenna analyzer muster and the 7th was finished the following day. All in all it was a great session during which everyone present learned a little and had a good time. Future sessions may include the construction of an offset attenuator to be used in conjunction with the tape measure yagi for ARDF or fox-hunting, and an actual fox hunt. Tom extends a big thank-you to everyone who came out to build antennas and to those who dropped in to lend a hand or just to say hello. A big thank you goes out to the captain and crews of West I10 Fire Station #4 for allowing us to use their facility for this activity.

Tom/AE5QB

DATE: May 15, 2012 (Tuesday)
PRE NET: 1930 hours (7:30 pm)
NET TIME: 2000 hours (8:00 pm)
FREQ: 147.200 PL 141.3 HZ
NCS: Mr. Ron Litt (K5HM)

Pre-net: 1930 hours (7:30) Open discussions, we can discuss anything…
Net topic (Question): Museum ships weekend – June 2-3 Are you participating?

Please check the Net Script so you can read along for the practice.

http://www.katyars.com/about/net-info/

Just a reminder that our monthly club meeting is coming up on Monday night at 7:30.
Fire Station No. 4 on Franz road as usual.
Here’s the agenda:
I. Call to Order
II. Pledge to the Flag
III. Old Business
A. Minutes of last meeting (Peter) -motion/vote
B. Treasurers report – (Ron) -motion/vote (Quarterly itemized statement on the projector)
C. BOD Meeting Notes from the last BOD Meeting – (Peter) – motion/vote
D. Other Old Business?
KARS Repeater improvement project presentation – Dave
Field Day plans, June 30th this year. – Owen
Tom AE5QB Fox Hunt and tape antenna project report
IV. New Business
A. New Members (if any) – election
B. Visitors identified
C. Comments/statements from BOD members (if any)
D. Scott or Peter- Public Service Events
E. Other New Business?
KARS QSL Card approve purchase?
KARS PIO (Public Information Officer) do we need one?
KARS Interference Committee: Section V of the KARS By-Laws (5 members appointed by the Club President)
Who is willing to serve on this?
– Refreshments follow (Remind everyone that refreshments aren’t free)
V. Presentations.
Owen KF5CZO, Intro to HSMM
VI. Adjourn.

The Alvin Swap Meet & Flea Market occur Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 08:30 AM. Michael and Carol Payne will host the event at 307 West Dumble, Alvin, TX. This event is sponsored by the Houston Vintage Radio Association (HVRA) and will include ham radios, tubes, knobs, parts, test equipment, books, etc.