Katy Amateur Radio Society (KARS), Katy, Texas

Recurring Events

Event	Time	Location	Notes
KARS Net	Every Tuesday, 8:00 PM	KARS Repeater	KT5TX 147.200(+) MHz Repeater, PL 141.3
KARS Monthly Meeting	2nd Monday of Every Month,  7:30 PM	Westlake Volunteer Fire Department	19636 Saums Road, Houston, TX 77084 Zoom information under the Video Meeting Information tab, guests please contact a board member for access information
KARS Coffee Night	Every Wednesday, 7:30 PM	Jason’s Deli	380 S Mason Rd. Katy Tx
KARS Breakfast	Every Saturday, 8:00 AM	Freddy’s Cafe	16830 Barker Springs #400 Houston, TX. 77084
KARS Amateur Radio License Exam	See Under Licensing Information Tab	Church of the Holy Apostles	1225 W Grand Pkwy South Katy TX  77494 NOTE: Please check under the Licensing Information tab for detailed information. Until further notice Pre-Registration is required
2m Simplex Net	Every 2nd Tuesday 7pm	146.600	Come and join us on the simplex net and get used to operating without the use of the repeater. Good practice in case of emergencies.

Katy Amateur Radio Society (KARS) is an active club in Katy, TX, just west of Houston, dedicated to the fascinating hobby of amateur radio.

Please come and join in the fun!  Membership Information

Katy Amateur Radio Society on Facebook

Where:Duhacsek Park 17034 Old Richmond Rd Sugar Land, TX 77498 When:June 25th – 26th 2022(From Saturday at 7am until we wrap up Sunday afternoon)

As you are all likely aware, Field Day is just around the corner! Taking place at Duhacsek Park on June 25th-26th, BVARC, KARS, and TDXS will be joining forces for ARRL Field Day 2022. We will be operating as many as 10 stations simultaneously, calling CQ, and racking up contacts. Our goal is to provide a fun and engaging environment for hams of all classes and those without a license to experience various aspects of the exciting hobby of ham radio! There will be food and refreshments as well.

We are looking for operators (THAT’S YOU) to run our stations and help out with various Bonus Point activities this year. We need many more voice (SSB) operators, but also CW and FT8 operators. Technician class operators CAN run our HF stations using the club call sign, and we will have help there to get you going calling CQ. We are trying to get as many points as possible, and WE NEED YOUR HELP! We would like to get as much coverage of our event as possible and are seeking anyone with connections to news media to contact us.

A Few of the Roles Needed:

• Voice mode operators (i.e., Single Sideband) to call CQ and log contacts
• Educators (folks willing to teach one or more short structured lessons on ham radio skills)
• An operator(s) to run the GOTA (Get On The Air) station to advise the new or unlicensed operators with the equipment there
• Social Media promoters (utilize social media to promote the event and post about the activities during the event)
• Experienced hams to assist new hams or unlicensed operators using the equipment at the main stations
• Help setting up equipment (radios, antennas, cabling, etc.) on Friday June 24^th starting at noon
• and many more!

We will be announcing an online sign-up sheet for these roles and operating positions soon; keep an eye out for the email or check on BVARC.org for the link. If you have any questions or concerns send them directly to Anthony Morones (W5LIC) at W5LICTX@gmail.com, or Mike Hardwick (N5VCX) at N5VCX@att.net.

Let’s get out there and GET ON THE AIR to represent Houston area hams this Field Day 2022. We can’t wait to see you all out there, 73! – Kori, WX5KR

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BVARC are running this event, any queries please contact them directly

The time is finally here for the GHTG. Due to COVID issues, the Greater Houston HamFest committee decided this year we will have a small tailgate affair instead of the normal hamfest format which will return next year.

Mark your calendars for next year March 3rd and 4th, 2023 for the return of the Greater Houston HamFest.

So, for this year we will have the tailgate will be very basic event. Entry is $5 dollars whether you are selling or buying. There are 45 spaces for tailgaters and 6 spaces for vendors. We will have foodand drinks available at the community center and there will be a raffle at the pavilion. A map of the event area is below as well as the coordinates to find the entrance.

The times for the TailGate is 7 am to 2 pm on Saturday, April 16. Friday afternoon set-up is available but there is NO OVERNIGHT CAMPING ALLOWED. If you would like to set-up on Friday,please contact the BVARC Board of Directors to arrange access.

The raffle will be held on site and tickets will be $2 each. The grand prize will be a ICOM IC-2730A so make sure you get your tickets. You will need to be present to win. 

Some of the other things happening at the TailGate are:

Balloon launch by the Houston Balloon Launch Team 
Fort Bend County Communications trailer
Harris County Communications trailer License Testing

If you have any questions about the tailgate, contact anyone on the BVARC Board of Directors.

Minutes from the KARS BOD February 28, 2022

Original agenda:                                          

1. Apologies for absence

2. Treasurer report

3. Secretary report

* Activities coordinator report

4. General discussion

Meeting notes:

Our KARS board of directors meeting was conducted via Zoom.

1. The meeting started at 7:33 PM with all board members present.

• The treasurer reported that there is $xxxxx in the bank account. This reflects membership renewals of which we already received 42. This is the first year HamClubOnline automated messages are going out for members to renew their membership and there are some teething problems that are currently being worked out. In a few cases members had inadvertently received an email stating that their membership had expired. All these cases have been addressed.
  
  The idea was raised to have another raffle with a dearer raffle item, for instance a high-end antenna analyzer. Care needs to be taken to obey Texas state law that limits the number of drawings to a maximum of two per year. At this point it is unclear if a raffle with multiple prizes counts as a single drawing or multiple drawings.

• KARS received a new member application from Douglas Johse who will be put up for a vote at the March General meeting. Another person who emailed and expressed an interest (but who has not applied for membership) is David Bucklew. Reading between the lines he is keen to join, too.

• The Katy Safety Fest will be held on April 23 this year at Katy Mills Mall but at this stage it is not yet clear how many HAM operators the organisers need to shadow communications. When more details become available it will be shared with the members.
  
  Our Vice-President, Sergio, has a new call sign: KX5F.
  
  Potential topics for presentations were mentioned to be a presentation on FT4 for satellite, on different antenna options for mobile solutions, and on coax.
  
  Dave Scott is willing, when the weather gets warmer, to organize a fox hunt for the club and/or other interested parties.
  
  The club is still in the market for a laptop and the right machine at the right time is expected to come along in short order.

The meeting concluded at 8:10 PM.

Hielke Buddelmeijer

KARS Secretary

KI5JYX

Minutes from the KARS Monthly Meeting February 14, 2022

 

The meeting was held in person at the fire station and a contingent of members attended via Zoom. The meeting was started at 7:35 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance.

We had three new members to report: Dan Mumford (WB5DSC, Advanced), Michelle MacDonald (KI5MDW, General), and Jonathan Taylor (KI5OZK, General). There being no dissenting votes all three are now official members of the Katy Amateur Radio Society.

The Katy Safety Fest will be held on April 23 at Katy Mills Mall (Burlington entrance) and promises the be a rather large event with many participants from public safety, law enforcement, and branches of the military. Geographically, too, the event will be spread out and HAM operators are requested to held with supportive communications to free up radio channels for official business.

The sidewalk sale outside of Freddy’s Café of some of Mike Brennan’s bequeathed radio equipment will become a regular swap meet to be held every third Saturday of the month, except for March as not to conflict with the Houston Area Tailgate (which replaces the Houston Area Hamfest this year). The swap meet at Freddy’s Café will be advertised to local area HAM clubs.
There is $xxxx in the account with no outlays coming up until June/July for the insurance.

All board positions were opened for new candidates, but there being no new candidates and the existing board members all indicating their willingness to serve another term meant that the board was reappointed by acclamation.

A new location for VE testing was named, being the Episcopal Church on Grand Parkway and Highland Knolls. This is in addition to the American Shooting Centre on Westheimer Parkway (inside the reservoir) that has also been offered as a potential location. Gerald Doucet will be the final arbiter to make a decision as he runs the VE program.

Sheree and Bill run a local traffic net and there is a push for the creation of a digital traffic net, similar to the current traffic net.

The MS 150 bike ride is held at the end of April. A training ride, Peddling the Prairie, will take place on February 26. The Buffalo Bayou Regatta will celebrate its 50^th anniversary on Saturday, March 5 from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm. All three events are opportunities for HAM operators to volunteer their services.

The meeting concluded shortly after 8 PM

 

Hielke Buddelmeijer KI5JYX

Secretary KARS

 

Minutes from the KARS BOD January 31, 2022

Original agenda:                                         

1. Apologies for absence
2. Treasurer report
3. Secretary report

* Activities coordinator report

4. General discussion

 

Meeting notes:

Our KARS board of directors meeting was conducted via Zoom.

 

• The meeting started at 7:30 PM with all board members present.

 

• The treasurer reported that there is $xxxxin the bank account and $xxxx in the PayPal account. This reflects membership renewals and the proceeds from the sale of Mike Brennan’s bequeathed radio equipment. HamClubOnline automated messages are going out for members to renew their membership.

 

• KARS received new member applications from Dan Mumford (Advanced), Michelle MacDonald (General), and Jonathan Taylor (General) who will be put up for a vote at the February (Valentine’s Day) General meeting.

 

• Bridgecom was mentioned as a potential speaker on DMR and/or DMR equipment for the General Meeting as was ABR Industries to give a presentation on coax cable.The Katy Safety Fest will be held on April 23 this year at Katy Mills Mall.

  There will be a swap meet outside of Freddy’s Café every 3^rd Saturday of the month from 8AM, except in March as not to conflict with the Houston Area Tailgate (which replaces the Houston Area Hamfest this year). The swap meet at Freddy’s Café will be advertised to local area HAM clubs.

The meeting concluded at 7:54 PM.

 

K5JBT did this presentation on Grounding and it is highly recommended

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cMUcgPjWD7ttZLAI2O3xf2BadTH0clcd/view

Winter Field Day will be held on January 29/30, 2022. KARS will setup at Cullen Park in Pavilion C as we normally do. The event runs from 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Saturday to 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Sunday. KARS wants to make this a successful social event and will be providing Lunch and refreshments. The plan is to start setup around noon. Please use the signup form if you plan on attending so we can get an estimated head count for ordering food.  https://forms.gle/eemhq46HUyE7EEuf8

The event is open to all so feel free to bring friends and family.

More information about Winter Field Day can be found here
https://www.winterfieldday.com/

Minutes from the KARS BOD November 29, 2021

Original agenda:                                          

1. Apologies for absence

2. Treasurer report

3. Secretary report

* Activities coordinator report

4. General discussion

Meeting notes:

Our KARS board of directors meeting was conducted via Zoom.

1. The meeting started at 7:30 PM with all board members present.

• The treasurer reported that there is $xxxx.xxin the bank account and $xxx.xx in the PayPal account. The members had approved the purchase of a (used) laptop to conduct our General Member meeting also via Zoom, but a suitable laptop has not yet been found. There are several attractive options available, and the expectation is that we will soon find a good deal and purchase it.

The amateur radio field trip to the Senior Road Tower facility in Missouri City has about 30 members signed up.At the November General Meeting the members approved that KARS would contribute $150 towards the costs of refreshments and lunch.

• KARS received a new member application from Salvador Garza (KI5SRR, General) and Ed Arrighi (Associate) who both will be put up for a vote at the December General meeting.

To date, 22 sets of 6 tickets (132 tickets total) have been sold. A pack of 6 tickets costs $10 meaning that we already more than broke even on the Raspberry Pi 400 prize.

• Jack Cavutti (NZ5TX) reported that at the last VE training session they had 9 people taking exams. Two became Extras. One person did not pass their technician class exam.
  
  Winter Field Day will be held on January 29 and 30. It will likely be a low-key fun half day at Cullen Park as it has been in the past.
  
  The Treasurer shared an inventory list of old radio equipment that was donated to the club (Mike’s bequest). The board will have to decide what to do with it. Some may be sold, some of it may be kept by the club for club use, and some of it may be given to club members. The inventory list will need to be cleaned up and values will have to be assigned to the various items.
  
  The Christmas party (December General Meeting) will have no presentation, but Sergio will touch base with John Thurmond about either giving, or knowing about someone who might give, a presentation on grounding.

The meeting concluded at 7:54 PM.

Hielke Buddelmeijer

KARS Secretary

KI5JYX