The 2026 Great ShakeOut takes place this Thursday, October 15, at 10:15 AM local time. All Hams are welcome to participate. We are registered with the Shakeout as Ventura County ACS-ARES. We can provide a certificate to those that participate and request one. Those who check in will have their time automatically entered on the portal. We will combine our efforts with ARES LAX Northeast District, others from Southern California, and around the world.
The M 7.7 Scenario Earthquake – Southern San Andreas Fault Scenario can be found at:
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/scenarios/eventpage/adhocshakeout2_mainshock_se/executive
Amateur radio operators are invited to test emergency messaging pathways, support USGS ground-truth reporting, and evaluate community preparedness.
Below are the ways to participate.
Part A: Winlink Exercise (Global / National Window: Oct 10–19, 2026)
You can (and probably should) complete these digital tasks at your own pace any time between October 10, 00:00 UTC and October 19, 00:00 UTC while avoiding the actual drill period due to increased congestion.
- USGS “Did You Feel It?” (DYFI) Exercise Report:
- Open the template in Winlink Express: Templates > Standard Templates > USGS > USGS DYFI.txt.
- By sending your DYFI report via Winlink you are not only testing our emergency communication readiness, but also contributing directly to a critical USGS data stream that informs science, emergency management, and community resilience.
- CRITICAL: Use the Winlink Express template, not the public USGS webpage. The designated “EXERCISE” toggle only exists inside the Winlink form—entering drill data on the public web form pollutes active scientific feeds.
- Tactical CC Address: In the form’s CC field, enter:
SHAKEOUT;ETO-DRILL;WLNET-OE;dyfi@vccomm.org
- It is important to include these Ccs. It is the only way we know that you participated.
Mapping & Live Results:
- Track incoming exercise traffic mapped live on the Amateur Radio Community Intensity Map (ARCIM) and view ETO scoreboards via the LAX Northeast ShakeOut Resource Page.
Part B: Ventura County Tactical Voice Net
(For stations operating within the Ventura County repeater footprint)
- When: Thursday, October 15, 2026, starting at 10:15 AM PDT (informal roll-in at 10:00 AM).
- System: Ventura County Repeater (channel 9) 145.200 minus offset PL 127.3
- See the complete Ventura County frequency list here.
- Format: To save time, we will only take callsigns and not reports.
- We will take check-ins by area.
OPTIONAL Southern California Tactical Voice Net
(For stations operating within the Southern California DARN repeater footprint)
- When: Thursday, October 15, 2026, starting at 10:15 AM PDT (informal roll-in at 10:00 AM).
- System: Conducted across the DARN repeater system (repeater directory).
- Format: Check-ins taken by county moving South to North (San Diego, Orange County, Riverside, LA County, Ventura, San Bernardino, and others) to practice passing immediate verbal intensity and situation reports following “Drop, Cover, and Hold On.”
Visit the LAX Northeast webpage for a complete overview.
https://www.laxnortheast.org/exercises/shakeout
If anyone needs a refresher on the mechanics and background presented during the national briefing, you can review the 2026 Amateur Radio ShakeOut – Preparedness for Everyone! Recording from Oliver Dully-K6OLI
This video walks through the Winlink DYFI reporting workflow and exercise objectives discussed during the RATPAC session.