Emergency service is one of the basics of the Amateur Radio Service and there is sometimes some confusion about ARES, the ARRL arm of emergency services and RACES, the government arm of amateur emergency services. In Berks County, ARES and RACES function as a single entity.
ARES is an acronym for Amateur Radio Emergency Services and is a program defined by the ARRL. It consists of Amateur Radio licensees who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization, is eligible to apply for membership in ARES. Training may be required or desired to participate fully in ARES.
There is a scheduled 8 PM net every Monday on the Berks County Department of Emergency Services repeater. We encourage you to join us and participate.
RACES is an acronym for Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service. It is a protocol created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC Part 97, Section 407). It is activated by local, county and state jurisdictions and are the only Amateur Radio operators authorized to transmit during declared emergencies when the President of the United States specifically invokes the War Powers Act.