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Amateur Radio, sometimes referred to as ham radio, has always had a responsibility to perform communications in the public service. In fact, it’s one of the basic purposes of the Amateur Radio Service defined by the FCC. You’ll find a lot of hams enjoy using their skills and equipment to help their communities. You, too, can be part of this rewarding experience when you participate as a radio operator in public service events like parades and walk-a-thons and/or in emergency service activities such as search and rescue missions, and in disaster relief operations.
About Us
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) is part of the ARRL or Amateur Radio Relay League’s extensive volunteer field organization dedicated to public service. ARES® is comprised of amateur radio operators nationwide who volunteer to provide a resource of trained operators for reliable primary or secondary communications links for governmental agencies and non-profit organizations. Every licensed amateur radio operator, regardless of license class, membership in the ARRL or any other organization, is eligible for membership in ARES®.
Members of Mountain Amateur Radio Club, Harlan County Amateur Radio Club, and Po’ Boy Amateur Radio Club in southeast Kentucky along with the Central Kentucky Amateur Radio Society and Red River Amateur Radio Club in East-Central Kentucky, working with other ham radio operators and groups across the Commonwealth and the nation have a long history of providing emergency service communications. In 1937, Kentucky hams proved radio contact could be established between cities and towns affected by the historic flood that year along the Ohio River and its tributaries. After the end of World War II, formal Amateur Radio Emergency Corps groups across America were formed to provide communications to groups such as local and state civil defense as well as other governmental and humanitarian agencies when all other means of communications failed. Today, this same effort continues in the form of ARES®.
In the counties that make up the District 9 area in Kentucky, there are several ways you can assist your community. Public service (or public event) communications is an excellent way to hone your skills. This service is typically provided by members of the Central Kentucky Amateur Radio Society (CKARS) in Richmond, the Mountain ARC (MARC) in Middlesboro, Harlan County ARC, Red River ARC in Stanton, and/or the Po’ Boy ARC (PBARC). Emergency service communications are provided by members of the ARES®. Although membership in any one of these clubs is not required for participation in ARES®, by joining, it does allow you maximum flexibility to serve your community in both public service and in emergency communications.
How is ARES® organized?
There are four levels of ARES® organization: national, section, district, and local. In Kentucky, we are in the ARES® 9th District, which contains twelve county or local ARES groups in Bell, Clay, Estill, Harlan, Jackson, Knox, Laurel, Lee, Madison, Owsley, Powell, and Whitley counties. Each local ARES® group is led by an Emergency Coordinator with support provided by District and a Commonwealth (Section) Emergency Coordinator and their assistants.
Who does the District 9 ARES® assist?
ARES members primarily assist county emergency management and local government agencies as well as non-profit humanitarian organizations such as the American Red Cross and Salvation Army. With further training beyond ARES®, we also support the local National Weather Service Offices (NWS) in Jackson and Louisville with SKYWARN® storm spotting as well as supplying auxiliary communications support to the US Army’s Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) at the Bluegrass Army Depot in Madison County.
What kind of communications assistance does ARES® provide?
Most of the activities are on VHF and UHF voice. However, all authorized amateur frequencies and modes, HF, packet, slow-scan and others can be used. ARES® in District 9 has access to permanent amateur radio stations at several county Emergency Operation Centers within our district, courtesy of federal funds provided through the CSEPP program. In addition, we receive support from several generous amateur radio repeater owners and trustees in our service area which have currently linked together several VHF/UHF repeaters for use in District 9 and the surrounding area.
What is the difference between ARES® and RACES?
ARES® is the emergency communications and disaster preparedness arm of the ARRL. The Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) is the emergency communications and disaster preparedness arm of the US, Commonwealth, and local governments. RACES is sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, state, and local emergency management and like ARES®, each member is under the jurisdiction of the FCC. Also like ARES®, RACES is made up of amateur volunteers, however, its scope is more narrowly defined because RACES is limited to providing government-to-government communications for state and local emergency management organizations and other governmental emergency preparedness agencies. In District 9, ARES® members are encouraged to register as volunteer disaster service workers with their local EMA and as such would meet any emergency communications need by having dual membership in ARES® and RACES.
So what do ARES® members do?
As the names suggest, ARES® and RACES provide a single “service” – communications. Therefore, ARES® members are trained to be skilled emergency communicators. However, this does not necessarily mean you must go into the field. There are jobs you can do from your home or office, like operating as the net control station, logging information or help make telephone calls.
What equipment do I need?
A 2-meter hand-held transceiver is a good start. However, if you don’t yet have a radio, you can get started on your training and participate in some activities without one.
How much does it cost?
The good news is that it FREE to join your local ARES® team! However, with your membership, you will find a good excuse to buy some extra “goodies” to help meet your new responsibilities.
What about uniforms?
There are yellow/green reflective ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 Class 2 compliant ARES® vests and hats as well as navy blue polo and tee shirts that have been adopted for use by District 9 ARES® groups. However, you are not required to purchase any of these items before you can start training or to participate. The attire though is very helpful when ARES® members are working in the field or inside an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) with other agencies so we can be easily recognized as radio operators.
What training am I given?
The training given to ARES® members is centered on the knowledge and skills needed to be a good emergency communicator and a team player under the incident command system that all public service agencies and volunteer organizations that assist these organizations must adhere to. Your training will consist of a combination of online, classroom, on-the-air, and hands-on experiences. Once you feel comfortable in the role of communicator, you can choose to maintain that level or move on to more specialized training, such as becoming a ham radio operator with our area’s NWS SKYWARN® spotter program. Although most training initially is accomplished online and at no cost to you (see our helpful resource links below), some training is done typically during or after regular club meetings at one the amateur radio clubs in our district. In addition to this, further training and exercises are set up at various times throughout the year. To aid in your development, ARES® members are also encouraged, but not required, to participate in local public service events (e.g., parades, races, etc.) as auxiliary communicators in order to practice their skills in preparation for emergencies.
I’m interested! How can I check this out? How do I sign up?
There are several ways to join or obtain more information about ARES®. One way is to send an email to kentuckyares.district9@gmail.com.
Other options for amateur radio operators living in Central Kentucky is to come to one of the monthly meetings of the Central Kentucky Amateur Radio Society. Their meetings are typically held on the third Thursday each month starting at 7 PM at the Madison County Joint Information Center, 558 S. Keeneland Drive, which is located behind the Madison County Emergency Operations Center (EOC). For more information about this organization, send your email inquiry to info@ckars.org.
For amateurs living in the Red River Valley region of East-Central Kentucky, you may want to check out the Red River Amateur Radio Club. Their meetings take place on the second Thursday beginning at 7 PM inside the Powell County EOC, 33 Commerce Drive in Stanton. For more information, send an email to Ken Howard, KY4KH.
For hams living in Bell County Kentucky, East Tennessee, or Southwest Virginia, you can come to one of the monthly meetings of the Mountain Amateur Radio Club (MARC) typically held on the fourth Friday of each month. Their meetings take place at the Bell County Rescue Squad building, 129 17th Street in Middlesboro. For further information about MARC or to join, contact Rob Brumback – WA4ROB or the club’s trustee, Donald R Burnett – N4ABV.
For amateurs living in Harlan County, the Harlan County Amateur Radio Club meet on the second Sunday each month beginning at 2 PM. Their meetings are held at Harlan Public Library, at the corner of 3rd and Central Streets in downtown Harlan. For more information, you can contact Wayne Hensley – AF4YJ.
For information about the Po’ Boy Amateur Radio Club or to join, contact the club’s trustee, William D Langdon – KJ4JCP.
In addition to these means of obtaining information about ARES®, all amateur radio operators are also invited to check in to our District-wide ARES® net held every Thursday night at 7:15 PM and the London Regional SKYWARN® Net, a part of the East Kentucky Weather Amateur Radio Network, each Sunday at 8 PM. Both nets take place on our primary repeater frequency of 147.180 (+) PL 74.4 located on Raccoon Mountain, near London in Laurel County. Because of the topography of the district, this repeater and other repeaters are all part of our established ARES District 9 Network of Stations. This communications system spread across central and southeast Kentucky allows us to interlinked up several VHF/UHF repeaters on a part-time basis using EchoLink®, All-Star©, IRLP®, D-STAR®, DMR™, and/or System Fusion/WIRES-X™ connections. By using these various methods, we have the ability to maximize our coverage area for emergency communication purposes.
News & Social Media
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Helpful Resources
Contact Us
For more information, send your inquiries with your name, email address, and phone number to kentuckyares.district9@gmail.com and an ARES® coordinator or representative will be in touch with you.
Kentucky Amateur Radio Emergency Service - District 9 