- Welcome to the Home of the Desert RATS
Welcome to the home of the Desert Radio Amateur Transmitting Society. We are located in the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, California and serve Amateur Radio operators in and around the Coachella Valley, including the cities of Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Coachella and Indio.
Upcoming Meetings
(A full calendar of events is available here)
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, March 17th at 7:00 p.m.
It will be a Zoom meeting. Zoom details will be sent out on the Monday prior to the meeting. If you are new to Zoom, please log on a few minutes early and check your settings
Emergency Communications
Scott Morse, KC6SKM
This presentation will explain what emergency communications are and how they differ from public service events and casual conversations. We will cover different types of assignments and the types of Nets that might be used. We’ll look at various ICS forms, their uses, and why keeping good records is important. We will also talk about message passing and tracking.
About Scott:
Scott has been licensed for over 20 years. His main interest has been in emergency communications. He spent more than 12 years volunteering with Santa Clara County OES for ARES/RACES/ACS. In Santa Clara County, ARES/RACES was considered one word. He served as the Chief Radio Officer and District Emergency Coordinator there. He was also the ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator for the Santa Clara Valley Section and later for the East Bay Section. Scott has worked in EOC for fires, earthquakes, floods, fiber optic cable cuts, and hurricanes in Florida.
He was the communications person for the County Search & Rescue Team. After moving to Contra Costa County, he joined the Sheriff’s Communications Unit and helped with training programs. He also became a RADO (Radio Operator) for AUXCOM (Auxiliary Communications). About seven years ago, he moved to Palm Desert and joined Riverside County RACES, serving as the East County Operations Section Chief. Currently, he doesn’t hold a leadership position with RACES. He is a member of ARES and the Director of the EOC for the Sun City Palm Desert Emergency Preparedness Committee.
Upcoming Events
Club Picnic March 21st
Hamburgers, bratwurst, chips, and a drink will be free to all paid-up members and their immediate families. Additional food can be purchased for non-members. You do not need to be a member to attend – everyone is welcome. hamburgers, hot dogs and condiments will be provided.
You can also renew your membership if you haven’t already signed up for 2026.
If you have any ham related equipment that will be of interest to our members (Go-Paks, Portable antennas, etc.) please feel free to bring them along.
Here are the details:
Where:
Lake Cahuilla Veterans Regional Park
58075 Jefferson Street
La Quinta, CA 92253
When:
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Saturday, March 21st.
What to expect:
We will be at the Lake Cahuilla Veterans Park in La Quinta – same venue as last year. Food will be provided by Leons BBQ Grill & Catering (formally Grills Gone Wild).
There will be benches available, however if you need more comfortable seating, please bring a chair.
Note there is a charge of $6 per person for access to the park.
*** Door Prizes and a Raffle ***
License Testing Scheduled
Testing for all classes of Amateur Radio Licensing
There will be an Amateur Radio in-Person testing event coming up providing an opportunity to get your technician license to get started in amateur radio or advance to either General or Extra Class licenses for even more privileges.
Before arriving, the ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League) suggest the following: What to Bring to an Exam Session
When:
Saturday, March 21, 2026 9:00am
Where:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
1400 North Avenida Caballeros
Palm Springs, CA 92262-4704
A Note on Amateur Radio License Testing
Remote Testing for amateur licensing is available from the Greater Los Angeles Amateur Radio Group (GLAARG).
GLAARG is one of the 14 FCC-recognized Volunteer-Exam Coordinators conducting amateur radio exams. GLAARG is a VEC testing organization, not a radio club. Our exam fee is $10 for remote exams and $10 for in-person exams. Exam fees are waived for minors, students with a current ID, first responders, Active Military, Veterans, and GLAARG VEs upgrading to Extra.
For more information on times for the online testing please see the GLAARG website here.
Note that GLAARG also offers in-person testing when COVID regulations permit.
Other Testing Resources
The ARRL is facilitating video supervised on-line examinations. This testing is made available by video from a number of Clubs.
For more information, the ARRL website for remote testing is available here.
Also, Marc – N9WIB has assembled a series of technician class license tutorials. There are 20 presentations covering all the topics related to getting your initial ham radio license and all are posted on YouTube. This content is free and open to all Amateur Radio Clubs to use as an educational tool. Links and further information are available on his website here.
Here is a study aid for the web and smartphones available here.
Members of the Desert RATS club try our best to live by this code at all times.
The Radio Amateur Is:
* CONSIDERATE…never knowingly operates in such a way as to lessen the pleasure of others.
* LOYAL…offers loyalty, encouragement and support to other amateurs, local clubs, and the American Radio Relay League, through which Amateur Radio in the United States is represented nationally and internationally.
* PROGRESSIVE…with knowledge abreast of science, a well-built and efficient station and knowledge above reproach.
* FRIENDLY…slow and patient operating when requested; friendly
advise and counsel to the beginner; kindly assistance, cooperation and consideration for the interests of others. These are the hallmarks of the amateur spirit.
* BALANCED…radio is an avocation, never interfering with duties owed to family, job, school or community.
* PATRIOTIC…station and skill always ready for service to country
and community.
