DARC Calendar of Events
September Meeting 2026
August 1, 2026
Location: @ Downey Fire Station #1
12222 Paramount Blvd. Downey, CA. 90241
at the Downey EOC behind the Downey Fire Department Station #1
Note: Entrance to the EOC is off of Orange St.
We recommend parking off Orange Street.
The entrance gate will be open and monitored from 7 - 7:30 pm and after that please text a club officer for access.
September Meeting
Nominations for Board positions ahead of elections in October.
Annual Ice Cream Social outdoors
Amateur Radio Technician Class Licensing course
On line via Zoom
A free, weekly, live, Amateur Radio Technician Class Licensing course on Zoom will begin on Thursday, Sept 3, and will run through Thursday, October 15 (7 sessions). The three-hour sessions will start at 6:30 PM Eastern Time. These are the classes that have been held for years sponsored by the National Electronics Museum. Please publicize this with anyone you know that you think would be interested. Those wishing to sign up should email: roland.anders@comcast.net. Thank you for sharing, Eric Morgan (City of LA EMD)
Rocket Fever 2026 - August 8 at the Colombia Space Center
Rocket Fever Recap
DARC once again set up a booth for the annual Rocket Fever event. Heading up the team was Kent Savage, K6WCI, with Dave Glenn, N6TEB, and John Powell, KF6EOJ. Helping out in the morning was Chuck Bunn, AI6OZ. In the afternoon Dave Brackett, KE6OPK, and Jim Brackett, KE6FVN showed up.
Dave had a setup for Internet Ham comms and John attempted FT8 with his rig.
In keeping with the theme of Rocket Fever most visitors were interested in the space exhibits (especially the children). We were again lucky to be inside where it was cool and were visited by some Star Wars folks in full costume. With the Star Trek folks at another booth, it made for an interesting time.
The Annual Luncheon will once again be held at Frantone's November 7 at 1 pm
The ARRL microwave 10Ghz and Up contest
The biggest ARRL microwave contest of the year is August 14-15 and September 19-20. The best place for west coast operators is the San Juaquin valley. Contacts from across the valley to Long Beach and Mt Potosi in Nevada are challenging but typical.
Dave and Kent, W6TEB and K6WCI, are working on setting up their trucks with microwave dishes and rotors. If anyone would like to try microwave contesting, contact them regarding loaner rigs or joining them.
VE Exam - August 15
VE Exam Information
The Downey Amateur Radio Club
provides VE examinations
for all classes of Amateur Radio licenses.
The next VE exam date is
Saturday, October 17
Contact Bob Reeder, KK6WHE
at (562)-553-2811 or
See FAQ's for detailed information.
Please reach out to Bob to schedule an exam
or if you have further questions.
FCC Amateur Radio Licenses
FCC Amateur Radio License Preparation
Workshops for all classes of Amateur Radio Licenses are provided by the Downey Amateur Radio Club for all classes of Amateur Radio licenses using study materials written by Gordon West. The next class will be a "Technician" Level Class.
Contact Ralph, KI6JAR
or
Reach out to
Dave Glenn, N6TEB
for further information.