The following web-sites are useful for getting started in Ham Radio.
Ham Radio Technician study material. Gordon West, is the defacto easiest study guide: http://www.amazon.com/Technician-Class-Gordon-West/dp/0945053452/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218989758&sr=8-1
A highly recommended web-site to do a real-time self-test before taking the exam is: http://www.qrz.com/xtest2.html (Make sure you only do the Technician portion).
In order to find the next and closest location to take the Ham Radio License: http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/examsearch.phtml?State=CA (You do a "find" by area code).
A good starter radio the Ham Radio Club (OVARC.ORG) is recommending is the Yaesu FT-60R http://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=111&encProdID=6EC43B29CEF0EC2B4E19BB7371688B7F&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0 (There are numerous suggestions of where to find radios, so check with the Ham Radio Club before purchasing.
Good luck.
73's
Welcome to Ojai Valley CERT
IMPORTANT UPDATE.....
THIS WEB-SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED.
PLEASE GO TO HTTP://OJAIVALLEYCERT.ORG
This blog provides information to those interested in CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) activities in The Ojai Valley, CA. CERT works in partnership with OVARC (Ojai Valley Amateur Radio Club) which provides Ham Radio Communications - http://www.ovarc.org/.
http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert is a good place to begin learning about CERT. The fact is, immediately after a major disaster, each of us will be on our own while Emergency Services Personnel (Fire, Hospital, Police, Hospitals, etc) figure out what happened and how to respond. CERT teaches valuable self-preservation skills and empowers each of us to be of service to ourselves, family, neighborhood and community. By integrating CERT with Ham Radio, citizens can effectively communicate actionable information from the field to the Emergency Operations Center -- help will be on the way sooner.
Please check out the CERT Calendar & Map at the bottom of this web-page and sign our Guestbook (top right of page).
