For those wanting to take the FCC test for a new Amateur Radio license or upgrade to a higher license class, there will be a ARRL Volunteer Examiner administered exam test session held at 5:30 p.m. prior to the club meeting at the same location (see club meeting information link below or at bottom of any page).  If you are planning to upgrade or take a new Ham Radio test, please contact Gary Zabriskie, N7ARE, ARRL VEC-Volunteer Exam Liaison, at n7are@arrl.net,  or by phone (435) 674-2678 leaving an answering machine message with your name an intention to test and for what class of license you are planning on testing for.   Please do NOT use this phone number for general inquirees about Amateur Radio or the Club.  For any of those types of inquirees, please contact the Club President at the contact information at the bottom of this page, or on the "DARC Board" page (see web site navigation links below).

We will open the doors to the Community Building at 5:30 p.m. and will begin to assist you in filling out the required test session registration paperwork.   As soon as we have 3 Volunteer Examiners in attendance, you will be able to begin taking your exam.

ST. GEORGE -- Hal Whiting of St. George was driving in the Arizona desert between the Grand Canyon and the Utah border, looking for an old plane wreckage with his two sons and some friends when they were flagged down by a group of people.   The group said a woman was injured by an ATV rollover and asked for a satellite phone. Whiting didn't have one but, lucky for them, he's an amateur ham radio operator.

Whiting set up his equipment and made an emergency call. "This is K-I-2-U. Break, break, break. I have emergency traffic," he announced into his radio.  Ralph Magee, over 50 miles away, responded to his call.   "He replied back, and I asked him if he had clear contact with, which he said he did. And then I said I need a 911 emergency call made," said Whiting.

He says the Mohave County Sheriff's Office dispatched a helicopter from Phoenix. Whiting stayed in contact with Magee and the sheriff's office the whole time.  "It's about an hour and a half that we were on the radio. It's quite a ways out there."

The woman was transported to a Las Vegas hospital. She's expected to make a full recovery.  Whiting said he doesn't consider himself a hero. "It's what I train for, it's what I practice doing. I've done emergency training with them, participated in various exercises with the public health department," he said.

He said he's grateful he was prepared and glad he could set a good example for his sons.  "Jared's comment was, 'You know, this gave me a really warm feeling.' After this was all over he told me that."

Those who have just recently taken and passed an Amateur Radio examination (see below) administered by the Dixie Amateur Radio Club, Inc. at a ARRL-VEC Volunteer Exam session may check the status of your first license or your upgrade by going to American Radio Relay League (ARRL) web site portal that has up to date information directly from the Federal Communications Commission database.  Everyone else can verify the expiration date of your license using this portal.

Please click on this link:  http://www.arrl.org/fcc/fcclook.php3   to look up whether your new license is effective (and discover your newly assigned call sign) and to confirm your upgraded license status (if you took and passed a test to upgrade).    A great link is the ULS lookup on the FCC web site.  You can print additional "reference copies" of your license and see the status of your license. You can choose to search by name, callsign or your FRN number.  This search page can be found at this link:  http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchLicense.jsp

Congratulations to those who took Amateur Radio examinations for their Amateur Radio operator licenses at the most recent June 17, 2009 ARRL-VEC session conducted by ARRL-VEC Certified Dixie Amateur Radio Club volunteer examiners.  
The following individuals passed their license examination:    
        

Mailing Address:  Dixie Amateur Radio Club, Inc.;  P.O. Box 422;  Santa Clara, Utah 84765
For Additional Information on the Club or on Ham Radio in general, please call:  Club President Ken Forshee, KE7DZI at (435) 673-7645

* Dixie Amateur Radio Club, Inc. is an IRS 501(c)(3) charitable organization.  Charitable donations to our Club are always accepted and much appreciated.