7th Ojai Valley CERT class starts Tues 2/24/09

**** Correction **** First class starts Tuesday, February 24th

Considering the state of the economy, I'm extremely pleased to announce that County Supervisor Steve Bennett's Office will be sponsoring the 7th Ojai Valley CERT Class.

Beginning on February 24th for six Tuesdays from 7:00PM to 9:30PM, concluding with a final Saturday Class/Drill. Capt. Steve Lazenby (Santa Paula Fire Department) will be instructing.

Please register for the class by calling Cindy Cantle at (805) 654-2703 or email Cindy.cantle@ventura.org.

Location of CERT Class - Oak View Park and Resource Center, 555 Mahoney Street, Oak View.

Ham Radio Licensing on Sunday a big success

Article is in Ojai Valley News -- Wednesday 1/14/09



The following are the newly minted Hams with callsigns:

KI6VBH Frangos, Zachary A
KI6VBI Grasel, Timothy G
KI6VCI Anderson, Cynthia H
KI6VCM Anderson, William
KI6VCN Bailey, Diana
KI6VCO Bailey, Jacob
KI6VCV Eller, Carrie M
KI6VCY Gordon, Scott
KI6VDA Harvey, Jimmy A
KI6VDC Herrera, Rene A
KI6VDG McLelland, Walter M
KI6VDH Miller, Gregory S
KI6VDI Miller, Kathlyn R
KI6VDJ Miller, Marvin D
KI6VDM Obradovich, Sherry L
KI6VDN Pedersen, Jean A
KI6VDS Rhodes, Michele
KI6VDT Williams, Kenneth E
KI6VDU Ross, Tuck
KI6VED Smith, Raymond J
KI6VEI Weiner, Martin H

Family Disaster Prep Seminar (Camarillo) 1/17/09

For those of you can travel to Camarillo, or have friends/family there, please consider attending:

Family Disaster Preparation Seminar

Learn what plans you should make and what resources you will need to keep your family safe.

Saturday, January 17th, 9:00 am to 1:00pm (w/break)
Cost is just $5.00 per person or married couple, including workbook & snack
Register at the Information Center, at 805-482-5424 ext. 21, or at roybach@jubileechurch.org

http://www.jubileechurch.org/Groups/1000034029/Jubilee_Church/Ministries/Other/Disaster_Preparedness/Disaster_Preparedness.aspx

GMRS Radio Information

In a past article I discussed GMRS Radio -- information provided by Tim Shates (WQDJ631)

http://ojaivalleycert.blogspot.com/2008/06/introduction-to-general-mobile-radio.html

Please check out his web-site at: http://tekk.us

Paul (WQJF339)

Ham Radio Licensing Opportunity ( 1/11/09)

This is a great opportunity for those interested in earning a Ham Radio License (Technician Class).

The program includes:

-Easy study material prior to taking the day-long class

-Attending class from 10AM to 2PM (in Calabasas, CA)

-Taking the exam between 2PM and 3PM

-Discussing what you can do with radios between 3PM and 4PM. Costs are (in advance) $20, which covers Breakfast, Lunch and Snacks and $4 for the exam fee.

Please see above for more details. Sign-up now!!! The pass rate is very high -- if somehow you don't pass, who cares -- you can do it again soon after!!!

Sunvival -- emergency preparedness supplies

Sunvival offers a new perspective on emergency preparedness and living harmoniously with nature. Most survival plans and resources focus on a 3 day duration. However, in disasters like Hurricane Katrina, or a major earthquake, survival skills and equipment for much longer than 3 days will be essential. Our mission at Sunvival is to help everyone be prepared for such events. Tools and skills needed for longer term emergency survival draw upon nature's renewable resources and can be used for fun in camping and everyday life.

Check out their web-site at: http://www.sunvival.com/home/

Upgrading Ham Radio License

There are three classes of Ham Radio License -- Technician, General and Extra.

The last couple years, I've been Technician Class.

Today I sat the written exam and passed the General Class -- wahoo!! This upgraded class gives a Ham Radio Operator additional frequencies (including High Frequency) and opens the door to becoming a Volunteer Examiner on behalf of the FCC.

The road toward upgrading my license included several forms of learning material:

-ARRL's General Class License Manual Book (www.arrl.org)
-www.qrz (Free online web-site where you can drill sample tests)
-www.hamtestonline.com ($49 for 2 years giving you access to all three classes).

The book is good for learning the material and self-testing by reviewing the questions and answers in the back of the book. Also useful if you're not at a computer.

QRZ is great for doing a quick self-test to see if you are retaining the information -- I found after 1 week of reading the manual my scores where exponentially better.

HamTestOnline is a paid service that essentially replaces the paper-based manual. The good thing is you don't have to flip back and forth to the questions --- they appear on the screen. You get immediate feedback if you get something correct or incorrect. If you were incorrect then it will dynamically ask the same question later (just as your brain is about to forget again!!). Only comment is that the book does a better job of explaining the details of the material.

By using all three forms of learning, I did really well on the exam this morning and was extremely relaxed throughout.

Of course, there are also audio programs (CDs typically) if you do a lot of driving and prefer studying that way.

Whatever your learning style is -- just go and do something!!!

73

Paul (KI6USA/AG) -- As a suffix to my callsign (KI6USA) the "/AG" means that I have a temporary license to operate with General Class privileges while the FCC processes the new license.