Amateur Radio in Public Safety and Emergency Response

1. Amateur Radio inPublic Safety andEmergency Response ARES and RACES In Southern Illinois

2. What is amateur radio? • Operators are licensed and regulated by the Federal Communications Commission • Local communications occur on VHF (2m) and UHF (70 cm) bands, accessible by hams with Technician Class licenses • Nationwide and transcontinental communications occur on the HF bands, 10m to 160m, and require a General Class or higher license.

3. Amateur Radio Licenses • Technician Class – 35 multiple choice questions • “General Class – 35 question exam in addition to Tech credit • Extra Class – 50 question exam, highly technical radio frequency electronics

4. Achieving an FCC License • Question pools and explanatory material easily obtainable in affordable books • Testing available monthly – Carbondale on Tuesday nights, Marion on Saturday mornings – testing site alternates • $12 exam fee permits testing for any number of “elements” (2-Technician, 3-General, 4-Extra) • $12 additional to retest failed element

5. ARESAmateur Radio Emergency Service • A public service organization Sponsored by ARRL

6. The United States government began licensing Amateur Radio operators in 1912. In May 1914 the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) was founded. Today ARRL, with approximately 163,000 members, is the largest organization of radio amateurs in the United States. The ARRL is a not-for-profit organization that: promotes interest in Amateur Radio communications and experimentation represents US radio amateurs in legislative matters, and maintains fraternalism and a high standard of conduct among Amateur Radio operators. What is ARRL?

7. Municipal, city, and auxiliary police County sheriff departments State police Municipal, township, and county fire and rescue Red Cross, Salvation Army, FEMA Hospitals, shelters, disaster relief workers, disaster victims VHF and UHF local communications via repeater or simplex HF communications to distant locations in the event of widespread disaster Digital mode (packet radio, PSK31, etc.) for information transfer when fax and Internet are down Smooth interface and help for served agencies What ARES Does:provides emergency communicationsto assist public safety and welfare agencies

8. Illinois Section ARES

9. NOAA County Warning Areas • Southern Illinois ARES includes the southeast district in white • Currently have members in Perry, Jackson, Williamson, and Franklin Counties • Seeking more members

11. General qualifications for ARES participation • Valid FCC license in the amateur radio service • Technician, Tech Plus, General, Advanced, Extra are all welcome and needed • Membership in ARRL only required for county Emergency Coordinator and above • Registration of your call sign and “station’s” capabilities with ARRL: base station VHF/UHF/HF, mobile VHF/UHF/HF, handheld equipment, digital modes expertise, etc.

12. Southern Illinois ARES recommended qualifications • Completion of ARECC (Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course) Level I may become a requirement • Willingness to train and drill with the ARES unit absolutely must be demonstrated before ARES leadership will include you in an emergency deployment • Completion of ARECC Levels 2 and 3 will be highly desired

13. What is RACES?Founded in 1952, the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) is a public service provided by a reserve (volunteer) communications group within government agencies in times of extraordinary need. During periods of RACES activation, certified unpaid personnel are called upon to perform many tasks for the government agencies they serve. Although the exact nature of each activation will be different, the common thread is communications.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides planning guidance and technical assistance for establishing a RACES organization at the state and local level.

14. Why both ARES & RACES? • RACES is activated by government emergency management officials. • That accountability can result in closer working relationships between professional first responders and volunteer emcomm teams, inclusion in the process of planning the emergency response.

15. FCC Amateur Extra License

22. FEMA Independent Study

27. ARECC Level I Topics, 1 • Amateurs as professionals, the served agency relationship • Emergency communications organizations and systems • Served agency communication systems • Basic communications skills • Introduction to emergency nets • Basic message handling • Special events as training opportunities • The Incident Command System

28. ARECC Level I Topics, 2 • Preparing for deployment • Equipment choices for emergency communication • Emergency activation • Setup, initial operations, and shutdown • Operations and logistics • Personal safety, survival, and health

29. Amateurs as Professionals:The Served Agency Relationship • The public welfare is the purpose of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service • The public welfare is the priority of public safety agencies whose charge it is to respond professionally and effectively to emergency situations • If “served agencies” have reservations about the professionalism of an ARES unit, that unit will not gain acceptance by the very agencies it wishes to serve and will be either marginalized or ignored altogether

30. ARECC Level II, 1 • Net Control Stations • Working with volunteers • Liaison with public safety officials • More on serving “served” agencies • Official Emergency Station • Net managers • Training others • ARRL Simulated Emergency Test

31. ARECC Level II, 2 • Mutual assistance: ARESMAT • Memoranda of understanding (MOU’s) • FCC Emergency Frequency Declarations • Severe weather – SKYWARN • Hazardous material (hazmat) incidents • Hospital emergency communications