Radio Amateur Civil Service, a.k.a. "R.A.C.E.S."

A few weeks ago I posted about A.R.E.S., the "Amateur Radio Emergency Service", and some of the services they provided in Oregon last winter when a large storm caused flooding and broke conventional communication links. Now I want to follow it up a post about another Emergency Radio Group, "R.A.C.E.S." whose membership often overlaps with A.R.E.S.

So what is the difference, you might ask? A.R.E.S. generally provides assistance to emergency aid volunteer groups like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, volunteer ambulance and fire departments, and also the National Weather Service. R.A.C.E.S. was created to assist state and local government agencies, and more. It was actually created after WWII as a response to the need for wartime powers.

Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service has an interesting history. During WWI, the US government ordered all HAM radio operators off the air for the duration of the war. By the time WWII occurred, the government, well this Wikipedia page explains it well:

The Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) is a standby radio service provided for in Part 97.407 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and regulations governing amateur radio in the United States.[1]

The concept of a standby "Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service" to replace the conventional "Amateur Radio Service" during wartime was developed in 1952 as result of input from the American Radio Relay League and the Department of the Army's Office of Civil Defense. During World War II, the Amateur Radio Service had been silenced and a new War Emergency Radio Service (WERS) had to be created from scratch. The resulting standby RACES service was designed to provide a smoother transition in the event the President ever needed to silence the regular Amateur Radio Service again when invoking the War Powers Act.

[...] When so activated, the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service will consist of those amateur radio operators who have previously registered with State and local governments to provide emergency radio communications for them in times of emergency. Other amateur radio operations would be suspended and RACES operations might be restricted to certain frequencies within the amateur radio bands.

In addition to wartime communications, Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service operations can provide or supplement communications during emergencies where normal communication systems have sustained damage. It may be used in a wide variety of situations, including natural disasters, technological disasters, nuclear accidents, nuclear attack, terrorist incidents, and bomb threats. [...]

So R.A.C.E.S has a civil defense element as well. Follow the link for more info and embedded links in the text.

Our local A.R.E.S. net calls itself the "ARES/RACES Net", which is a pretty common practice in many areas. Over time I may be looking into the possibility of joining one or both organizations. But first things first; I still have to take the exam for the Amateur Radio Technician's license.

You can visit the R.A.C.E.S. official website here: www.usraces.org

The ARRL has a FAQ page for A.R.E.S. and R.A.C.E.S. here: ARES® vs RACES FAQ: Two Flavors of Amateur Radio Emergency Operation


Related Links:

EMERGENCY/ARES/RACES/MARS/CAP/CB

"You can have this capability for yourself and your family"

The American Radio Relay League, my missed opportunity, and my fun new hobby
     

Oregon Emergency Amateur Radio in Action

When I bought my police scanner a while back, I made sure it had the capability to scan Ham Frequencies too, so I could find out what kind of Ham radio community we have here on the south coast.

At first, it seemed like there was nothing going on; my random attempts to scan ham frequencies didn't turn up much. But then I read that ham communities often hang out at certain frequencies, usually around a designated "net" that meets up on specific dates.

I discovered on-line that there is an ARES net (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) that meets up on Tuesday evenings. They do a role call check in, make Ham Club announcements, invite visitors to introduce themselves, then turn the frequency over for general amateur use. Chit chat often follows, and I've found that if I scan frequencies in that band range, there is often conversations going on. It's a pretty active community locally, and they talk to people all over the state and in surrounding states like Washington, Nevada, and California too.

I found out about our local ARES net here:

Oregon ARES District 5

Dedicated to providing volunteer emergency communications to public and private community service agencies within and around Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, and Josephine Counties, Oregon.

When all Normal Means of Communications Fail!

There are LOTS of links and resources to explore on the site. It was there that I found my local ARES net, and began to learn about ARES and what they do. And I found out how, on a local level, just how important they can be.

In early December of last year, a severe winter storm hit Northern Oregon, bringing high winds and flooding which knocked out conventional communications in several parts of the state. Amateur Radio operators, as part of ARES, provided valuable assistance in keeping communication lines open:


Amateur Radio to the Rescue in Oregon

[...] “I’m going to tell you who the heroes were from the very beginning of this…the ham radio operators. These people just came in and actually provided a tremendous communication link to us,” said Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski after a visit Tuesday to Vernonia and a fly-over there and other affected areas.

In Oregon’s northern coast, callers were again able to make and receive long-distance phone calls after floods and mudslides breached a major fiber-optic line in several places around Westport.

A network of at least 60 volunteer amateur radio operators working along the coast and inland helped from keep crucial systems such as 911 calls, American Red Cross and hospital services connected. The ARRL provided emergency communications, relaying information about patient care and lists of supplies needed in areas cut off by water.

“You are amateur in name only,” said Steve Sanders, a spokesman for District One of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), which helped in several key counties hit by the storm.

The storm has now largly passed, but ARES is still providing communications to the coast, with more than 60 volunteers working at the coast and many more at points in between.

The District One Emergency Radio Network was activated at 8 AM Monday morning and is still in operation today; District One ARES serves Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Multnomah, Tillamook and Washington counties - the northwest corner of the state.

According to ARRL Oregon Section Public Information Coordinator Steve Sanders, KE7JSS, “We are working closely with the American Red Cross as well as the major hospitals, Heartnet radio network and district-wide emergency managers, including Oregon Emergency Management in Salem.” [...]

Read the whole thing, it's quite impressive what they were able to do. ARES sounds like sounds like something useful I would like learn more about, and perhaps even join in and help. It's yet another thing to motivate me to get my Amateur license in the coming year.

You can find out more general information about ARES, what it is and what it does, from this description on the ARRL (American Radio Relay League) website:

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)


Related Links:

http://www.ares.org/
This site has more info about ARES and other Emergency Amateur Radio groups as well.

Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service
Another emergency service group, whose memebers often overlap with ARES. But RACES has a different history and a more specific purpose. Follow the link to find out more.

MILITARY AFFILIATE RADIO SYSTEM (M.A.R.S.)
Anyone interested in providing Amateur assistance to the US military should visit this site. I'll be looking into it.