Plan Ahead!
Norm (K6YXH) and Naomi (WB6OHW) Goodkin’s next one-day Study & Exam Session for the Amateur Radio Technician (entry-level) class will be on Sunday, January 21, 2018. If you’d like to attend, get in touch with Norm soon, as those who prepare ahead of class do better in class. Learning Morse code is no longer required for any ham license, and you can miss up to 9 questions on the 35-question multiple choice Technician exam and still pass. Exams for General and Amateur Extra are also offered in the afternoon (concurrent with the Tech. exam) for just the cost of the exam session ($5).
The $75 Study & Exam fee includes instruction (no book to buy), lunch, the exam fee, and two follow-up sessions on the next two Sunday mornings. The follow-up sessions are held at the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.The first covers “What radio do I need?” and the second covers “How do I use and program my radio?” Exams for Tech (and all other levels) are also offered in the early morning of the two Sundays immediately following each quarterly Study & Exam session. If you are looking to upgrade your ham license, General and Extra Class exams are also offered at the same time (pay only the $5 exam fee). Many ham radio clubs and organizations offer the license exam throughout the Valley and the Greater Los Angeles area as well.
Once you have your ticket (license) you can get on the air with a radio that costs as little as $40.
For details and more information, contact Norm at hamclass@goodkin.net, via phone at 818-222-7893, or online at hamclass.goodkin.net.
Location for class and exam:
Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center
27040 Malibu Hills Rd.
Agoura, CA 91301
Date/Time:
Sunday, January 21, 2018
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
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More Locations to Get Your Ham “Ticket”
Here are some Valley locations where you can take the Amateur Radio license examination.These are “test only” locations so you need to come prepared to take the exam. Attending ham radio club meetings it a great way to learn more about ham radio in general and emergency communications specifically. For other testing locations, dates, and times, visit the Radio License Exam Session pageat arrl.org. From arrl.org, you can also search for licensing classes.
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Northwest holds their regular monthly meetings the first Saturday of the month at 8:00am with the exam-only session at 11:00am. Exam fee is $15.00. Contact Jim Laage, cllaage@verizon.net, for what you need to bring to the exam session and for further information.
Valley Presbyterian Hospital
Education Center
15107 Vanowen St.
Van Nuys, CA 91405
San Fernando Valley Amateur Radio Club, W6SD, holds their monthly meetings the third Friday of each month at 7:30pm. Please do not park at the police station. Instead, park behind or beside the library, which is next door to the station.
LAPD West Valley Station
Community Room
19020 Vanowen St.
Reseda, CA 91335
Exam sessions are held (new location!) on the first Saturday of even numbered months (February, April, June, August, October, December) in the Van Nuys FlyAway second floor conference room. Contact Jim Sullivan, jim@wb6tnf.com, for what you need to bring to the exam session and for further information.
Van Nuys Flyaway Bus Terminal
7610 Woodley Ave.
Van Nuys, CA 91406
Registrations begins at 8:00am and doors close at 9:00am. Exam fee is $5.00 (exact change, please). This is the same location where Lake Balboa Neighborhood Council holds their Emergency Preparedness meeting on the second Saturday of each month, starting at 9:00am.
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Training Classes at SOS Survival Products
Check out all the great free and fee classes offered in the C. Denise Edwards Training Center at SOS Survival Products, Inc. Many are free to attend. Details here.
Location:
SOS Survival Products, Inc.
15705 Strathern St., Unit 11
Van Nuys, CA 91406
Upcoming Neighborhood Preparedness Events
Let me know when you hear of a community event centered around disaster and/or emergency preparedness open to the public, and I’ll include in these announcements. Please provide the information no later than the second Tuesday of the month, or as soon as you can.
Lost Hiker Training Exercise. Generally conducted the second Saturday of the month in Griffith Park, the exercise is designed to train CERT and other personnel in the techniques of search and rescue in mountainous areas of Los Angeles.
Contact Tom Wirth at paratom@dslextreme.com.
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CERT Community Meetings
CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Community meetings are open to all. You do not have to be a trained CERT responder to attend these meetings. Meetings are held throughout Los Angeles. Information on these meetings and much more is available at cert-la.com.