Northwest Amateur Radio Society

Banquet 2025

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The annual NARS awards banquet is scheduled for the evening of January 17, 2024, beginning at 6:00 P.M. The venue will be Valley Ranch Barbecue on SH249 at Spring Cypress. Come join us for an entertaining evening of good food and fellowship!

Plan to arrive, order, and eat dinner at 6:00 P.M.. Each individual is responsible for purchasing their own meal through the normal restaurant line. When you have your food and beverage, come join us in the meeting room near the front of the building.

At 7:00 P.M., we will welcome everyone and introduce the program for the evening. Club members will be recognized for their achievements and contributions, and new officers will begin their tour of duty. There may even be door prizes and drawings! This is a family-and-friends event, so bring your significant other/friends/children.

Election Results 2024

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The NARS Board of Directors election results are in! As expected, all the nominees were elected/re-elected because all positions were unopposed. The officers for the coming term are as follows:

President -	Paul Owen	N5NXS
Vice President -
Secretary -	Brandon Rogers	K5BLR
Treasurer -	Tom Hoherd	KK5YU
Director 1 -	Rich Jones	W5VEK
Director 2 -	Jorge Gutiérrez	WK5J

Per the bylaws, these officers will take office at the annual banquet in January.

As you can see, the Vice President position is open. If you would like to volunteer to serve in that position, please submit your name to the board for consideration after the banquet in January.

Winter Field Day

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The goal of Winter Field Day is to help amateur radio operators improve their preparedness for disasters and enhance their operational abilities. The winter months present unique challenges for operating, including shorter days, the potential for freezing temperatures, snow, ice, and other hazards.

Winter Field Day Exercise is not a contest but a practical field exercise designed to push your emergency preparedness skills to the limit and test your capabilities in diverse and demanding conditions. By setting up a station away from the comforts of home, you can significantly enhance your readiness for disasters and improve your operating skills in challenging environments.

NARS will field a crew to operate this event. Contact Paul Owen, N5NXS, for location(s). The event rules and more information are available on the WFD website.

Repeater Status Update

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NARS has three repeater sites, one in Klein, one Downtown, and one in the Galleria. While we have had some challenges brought about by recent weather events, our repeater team, led by Rich Jones, W5VEK, is working diligently to ensure that this system provides the reliable and convenient coverage in the Houston area that we have come to expect.

The current repeater system status is as follows:

VHF 146.660 Galleria Area PL 141.3 on the air
VHF 146.660 Downtown PL100 OFF THE AIR
UHF 443.075 Galleria Area PL 103.5 on the air
UHF 444.375 Klein Area PL 100 on the air and ALLSTAR
UHF/DMR 440.300 Klein Area ,Talk Group 3146211, time slot 1, Active
Allstar Node 59847

The repeater team has grouped their objectives as follows:

Short Term Objectives (15 to 40 days}:

Monitor Galleria AllStar hub connection for a possible issue with the cellular internet disconnection
Make an appointment to visit the site for additional modifications and adjust repeater audio output based on observations and to replace the cellular modem if dropouts continue to require frequent resets.
Continue to monitor Galleria VHF Repeater for noise and collect information on coverage area.
Determine coverage area with the new antenna installed at the downtown site.
Continue efforts to connect the Klein DMR repeater to AllStar.
Upgrade Klein controller and software to match the equipment installed at the Galleria location.

Long Term Objectives

Establish a VHF Repeater Usage Plan

General Comments:

The repeater team, with the assistance of a professional antenna installer, has replaced the antenna that was damaged by storms during 2024. This antenna has been somewhat disappointing because coverage was less than expected. The team is evaluating performance and looking for a workable solution that fits within our budget. The Galleria VHF repeater has been put in standby because of the interference to the downtown repeater that would occur.

When the team accomplishes its goals, NARS will have two analog UHF repeaters, separated by 20 miles, connected to the W5NC HUB, one DMR repeater in Klein on the W5NC HUB, and one VHF repeater, with RF access only, at 678 feet in the center of downtown. The separation of the two UHF RF capable repeaters with W5NC HUB links should allow members without HUB access to communicate by RF into Club nets.

Meeting Location

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The NARS monthly meetings are held on the third Friday of each month at 7:30 P.M. at the Harris County Emergency Services Building located at HCESD 16 Admin Building, 18606 Stuebner Airline 77379. This move from our previous location at Klein VFD Station 16 is effective for the meeting on May 19 and all subsequent meetings.

Please utilize parking in front of the building. Do not go through the locked gate. There is ample parking available. Enter the building ONLY through the main front entrance. As always, please do not take reserved parking spaces or block driveways.

For members who wish to join us for dinner before the meeting, we meet at a local restaurant for dinner at 4:30, enjoy dinner and maybe a drink, then make the short 10 minute drive to the meeting on Stuebner Airline. The restaurant is posted to the W5NC group.

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