This evening, for our 3rd Thursday class, we watched a RATPAC presentation on Winter Field Day (view it here). Dan asked me to make a special post about RATPAC and what it's about.
RATPAC was started in April 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a way to allow radio amateurs to access training even when clubs were not meeting in person. A group of dedicated hams got together and recruited others to prepare and present on a variety of amateur radio related topics in several areas including Accessibility, Antennas, ARES, ARRL Issues, Beginners, Boat Anchors, Clubs, Contesting, CW, Digital Modes, DX, Education, EmComm, Field Operations, Fun, History, Innovation, Kits, Licensing, Nets, Networking, Operating, Portable, POTA, Public Relations, Public Service, Repeaters, Software, Space, Technical, Traffic, Winlink, and Youth. RATPAC typically produces two sessions per week which are available on Zoom. Sessions are recorded and saved on Youtube and the slides and chat logs are also available for download.
Dan (N7XDL) and Jan (KD7ZWV) have both given presentations to RATPAC, and Dan even served on their board for a time.
If you're interested in checking out RATPAC, their web site is https://www.ratpac.us/ and you can view a complete list of their training (and upcoming training) in the Google spreadsheet here: RATPAC Schedule.
While some presentations are much better than others, RATPAC is an invaluable resource to amateur radio operators. We urge you to check it out!