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Desert RATS Newsletter
May2026
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Presidents Message
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Hello and welcome to May!
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Judging by the temperatures as I write this (severe heat warning, 106 degrees today) I would say that summer is almost here. I really enjoyed our April monthly meeting featuring Mark KO6FMN, who who talked about how local HOA's keep themselves prepared for disasters as well as the role CERT training has in community resilience.
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We had two great ARES training events in April. Our ARES Bootcamp on April 25 was very well attended and fun, and we participated in the statewide Beacon Exercise (an earthquake drill) on April 30. We have one of the largest and most active ARES groups in our ARRL section, and I am very proud of that!
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ARES will go quiet during the summer months, although we will have a nice demonstration table at Field Day and you can probably expect an unannounced drill! But please, if you are staying in the desert for the summer, stay prepared. I don’t like what I am seeing in terms of weather and heat forecasts, and the potential for energy shortages concerns me. Please HAVE A PLAN about how you might handle the loss of power and/or air conditioning. Where might you evacuate to? What would you need to bring? How about your animals? How can you help your neighbors? In any widespread loss of power, ARES would activate an on-air net so we could share resources. Remember to monitor our club repeater!
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For our May gathering we will be having a special monthly meeting at the Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory. That will be Tuesday, May 19 at 3pm. Dr Eric McLaughlin will be giving us a private tour to include the Sun Telescope, as well as discussions around the Sun’s effect on radio propagation. We will also be voting on our revised bylaws at this meeting.
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Our June meeting will be Saturday, June 20 at the Denny’s in Thousand Palms. The speakers will be Don N1GAY and Rick, N6PSP, and they will do a presentation titled “Digital Radio Shoot Out; Which Mode is Best?” Which will be a lighthearted look at the various vhf/uhf digital modes we use like C4FM and DMR.
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ARRL Field Day is Saturday, June 27 at the Cathedral City Library. Field Day is ham radio’s annual “open house” and so we want to expose people to as much as we can about our hobby. We need volunteers to be those ambassadors. Want a table to show off your gear or do a demo on your favorite ham subject or just operate? Please let me know.
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EVEN MORE Volunteers needed!
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Members of our club often talk about special interest areas and there was quite a bit of interest in these in our membership survey last year. So it’s time for a few interested people to help with special interest groups! It’s not a big job…just see who is interested and put together some activities. Right now I would love to find someone to take on a Meshtastic Special Interest Group as well as someone for a POTA/SOTA Special Interest Group. Training will be provided for these simple roles. Let me know if you can help!
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The club has many nets each week, one of which is a Simplex Net conducted by Hugh KW5X ? Held every Wednesday evening at 1930 on 144.450 simplex, it’s a great opportunity to test your radio and your skills in communicating via simplex, probably the most important mode in any kind of widespread emergency.
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Well RATS, thats about all I have for now. Till next time, keep your batteries charged and I will see you on the radio.
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May Meeting
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 19th at 3:00 p.m.
It will be an in-person meeting. Note the time.
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The meeting will be a field trip to the Rancho Mirage Observatory, located at the Library (71-100 CA-111 Rancho Mirage - directions here). We will enjoy a tour of the facility and a talk by the astronomer Eric McLaughlin.
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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
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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.”
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New Bylaws Vote Upcoming
We have updated our Constitution and Bylaws, and are seeking approval from the membership to adopt the new rules.
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We will be voting to approve and adopt the new Constitution and Bylaws at our May monthly meeting on Tuersday May 19th.
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If you have any comments regarding the document, please let us know.
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Membership
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We have a new member in April:
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Please welcome him to the RATS.
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Dues for 2026 are due. Besides PayPal or check, Zelle can now be used. It is also very helpful to fill out a membership form to confirm contact information. When using Zelle, please note your name and call in the notes.
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Interesting Website
There are a variety of websites that allow us to monitor our on-air activity. For example, you have probably heard of PSKReporter. This site allows you to enter a callsign and timeframe to get propagation details as to where your signals have been heard.
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Another site you might find interesting is DXLook. While DXLook behaves much the same as other similar sites, it contains more comprehensive information.
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For example, it shows active band conditions, band activity, a spot table for the contacts as well as filtering for different types of contacts (SOTA, POTA, APRS etc.). Received information is color coded by band and you can even filter by type of contact. It’s worth a look.
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New App For Aircraft Lovers
Although it’s not directly related to ham radio, if you have an iPhone and an interest in air traffic, a new app called Zephy is available for free.
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This app is similar to the popular Flighty app, but is easier to navigate around – you simply point the phone in the direction of an aircraft(s) and the app will display all details associated with the flight – the type of aircraft, speed, destination, distance, altitude, heading, rate of decent (or ascent) and a few other things.
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Interestingly, it also tracks helicopters and private aircraft. It’s available from the app store. To get it, log on to the app store and search for “Zephy”
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Amateur Radio SSTV Images
These SSTV images are provided by Earl. KJ6DQR.
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SSTV Series 32 is underway from the ISS with the theme of "World Peace" - it includes student drawn artwork on the theme.
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Earl also conducts a Digital Net at 8:00 p.m. every Monday night. It’s a great opportunity to learn about all forms of digital modes including FLDIGI used in emergency communications, FT-8 and SSTV.
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Upcoming Events
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CERT Mixer
Coincident with our May meeting, CVDPN CERT will be hosting a mixer at the Library. The RATS will have a table to demonstrate some basic communications tech used in disasters.
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Everybody is welcome to attend. You do not need to be a member of the RATS, CERT or ARES to attend this event.
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Cove Cities CERT Training May 17 - 19
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Desert RATS June Meeting
The June meeting will be on Saturday June 20th and will be in-person at the Thousand Palms Dennys. It will feature a presentation by Don N1GAY and Rick N6PSP on Digital Radio Choices and Programming. More information will be available as we get closer to the date.
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June 5th - June 7th, 2026
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Want To Know What's Happening?
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The best way to be fully informed about Amateur Radio activities here in the Coachella Valley is to tune into the RATS Monday Night Net.
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The net is conducted every Monday at 7:00 p.m. on the Edom Hill repeater (146.94 – 107.2) and features announcements about club and ARES activities.
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A Note on Amateur Radio Testing Resources
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Remote Testing for amateur licensing is available from the Greater Los Angeles Amateur Radio Group (GLAARG)
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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.
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For more information on times for the online testing please see the GLAARG website here.
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Note that GLAARG also offers in-person testing when COVID regulations permit.
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Other Testing Resources
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The ARRL is facilitating video supervised on-line examinations. This testing is made available by video from a number of Clubs.
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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.
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ARRL Podcasts Schedule
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The On The AIR podcast is a monthly companion to On Air magazine, a magazine for beginner-to-intermediate ham radio operators, produced by the ARRL. The podcast and other interesting publications are available here.
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Listen to ARRL Audio News, available every Friday. ARRL Audio News is a summary of the week's top news stories in the world of amateur radio and ARRL, along with interviews and other features.
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The On the Air podcast and ARRL Audio News are available on blubrry, iTunes, and Apple Podcasts.
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Club President: Don Stouder, N1GAY
Club Vice-President: Rick Lee - N6PSP
Club Treasurer: Jim Haggerty - KN6QLC
Club Secretary: Gavin Schutz – K6GAV
Directors
Guy Chabot - KS6F
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Mark Johnston - KD6SEC
Shane Meyer - KO6JGR
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President Emeritus: Glenn Morrison – WB6RLC
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Membership: Anne Larson - KJ6QWC
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