- 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)
The May Meeting Is Special!
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday May 19th at 3:00 p.m.
It will be an in-person meeting. Note the time.
The meeting will be a field trip to the Rancho Mirage Observatory, located at the Library (710100 CA-111 Rancho Mirage – directions here). We will enjoy a tour of the facility and a talk by the astronomer Eric McLaughlin.
The tour will include will using the Lunt Solar Systems H-Alpha telescope and learning about the role that sunspots and Sun prominences play in Radio propagation.
About Eric:
Eric McLaughlin is the first astronomer for the Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory. As an undergraduate, he double-majored in engineering and engineering physics. He has taught college classes and worked as a mechanical engineer before heading to Rancho Mirage. Eric’s passion for astronomy is both evident and contagious. His work and energy have helped make the Observatory such a popular destination.
“The Rancho Mirage Observatory provides a unique gateway by which visitors may look deep into the cosmos and learn about places grander than the mind is capable of grasping. In the few years it has been open, the Observatory has proven to be a great expansion to the mission of the Library as a means to inspire lifelong learning.”
Upcoming Events
ARES Bootcamp April 25
ARES Bootcamp is Saturday April 25 CC Library 1030 to 3. The Beacon Exercise will be taking place on Thursday April 30. Statewide earthquake drill. All day but we will be participating from 10am to 1pm.
We will do information and resource nets, passing voice and winlink traffic between simulated locations like EOCs and shelters, doing damage assessments close to our homes, and check on critical infrastructure.
Note you you do not need to be an ARES member to participate in our Boot Camp, and you do not need to be an ARES member to participate in this drill. We welcome everyone who would like to participate and learn.
Please drop Don an email of you plan to attend.
PAPA Luncheon May 2nd
PAPA will be meeting in-person on Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 at 11am at Denny’s Thousand Palms. Everyone is welcome to come on out for a chance to meet and visit with your on-air friends!
When:
Saturday May 2nd, 2026
11:00 a.m.
Where:
May Club Meeting & CERT Mixer
Coming up in May is a very special monthly meeting. On our normal second Tuesday meeting day May 19, we will be going on an 3pm afternoon field trip to the Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory for a private tour given by city astronomer Dr Eric McLaughlin which will include using the Lunt Solar Systems H-Alpha telescope and learning about the role that sunspots and Sun prominences play in Radio propagation.
Coincident with the May meeting, CVDPN CERT will be hosting a mixer at the Library. At this event, the RATS will have a table to demonstrate some basic communications tech used in disasters.
Everybody is welcome to attend. You do not need to be a member of the RATS, CERT or ARES to attend this event.
Dayton HamVention
May 15 – 17, 2026
SEA-PAC 2026
June 5th – June 7th, 2026
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.
