DARC 
            
   Information regarding the emergency radio exercise on November 28–29, 2026
District G Emergency Radio Exercise – Nov 28–29, 2026


Planning status as of 28.06.2026

Exercise Duration
Saturday, November 28, 2026:
From the time of the initial alert (no later than 14:00 local time) until 18:00 local time.
Sunday, November 29, 2026:
From 10:00 local time until the "end of exercise" is announced (approx. 14:00–15:00 local time).
Exercise Objectives
The primary focus of the exercise will be the alerting process within the emergency radio networks. Emergency Radio Control Centers:
• Practice alert procedures according to the established concept.
• (DAPNET pagers; see "Emergency Radio Field Day G" preparation materials at www.darc.de/g --> Emergency Radio Department).
• 145.500 MHz as the alerting frequency (monitoring channel).
• Automated alert at 14:00 local time. (In a real-world emergency, this would occur approximately 2 hours after the event—at which point, emergency radio networks should be activated, and local emergency radio nets on the 70 cm band should be linked via WinLink.)
• Improve radio operations.
• Assign tasks to emergency radio participants.
Emergency Radio Participants:
• Participate in the exercise—ideally while operating independently of the mains power grid.
• Enhance personal equipment to ensure operational endurance.
• Maintain contact with the assigned emergency radio control center on the 2-meter band.
• Check in with and check out from the emergency radio control center. (Note: In a real-world emergency, if a participant fails to check out, the control center will initiate follow-up measures after repeated, unsuccessful attempts to establish contact.)
• Emergency radio control centers will prepare tasks for the participants.
• If possible, receive the alert via a pager or a software-based POCSAG decoder (439.9875 MHz).
• Automated alert at 14:00 local time.

Scenario
The scenario assumes a power outage lasting both days, with an unknown cause.
Participants in the emergency radio exercise may decide for themselves the extent to which they wish to engage with the scenario—ranging from operating a handheld radio (or similar device) powered by a battery, to managing daily life at home without electricity for the duration of the exercise. The level of involvement is entirely up to the individual.
Please note that no simulated emergency calls or similar transmissions are to be made during the exercise.
The primary objective is to practice operational procedures.
Spanning two days, the exercise provides an opportunity for everyone to test, refine, and experiment with their equipment. Participants are also welcome to check in from various locations.
As emergency radio control centers may only begin their setup and activation process at 14:00—triggered by an automated alert—there may be instances where a specific control center becomes operational or reachable later than expected. Once ready, these control centers will announce their operational status within their respective radio networks; we ask for your patience in this regard.
During the planning meeting for the emergency radio groups, it was agreed that a district-wide "script" would be developed—the contents of which will remain unknown to the control centers until the exercise is underway. This script will introduce specific tasks or challenges for the control centers to address, which could include, for example, "unexpected operational failures" at a control center.
We shall see what unfolds!
The emergency radio control centers will prepare individual tasks for the participants to ensure the exercise remains engaging and interactive. As a rule, these will be simple tasks that are easy to complete and serve the scenario.

Interface with other emergency radio groups outside of District G
As outlined in the District G emergency radio concept, there are specialized groups that address and cover specific technical areas.
To ensure that District G remains accessible from the outside, we are testing an interface via satellite communication (Satcom) using the QO-100 satellite.


                                                                   

This interface allows emergency radio participants or groups located outside of District G to check in. The emphasis here is on being outside of District G; for participants within the district, established channels on the 2-meter band are available.

                                                               

The emergency radio station DK0LEO is expected to be reachable via an uplink at 2400.400 MHz and a downlink at 10489.900 MHz. The mode of operation is SSB.

Exercises are meant for practicing! If everything runs without any hitches, you haven’t learned anything!