You're probably wondering what does RACES have to do with the KC Club. Well, several of our members are members of Tarrant County RACES so we thought it would be good to have a page dedicated to RACES so that those who do not know about it can learn.

RACES is authorized by the FCC in times of natural or man-made disasters. Perhaps the best-known use of RACES is the SKYWARN nets. These nets are 'brought up' when ever the NWS issues a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning for Tarrant or one of the surrounding counties if it appears the storm will move into Tarrant County. SKYWARN nets are also 'brought up' in coastal areas whenever a hurricane threatens. More information on SKYWARN nets can be found by clicking here.

But RACES is also used in other times of crisis. Missing persons, public safety communication system failures, terrorist actions. Terrorist actions? The Oklahoma City bombing incident is one example. RACES there provided an invaluable service to the citizens of that city since the public safety communications system was overloaded.

There are a couple of guidlines, actually FCC rules, that you must know before you can participate in a RACES net.

You must posses a valid Amateur Radio Operators license of the appropriate class. (Yes there are HF RACES nets.)

You must be a member of a RACES organization. Now, some areas, like Tarrant County will allow those who are members of another RACES organization to check in provided they provide their RACES ID number and the name of the group. Example: A member of Parker County RACES can check in to a Tarrant County RACES net and vice-versa. Other places, Dallas County for instance, do not allow this.

There are other regulations but these two are the main ones. Only if there is an immediate threat to life or property can you check into a RACES net without being a member.

Here in Tarrant County, the main RACES repeater is 146.940 -.6 (that means a negative offset of 600) with a PL Tone of 110.9 The repeater went into full-time PL mode in January of 1999. Also, when the repeater is in RACES mode, the courtesy tone will be the Morse code letter 'R' .-.

Always listen to what net control is saying. Net control is the ham who is in charge of running the net. He is responsible for "maintaining law and order" to ensure that the flow of information is smooth and uninterrupted. In other words, net control is the boss. It's always a good practice to listen for a few moments before you key up anyway. But LISTEN to what net control is asking for, regardless of what type of net it is.

Make your reports as brief as possible. Don't waste time with big words and such. If you can, try to have a Mapsco* handy so that you can give your location if that is needed.

To become a member of Tarrant County RACES you need to submit an application to:

You are required to attend the annual SKYWARN school at least once. It is held in January, usually the last Saturday. You will also be required to attend Incident Command School. This is so you will be familiar with the way the Ft. Worth Fire Dept. operates.

We have members who are assigned to Fire Stations throughout the city. The reason for this is in case the radio system goes down. There will be hams assigned to Alarm (the fire dept. dispatch center). They will contact the hams at the station and the hams at the stations will notify the crew. If you are interested in being assigned to a station, contact Edgar Burns, KC5NQM, 926.2323

We also have members assigned to the various hospitals and nursing homes. If you are interested contact Frank Pickens, W5RCR, 292.1279

Last updated 22 May 99

* Mapsco is a registered trademark of Mapsco, Inc.