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Desert RATS Newsletter
December 2025
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Presidents Message
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Hmm, I haven't come up with any witty openings.
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Things coming up. Well, first is the RATS holiday party. That's always fun. This year it will be at the Ole Spaghetti Factory. Your cost is $20 a head, payable at the door, wine etc. is on you, but the club will pick up the rest. Scroll down for the RSVP link. We will have a door prize or two and some raffle prizes. Hope to see you all there.
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January has a few events; the club zoom meeting will feature a talk from Yaesu on the latest wiz-bangs from that manufacturer of fine ham gear, and later in the month is Winter Field Day, at the Lake. I always look forward to this event. The weather is great and there is lots of fun ham radio stuff to see and do.
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The rest of the year we will start in person meeting, about every other month. Everyone has been asking about it. There will be guest speakers and some show and tell and see and do. There is a “build an antenna day” coming up. So stay tuned.
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I am not sure exactly how to write this. I've been the RATS President for the last 13 years and after that amount of time, I have finally stepped down and handing the lead over to a very competent Don Stouder, K1GAY. Never fear, I will be staying on, in the background, as a non-voting member of the board.
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It has been a great 13 years; I've met many wonderful members and made many friends within the club. Also, the club has grown tremendously in the last few years.
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Our current membership is at 212, making it one of the largest ham radio clubs in the nation - at a time when most clubs are shrinking to the point of shuttering the doors. We've expanded from one repeater to 3, on 3 bands and 2 modes. I can't take credit for this; it's really a result of our fine board of directors. They really do the heavy lifting.
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It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve as president of the Desert RATS ARC, and I've enjoyed doing it and knowing all of you. Like I said, fear not, I will still be around. See you on the bands. All the best 73 and Holiday wishes to you all.
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President Desert RATS ARC
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December 2025 Meeting
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Christmas PARTY!
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We will be having our annual HolidayParty at the Old Spaghetti Factory on December 16th.
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Please RSVP Here
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Tuesday, December 16th 2025
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We will have a fixed menu for $20 per person, paid by cash or check at the door (no Credit Cards). Guests will have a choice of:
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Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce (Vegan/Vegetarian).
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We will cover the cost of Salad, bread, desert, and non-alcoholic drinks (coffee and soft drinks). Guests will pay for any other beverage.
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Please RSVP Here
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Membership
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We had five new members in November:
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Please welcome them to the RATS.
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Dues are due on January 2026, and a reminder will be sent out at that time.
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Elections And New Board Member
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At our November Club meeting, we elected the 2026 Board. The following slate of Officers were duly elected:
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Vice President: Rick – N6PSP
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Director at Large: Guy – KS6F
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Director at Large: Mark – KD6SEC
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Director at Large: Shane – KO6JGR
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Membership: Annie - KJ6QWC
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Our newest Board member is Shane, KO6JGR. Shane is a newly minted General licensee (June 2025). Please join us in welcoming him to the Board!
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Following the election, Don made a motion, seconded by Gavin:
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In recognition of his past service and value to the Desert RATS community, move to create the non-voting Board position of President Emeritus, and appoint Glenn, WB6RLC to the position and serve at the pleasure of the Board, or until such time as he chooses to resign.
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The motion passed unanimously.
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RemoteHams Upgrade
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Good news! Mark and the team have upgraded the RemoteHams server system. This will increase reliability and make the system easier to manage.
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Unfortunately, it was not possible to migrate the user database. This means that anyone who wishes to use the system must sign up again. Fortunately, this is an easy, two-step process.
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You will have to try to log in again, and request access as a club member. Then after Mark sees your request and approves you, you will have to log in again and request Tx privileges (same as you had to do originally).
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If you are new to the RATS and wish to operate the club radio remotely (for example, to access the repeater), We have prepared a document that describes how to set up and access the remote station. Members can access the document from our document library here.
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Note: you must be a member and have an online account to access our Document Library page. If you are not a member, you can join up here. If you are a member and do not have an online account, you can get one here.
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Winter Field Day
Winter Field Day will be held on January 25th & 26th 2025. The RATS will again be conducting operations from Lake Cahuilla Regional Veterans Park in La Quinta.
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There are several of us with RVs that will be camping for the weekend. We will have several radios set up, operating multi bands and modes. So come on out for a few hours or the day. We will be at the far end of the RV section.
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Winter Field Day is an exciting annual event for amateur radio enthusiasts, taking place on the last full weekend of January. It offers a unique opportunity for radio operators to set up field operations in remote locations, enabling them to connect with other participants worldwide. You may choose to participate solo or get your your friends, family, or whole club involved. Winter Field Day is organized by the Winter Field Day Association. The association strongly believes that ham radio operators should practice portable emergency communications in winter environments. This is because freezing temperatures, snow, ice, and other hazards pose unique operational concerns.
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The 19th Annual Yuma Hamfest is the site of the ARRL's premier event for the Southwest in 2026, The Southwestern Division Convention. The Yuma Hamfest has two aspects. It is a hamfest for Amateur Radio enthusiasts, complete with commercial exhibits, seminars, license testing and tailgating. For members of the general public, it is a trade show for emergency and disaster preparedness, with informational presentations and displays of emergency supplies and equipment.
There are hourly drawings for door prizes both Friday and Saturday. The numbers will be posted just inside the Legacy Building. You must be onsite to win the door prizes and claim them by 5:00 p.m. Saturday. On Saturday evening, in what has established itself as an annual tradition, the Buzzard Barbecue will be held in the Theater Building. Additional door prizes are given away following the barbecue dinner. At the end of the evening, we hold what has become the highlight of the Yuma Hamfest, the Grand Prize drawings.
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Last, but not least, there is a full seminar program scheduled for both Friday and Saturday. We have a selection of seminars at three different times on Friday and six different times on Saturday, presented in separate buildings on the fairgrounds. Seminar presentations on radio and emergency preparedness topics are planned. A list of seminars and their times can be found on the seminar link for this site.
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More Upcoming events for 2026
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PAPA System Palm Springs Lunch
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June 5th - June 7th, 2026
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ARES News
Don Stouder, ARES Emergency Coordinator
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On Saturday, December 6, a group of communicators from our ARES team participated in the Festival of Lights Parade in downtown Palm Springs. This was our second parade this year, and our mission was to provide extra eyes and ears as well as back-up communications for the production company, Upbeat Parade Productions. Using the Incident Command System, we provided incident command, net control and situational awareness using volunteers at their home QTH, shadowing of key staff, complete coverage of all staging and broadcast areas, and an ARES member at every major intersection along the parade route.
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Don, N1GAY and Julie, KJ6FYY
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Thankfully, there were no significant incidents, and we all got to enjoy a terrific parade. The production company has asked us back for both parades next year, so I guess we made a good first impression. These kinds of events help all of us stay sharp as ARES communicators as well as help us identify shortcomings in our equipment that might need attention. All of which is to stay, they help us maintain readiness for a true emergency. And that, of course, is the whole point.
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Special thanks to Mark KD6SEC and Rick N6PSP for providing excellent net control and situational awareness from their homes. And thanks of course to all of the “boots on the ground” including Glenn WB6RLC, Earl KJ6DQR, Julie KJ6FYY, Steve KM6HWX, Kevin KN6EWP, Allan KB7THX, Richard KJ7OTK, Shane KO6JGR, Guy KS6F, and Patsy KJ6GKS.
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Our next ARES activity (in addition to our regular nets) will be some equipment demos and an on-air drill during Winter Field Day on January 24, 2026. Until then, all my best for a wonderful holiday season. Keep those radios charged and ready, and I will see you on the radio!
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Dr. Don Stouder | ARES Emergency Coordinator
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VP, Desert RATS Amateur Radio Club
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Hamshack Hotline 550-1145
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Zoleo Satellite: donstouder | 1-231-307-1670
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Glenn, WB6RLC monitoring the parade
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Having Trouble With Zoom?
Many of our monthly meetings are conducted through the Zoom platform. Sometimes setting up Zoom can be a pain, but help is available. The Zoom folks have a test meeting feature to check your audio, video, and internet connection before a call
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You can join a test meeting by visiting zoom.us/test on your browser or by using the test meeting option within the Zoom application. The test meeting runs a simulation where you can test your equipment without any other participants.
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A short video on how to test Zoom before a meeting is also available here.
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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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Lots Of Items For Sale
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We have many items for sale – including radios, antennas cables, connectors and accessories. Check with us before you decide to buy commercially – we could save you quite a lot of money.
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Here are a couple of examples:
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- Mike KM6RRS has an Icom IC-7300 for sale
- Bob WA6MBL has an Ameritron AL-811 Amplifier for sale
- Glenn WB6RLA has almost everything a Ham could need for sale. Glenn handles sales of equipment and parts donated to the Club. He is a great resource for all Ham needs.
A partial list of equipment is on our Equipment for sale web page here. If you are looking for anything specific, let us know here. We’ll get back to you with price and availability.
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Note: you must be a member and have an online account to access our For Sale page. If you are not a member, you can join up here. If you are a member and do not have an online account, you can get one 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: Glenn Morrison – WB6RLC
Club Vice-President: Don Stouder, N1GAY
Club Treasurer: Jim Haggerty - KN6QLC
Club Secretary:Gavin Schutz – K6GAV
Membership: Anne Larson - KJ6QWC
Directors
Guy Chabot - KS6F
Mark Johnston - KD6SEC
Rick Lee - N6PSP
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