Presented by George Lillenstein, AB1GL Region 3 DEC Connecticut ARES Presented by George Lillenstein, AB1GL Region 3 DEC

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

ARRL

New England Division Divided into Sections. State of Connecticut is one Section.

Connecticut ARES Regions

ARES Section Org Chart

Contact your local ARES EC

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.

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

The CT ARES DMR Net

CTARES DMR Talkgroups

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 Middletown) 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 pre-positioned 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

What’s our plan for 2017 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 2017 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.ctares-region3.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