Belton Hamfest April 2025

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A 24 hour turnaround trip to Belton.  Because I had previously reserved a sellers table, I decided to attend Belton despite of the bad weather forecast.  The good news:  I sold all of my stuff.  The bad news:  I had to severely discount many of my items to get them sold.  The allure of my … Read more…

Crystal Radio DIY @ The Shack

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For our April 3rd JSC Student Intern Ham Radio group project, we decided to build a simple crystal radio.  It was based on the design provided by Al Klase N3FRQ, who has a plethora of build information and history about the crystal radio. 3 years ago, Kelvin K5KGH and I (W5OC) had successfully sponsored a … Read more…

Retribution (W5OC SOTA trip)

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Last October, I failed to climb the Grapevine Hill summit in West Texas.  Due to my inexperience in climbing I regrettably aborted my attempt and went home with disappointment and frustration In the ensuing months, I had consulted one of our premiere mountaineers, Dan KG5PVP, who gave me great advice for a novice climber.  His … Read more…

What Antenna is this?? (POTA KG5HOK Activation)

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Keith successfully completed his POTA activation under a gorgeous blue sky at the San Jacinto Battleground Historic site on Wednesday March 19.  Keith deployed his homebrewed multi element Chameleon Spider antenna.  This is a variation of the buddipole design, using a pair of rigid elements to form a dipole.  However, the Chameleon Spider can be … Read more…

JSC Student Intern Update

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March 14 Soldering 101 @ Gilruth Scuba RoomJeff AB4ME and Kelvin K5KGH hosted 6 interns learning how to solder.Using our 2 LED blinker kit, they had a great time building up a working electronic project while learning about electronic components, PCB assembly, and through hole hand soldering. March 18 Congrats to Diego Padilla KO5IMH- Newly … Read more…

Greater Houston Hamfest 2025- March 8

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Celebrity sightings:  George AD5CQ, Paul KJ5JIO, Jerry N5FWB, David KB5PGY, Joe K5KUA, Keith KG5HOK (and Sophie!), John AB5SS, Ken K5RG Friday afternoon was a slog- tight fisted spenders, few great deals, but fun atmosphere.  The best deal was a pristine old Colling 75A4 with stocked filters for…. $200.  It sold immediately.  I also saw a … Read more…

UH Students visit W5RRR March 3, 2025

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Kurt Rowland K6URT (founder and trustee of the UH Ham Club KI5UCW) sponsored a group of about 20 students from University of Houston for a visit to the W5RRR shack. Jerry N5FWB and David KG5URA both co-hosted the group consisting of UH Amateur Radio Club (UHARC) and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) student … Read more…

JSCARC POTA @ Brazoria National Wildlife Reserve 3/7/25

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A classic gorgeous day out by the Brazoria National Wildlife Reserve (US-0545).  In attendance were Joe K5KUA, Jeff AB4ME, David KG5URA, George AD5CQ, and Dave W5OC. We setup relatively close together at the Discover Center/Information area.  Joe smartly setup at a table about 100′ down the road; Jeff took to the elevated wooden platform above … Read more…