Hillsborough County ARES/RACES (HCAR) is the local combination of ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) and RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service). The organization's primarily goal is to handle communication for the Red Cross shelter system during disasters. Throughout the year, they provide communication support for a number of public service events such as parades and bike rides as training exercises. Membership is free and open to all amateur radio operators and joining does not obligate you to leave your home to staff a shelter if you do not wish to. Meetings are held at 7:00 PM on the second Monday of each month at the Hillsborough County Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The EOC is located on the south side of Hanna Avenue, just west of 30th Street, behind an ambulance service building. For more information, check into the weekly net (Wednesdays at 8:30 PM on 146.94-), call Doug Douglass (KD4HVC) at (813) 948-7272, or call the ARES/RACES voicemail/pager at (813) 224-8544.

TBARS is the Tampa Bay Amateur Radio Society (TBARS). TBARS sponsors the 147.105+ repeater. TBARS meets at the Tampa Red Cross at 7:00 PM on the second Tuesday of each month. The Tampa Red Cross is located on the east side of Howard Avenue, just north of Kennedy Boulevard. Note that Howard is a one-way north-bound street.

USF-REC is the University of South Florida Radio and Electronics Club. When classes are in session, the club meets every week at their ham shack. The meetings are on Tuesdays at 5:00 PM except for the last Monday of the month, when the meetings are at 7:00 PM. The schedule is confusing, but it accomodates the working student. The club sponsors the 147.240+ repeater, a ham shack that covers almost every mode on every band, and the annual "Last Minute" USF Hamfest in late July. The ham shack is located in ENG 229H, which is in the Kopp Engineering building (also known as the Old Engineering building). The club maintains a web site at http://www.eng.usf.edu/studorgs/radio/ and can be reached by email at [email protected] or phone at (813) 974-2253 (club phone) or (813) 948-7272 (Doug Douglass, KD4HVC).