NEW SSB Traffic Net
Tuesday and Thursday and 1530 hours local. See the traffic net listings for more information
New CW Ops!
Last August, LAX ARES/NTS completed its first Morse code class in a rather long time. The 8-week class was held at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, on Wednesday evenings. The class was organized & led by Kate Hutton K6HTN, LAX Section Traffic Manager, but the actual code instruction was all done by LCWO.net, a well-known web-based Morse trainer.
We had 25 RSVP’s, 20 of whom actually showed up for the first class. Five of these students had passed Element 1 at 5 WPM in the past and were taking the class as a refresher. Summer vacations and lack of practice time or motivation took their toll, but seven of the original members plus one late entry finished the class. Six of those people had “eyeball” CW QSO’s at the classroom tables, during the last class and were declared ready for the practice nets.
One of several slow-speed practice nets available is run by the Pasadena Radio Club W6KA, at 7 pm on Sunday nights, at 28.130 MHz. The students were also encouraged to have face-to-face and on-air QSO’s with each other and to join the Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) to find slow speed contesting opportunities.
It seems that we created quite a “buzz” at the hospital. Besides “serenading” the patrons of the nearby cafeteria, we seemed to have piqued the interest of the security staff who handed out the visitors badges. I’m told that one or more of them plan to sign up next time the class is offered.
VHF Traffic Net
The ARRL Los Angeles Section NTS has a VHF/UHF phone traffic net Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2030 local time on the PAPA repeater system. Volunteers are needed as net control stations. All ARES members -- and especially current ARES net control stations -- are encouraged to participate. For more information, see David N6HD's posting on the Yahoo user group. The net schedule and script for net control stations are available here.
Public Service Honor Roll
Want to see your call in QST? (We mean inside the magazine, not just on the mailing label.) Here's a link to N6HD's PowerPoint presentation on how to rack up public service points and be recognized in QST's monthly Honor Roll.
Be a Volunteer
Find a volunteering opportunity to match your interest.
Want To Become a Ham?
If you're not a licensed amateur but always dreamed of becoming one (or if the idea just occurred to you five minutes ago), getting your license is easy and fun. Well hold training classes for all levels of amateur license. Check our ARES Training and Certification section for dates and times of classes. There are also any number of sources of information on the web to get you started. One of the best is the American Radio Relay League's Get On the Air web page. Check it out.
Donations (Gladly) Accepted
Los Angeles ARES has received IRS approval to accept fully tax-deductible contributions. Your donation will help defray the costs of our ongoing operations. Contributing is easy. Any time you're feeling generous, just click on the button in the sidebar and donate any amount via PayPal. It's a good thing to do.