About the HAMster Group....
The UNCLUB:
The HAMster group is the original UNCLUB. The UNCLUB way of thinking is a unique HAMster group way of thinking allowing us to enjoy all of the benefits and enjoyment clubs can offer with out any of the headaches of a typical club. With an UNCLUB you do not have to deal with the politics of electing Officers, Presidents, etc. We do not have dues, formal meetings, etc. We do enjoy all of the typical Club Activities. Fox Hunting, Remote Field Day, Contest Roving, Emergency Communications,Parties and Monthly Meet & Greets.
Our History:
We are a group of like minded Amateur radio operators who came together from an original group of 6 hams (WX5W, N5XO, KE5MHJ, KD5CEN, KD5ERY & N5JAZ} that enjoyed friendly conversation and shared common interest from Shooting Sports and gun collecting, Hunting, Performance Automobiles, Flying and of course Amateur Radio.
The original group came together in 2006 and slowly grew as other hams heard and enjoyed the friendly banter and joined in the discussions.. Then in late 2006 the idea for an antenna design and construction project came along, and the Unusual Suspects were founded. While we are not a club, we perform a wide range of activities from Fox Hunts, Field Day, Contesting, Remote Operations and Antenna design and construction.
Late in 2007, we collectively as individuals and a group grew tired of Repeaters and shifted our local interest to Simplex Operation.Over the next two years the Unusual Suspects became one of, if not the Premier Simplex Group in Texas. We founded the motto "Real HAMS do not need no stinking Repeater" and we encouraged new hams to the hobby to build quality Simplex Stations and not force themselves to rely upon Repeaters for dependable communications.
As the quality of our stations increased, we soon had people joining in our morning round table conversations from around the State and many of them became regulars from Nixon, Houston, Bryan College Station, Alice and when conditions supported it, we were joined by friends from Louisiana and Arkansas.
The HAMsters:
In 2009 N5XO became hooked on 6 meters and soon after that hooked on Weak Signal Operation on 6 meters, 2 meters and 70cm. In 2010 his interest in SSB operations from 50MHz to 1296MHz became an obsession and he was soon joined by WX5W, W1DVZ and KB2WDM. In late 2012 Jerry KB2WDM and Greg N5XO founded the HAMsters as a sub-group to the Unusual Suspects.
The HAMsters were founded as a DEDICATED Weak Signal Group designed to promote and encourage SSB activity on 6 meters through 23cm. The group took off much quicker than I believe any of us expected and continues to grow and flourish with a Weekly Net and participation in Propagation Alerts, ARRL and CQ VHF/UHF Contest and Roving Activities.
System Fusion:
February 2014, the HAMster Group & N5XO were very proud to be selected by Yaesu to become part of the Yaesu Fusion Beta Team. Not only was this a great honor, but it also moved the Unusual Suspects & HAMster group into a new mode of operation and put us on the leading edge of this new Technology. March of 2014, as part of the Yaesu Fusion Beta team we were afford the honor of replacing our 443.025 Repeater with the first Fusion Repeater in San Antonio and the 2nd in Texas.
As a group we have embraced the technology that System Fusion has to offer and have moved forward to lead the way in this region with a system of Fusion Linked Repeaters providing continuous coverage through 11 counties in this region.
And two become One:
During the July 2014 Unusual Suspect/HAMster Meet & Greet we took a vote on the following two issues.
Item #1:
We voted to move our day to day local operations off of 146.520 Simplex over to our Fusion Repeater on 147.120. This was not an abandonment of Simplex Operation, but an embracing of a new technology. Most of us still monitor and are active on 146.520 as well as our UNCLUB Repeater.
Item #2:
As an UNCLUB with no dues it was decided to reduce the financial and time burden placed up a few and reduce our presence down to one single WEB Page, and with a large percentage of members belonging to both groups it was voted to Merge the two groups and by year end we would simply become the HAMsters.
As always our primary focus as a UNCLUB would be the promotion of Amateur Radio and most important Simplex and Weak Signal Operation. We will continue to promote and encourage SSB Operations on VHF/UHF.
But in an interesting twist, we are working to build a first for Texas a fully linked Fusion Repeater System providing dependable communications through out the Central Texas Region.
Effective January 1st 2015. The Unusual Suspects and HAMster Group have merged to become.
The HAMster Group
144.205 USB {National Frequency}
146.520 FM {National Frequency}
147.120 pl 82.5 Local Central Texas Operation
145.350 PL 82.5 Local San Antonio Operation
