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Broadcastify - Public Safety Audio
Two-way radio communication may seem like a thing of the
past with smart phones, texting and the availability of more advanced technology. However, with the recent
frequency of natural disasters, storms, devastating fires and other emergency situations, more attention is
being paid to radios as a reliable form of communication and a back-up communication option, including amateur
radio operators. When cell service goes down as it does in large-scale disasters, public safety agencies quickly
turn to amateur radio to establish communications in ravaged areas.
Carson City ARES/AUXCOMM is a team of Amateur Radio Operators, licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC),
who have voluntarily agreed to utilize their skills and sometimes use their own equipment for public service communications
support to both government and non-government entities. FCC regulations prohibit Amateur Radio Operators from receiving
compensation of any kind for providing public service communications. We are always looking for new members! If you would
like to offer your time and expertise for a worthwhile and necessary public service and have fun doing it, we invite you to apply for membership.
The only qualifications are an amateur radio license and a desire to serve. There are no dues.
We meet at 0900 every Wednesday at the Nevada State Emergency Operations Center, located in the Department of Emergency Management at the National Guard facility on Fairview Ave. We operate or check into several nets at that time, including the CAL OES HF Net, a VHF net on the 147.27 repeater, a DMR net in the Nevada Room 3132, a Fusion net, the State 800 MHz trunked radio system (NCORE), the statewide NAWAS System and Winlink Packet via W7DEM on VARA, ARDOP and PACTOR. We also check in to the national FNARS system and the national SHARES system.
Interested in joining us? Please click the application link in the menu. You will be contacted very soon.
This is the NV Operations Center in the DEM building.
Whenever the State of Nevada EOC is "stood up" or activated, the Carson City ARES group also participates in whatever incident or event is underway. This includes events such as the Governor's Inauguration, the recent COVID 19 Pandemic, the Caldor and Dixie Fires, the "Storm Area 51" incident, New Year's Eve monitoring, Nevada Day, and planned exercises.
The photos above were taken in our radio room during a recent Nevada State SET Exercise. We were fully staffed and operational on all modes for this event.
Please be aware that since 2020 the ARRL requires the EC-001, ARRL Introduction to Emergency Communications course
for all new ARES/AUXCOMM members, in addition to the basic FEMA courses: ICS100, ICS200, ICS700 and ICS800. These are all available
online for free and are not difficult. The ICS courses can generally be completed in a couple of hours. (There is no urgency in
completing these requirements.)
The ARRL EC-001 course takes longer but is now offered in a virtual environment. All that is needed is a computer, internet connection and a webcam.
AUXCOMM:
Auxcomm is the de facto certification level required of volunteers by FEMA/CISA and other federal and state emergency
management agencies. AUXCOMM trains amateur radio personnel to have the tools to work in
the ICS/NIMS structure and understand where they fit, and provides credentialing for those volunteers
who have completed that certification. Not all COMLs have the intimate knowledge of ham radio as we do
so AUXCOMM allows the incident manager and/or COML to be confident that certified volunteers are trained and competent
to a recognized level.
FEMA Certification
The FEMA Independent Study Program offers a variety of online courses on emergency planning and operations. Of particular importance to ARES members is the series of four National Incident Management System (NIMS) courses, listed below. Some organizations may require completion of one or more of these courses before allowing an individual to assist in a disaster. In any event, they are valuable and interesting in their own right and every ARES member is encouraged to take them.
FEMA COURSE IS-100.c
Introduction to the Incident Command System
FEMA COURSE IS-200.c
ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
FEMA COURSE IS-700.b
National Incident Management System (NIMS), An Introduction
FEMA COURSE IS-800.d
National Response Framework, An Introduction
These courses are offered by FEMA's Emergency Management Institute Independent Study Program, which also offers a number of other relevant courses. Check out their complete course listing here or try their FAQ page if you have further questions. All of the Independent Study courses are free of charge.
