Connecticut ARES
Presented by
George Lillenstein, AB1GL
Region 3 DEC
Who/What is ARES?
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service
• Licensed amateur radio operators who
volunteer for emergency communications
• “Amateur” means unpaid; not unskilled
• To hold an appointed rank must be an ARRL
dues-paying member
• The Field arm of the ARRL, an umbrella
organization representing US hams; 160,000
members; publishers of QST magazine and
many others.
The World – 3 ITU Regions
US Regulatory Jurisdictions
American Radio Relay League
• An umbrella NGO for U.S. amateur radio
operators. Divides country into Divisions
New England Division
• Divided into Sections. State of Connecticut is
one Section.
Connecticut ARES Regions
ARES Section Org Chart
CT ARES Region 3 EC’s
Two ARES missions:
• Support partner agencies
DEMHS, Red Cross, Salvation Army, Public
Health, MARS (not Middlesex, the other one),
NWS, VOAD
• Provide “last mile” message handling to
anyone when public carriers can’t
Who needs ham radio?
Who does ARES serve?
Some agencies who call upon
ARES to supply radio operators
in an emergency:
• CT DESPP/DEMHS
ARES plays a role in the Governor’s EPPI
severe weather drills. SPARC hams at the
Armory coordinate ham efforts with the
ARES DMR net during storms, alerts, drills.
• Hospitals
• The Red Cross
ARES supplied hams for shelters in Region 4
during storm Juno
• The National Weather Service
ARES runs nets on ham
repeaters.
NWS hams collect ground
observations from ham spotters via IRLP
nodes
• The Salvation Army
• MARS (no, not the Middlesex
club)
• Civil Air Patrol
• Charitable organizations
holding large public events –
marathons, bike races, walks,
parades, fairs
What do we do?
• During emergencies where standard comm
methods are jammed or not working, we pass
vital information to served agencies, such as
numbers of beds available, supplies
requested, wires/trees down, etc
• During public service events, we report on
progress and watch for participants or
members of the public needing assistance or
report developing safety issues
How do we do it?
• ARES members use their own equipment
• Some served agencies provide us with prepositioned antennas or rigs
• HT’s, Mobile rigs, base rigs. Go Boxes.
• Antennas – anything that gets the job done.
We buy ‘em, build ‘em, McGuyver ‘em
• Power – all our radios work on 13.8v DC or
less.
ARES / RACES / Huh?
• RACES is a protocol, not a group
Goes into effect when US President invokes emergency under War Powers Act
of 1934. Otherwise can only use ham frequencies for 1 hr per week and two
72-hr drills per year.
• Emcomm teams report to a town official
• If activated by FEMA, units should be led by COMM-L,
consist of COMM-T and RADOS.
• If by DESPP, then Auxcomm operators
• Emcomm teams must be activated by a civil preparedness
officer
• Emcomm teams are sworn as state employees for
insurance purposes
• Mostly function in municipal facilities – EOC’s, shelters
ARES/RACES/Huh? More
• ARES is non-governmental, private, non-profit
• Activated by ARRL appointed leaders, sometimes
at request of “partner agencies”
• Members report to their ARES EC
• ARES members often respond from home or
mobile
• ARES members use their own equipment
• ARES holds its own annual drill – the S.E.T.
(Simulated Emergency Test)
• ARES training requirements are optional
ARES Training suggestions
• ARRL EC-001
• ARRL EC-016
• Skywarn
weatherspotter
• Seminars in digital
communications,
antenna building, etc
held at ARES meetings
or hamfests
The “Core Four” classes
given by FEMA,
required by most
partner agencies,
available free on line:
• FEMA ICS-100
• FEMA ICS-200
• FEMA ICS-700
• FEMA ICS-800
Whats our plan for 2016
• Start a new training cycle for ARES Region 3
from the beginning
• Start with orientation and structure
• Revise/review Emergency Operations Plan
• Revise/review frequency listing
• Train in Message Handling
• Build better antennas
More to do in 2016
• Get more operators able to liaise with NTS via
both voice and digital
• More HF operators capable of NVIS
• Support DMR
• Build “Go boxes”
• Train as Net Control, Shadow, Relay Station
To sign up for membership
www.ctares.org
The Region 3 web site:
www.ctares-region3.org
Where to go from here?
• Visit the ARRL web site at www.arrl.net
• Visit the state ARES web site at www.ctares.org
• Visit the Region 3 web site at www.ctaresregion3.org
• Read QST magazine
• Join a local repeater club – volunteer for Field Day
and public service events
• Get on the air
ARES Region 3 DEC
Contact Info
George Lillenstein
39A Downey Drive
Manchester, CT 06040
860 716-3367 (Cell phone)
email: dec@ctares-region3.org or
AB1GL@arrl.net