Prepared by American Radio Relay League Emergency Coordinator -Eugene Kramer-WA9TZL in cooperation with St. Clair County RACES  Coordinator Ed Matysik - ARS- W9RQR.

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 Looking for St. Clair County AL - Click Here!

Click HERE for the Beaufort Wind Scale (for general use by ARES/RACES / Skywarn members).

Click HERE for a current list of ARES/RACES Members. (Updated 06/2008)

Click HERE for Amateur Radio Operators manual for St. Clair County. (Updated 7/11/07)

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Ed Matysik - W9RQR
Voice of WC9AAE RACES Station

Gene Kramer - WA9TZL
St. Clair County ARES Coordinator

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The close working relationship between the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency and the St. Clair County Amateur Radio Emergency Service has made it possible to discuss any Emergency that occurs within the boundaries of St. Clair County, requiring support amateur radio communications, to involve the RACES NET CONTROL Station. The license assignment for the RACES officer in St. Clair County is to Mr. Ed Matysik (personal ARS call sign of W9RQR). The St. Clair County RACES amateur radio call sign is WC9AAE and as issued by the Federal Communications Commission is used at all times that "Life and/or property is threaten within the jurisdiction for which the RACES station was established...". This is one of the reasons that Amateur Radio Emergency Services of the ARRL encourages working relationships with County and local ESDA/EMA operations.

The contact point, request point, for Amateur Radio support communications to the RACES officer and the ARES EC is made via the St. Clair County Emergency Services & Disaster Agency (ESDA) or Emergency Management Agency of the Region (EMA Region 8). The "support communications" agreements with the Hospitals within St. Clair County specify requests for Amateur Radio Emergency Communications through the St. Clair County ESDA center, referred to as "CENT-COM".

RACES Qualifications: Mr. Ed Matysik, W9RQR was formerly the ST. Clair County Civil Defense Communications Officer for the St. Clair County Civil Defense as well as the Temporary Coordinator of the St. Clair County Emergency Services & Disaster Agency (names changed in 1975). Mr. Matysik was also the Coordinator of the city of Belleville in the ESDA. Mr. Matysik holds a General Class Amateur Radio License.

ARES Qualifications: Gene Kramer, WA9TZL has an Associate In Applied Science Degree in the area of Electronic Technology , has been the Coordinator of the ESDA for the City of Freeburg since 1973. Gene is a full time employee of the Illinois State Police in District #11, the Headquarters located in Collinsville, Illinois. Mr. Kramer's role with ISP is the Communications Technician-In-Charge (T.I.C.), and holds a General Class Amateur Radio license and FCC General Radiotelephone License.

REGISTRATION WITH ST. CLAIR COUNT RACES & ARES

The training for an Amateur Radio Emergency Services member and a Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (ARES/RACES) member is essentially the same. The application for membership into both operations begins with the ARRL ARES registration form. This form contains the vital information required by the ARES EC and the RACES Coordinator as it asks the applicant for information concerning radio equipment owned and emergency power capabilities. The other important information on this form concerns your telephone contact numbers as well as your address. This registration form MUST be completed and ON File with the ARES EC and RACES Coordinator in order to receive the ARES membership card. The ARES membership card AND your FCC Amateur Radio License will identify you in times of an emergency to enter areas restricted to only this type of Support Communicators operator.

The American Radio Relay League has a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) form which identifies support communications cooperation and identifies with the ARES card for immediate identification in times of emergency response by amateur radio operators. The St. Clair County ARES has an ARRL MOA on file to assist the Illinois State Police - District #11 - Collinsville during area wide emergencies, such as an Earthquake, with support communications.

COMMUNICATIONS NET:

The recognized Communications Net for ARES/RACES operations within ST. Clair County Illinois is the RACES NET that operates EVERY TUESDAY EVENING AT 1900 HOURS LOCAL TIME on the St. Clair County Amateur Radio Club VHF repeater frequency of 147.720/147.120 Mhz. This is a "roll call style" net to provide information and coordination to amateur radio ARES/RACES members. The Net Control Station -RACES callsign is --WC9AAE--. All operators will be under the direction of the net control station. If the net control station suddenly disappears from the system, a designee shall assume net control until the main control station returns. The Net Control Station Coordinates ALL radio traffic into and out of the affected area of the emergency and may make allocations for "alternate" operators to move to simplex frequencies for "staging operations". If the St. Clair Amateur Radio Club repeater is struck by lightning or has other difficulties preventing it's use, the Net Control Station will move to SIMPLEX first to announce an alternate stay on the 147.120 mhz frequency to monitor for calls and Net Control will move to the other VHF Amateur Repeater system in St. Clair County on 145.110 Mhz.

Net Control for the St. Clair County ARES/RACES will have direct contact with the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency via itself or designated alternate amateur radio operators. The alternate ARES frequency within ST. Clair County is the 444.625 Mhz Repeater (St. Clair Amateur Radio UHF Repeater). The main Repeater (K9GXU) site is six miles SE of Belleville off of Rt. 15./13.

OPERATING PROCEDURES:

In an emergency communications situation, it is VERY important to do the following:
1. Listen first: do not immediately "jump" into the NET unless you have emergency traffic.
2. When called be sure to state your call sign with Phonetics, i.e., "W"-william , "A"-alpha, "9", "T"-tango , "Z"- zulu, "L"-lima. This aids in immediate identification and reduces air repeat time.
3. NEVER leave your home or work unless NET Control has an urgent need to request you to do so, do not do anything "ON YOUR OWN"! This is especially true if ESDA has not requested support communications to the area. RACES means that the County ESDA will be involved in potential Workman compensation coverage IF you are providing the "Support Communications" in the field for ESDA. If the request is for amateurs from St. Clair County ARES to assist, for example, the Illinois State Police, you still operate under a Net Control, but you WILL NOT BE COVERED under any insurance but the insurance you carry on yourself. Again, DO NOT ENDANGER YOURSELF OR OTHERS BY RESPONDING TO AN EMERGENCY ON YOUR OWN !
4. BE prepared - have a fresh battery pack ready at all times for your portable transceiver. If at all possible try to carry an "Alkaline case" or "dry pack" as the battery cases are called that use standard alkaline batteries. You may be in an area that you can not readily obtain AC power to recharge a depleting NICAD battery pack.. Carry an extra antenna adapter, especially the SO239 to BNC adapters. These are relatively inexpensive BUT come in handy when you are asked to connect to an external antenna that may exist at a Hospital, ESDA office, etc. When a fixed base or mobile transceiver fails, the extra DB of power for both receive and transmit from your portable could be a life saver on an external antenna - be prepared to CONNECT!
5. Paper /Pad/Pencil-Pen/Map: even with the advent of electronic planners, there is no substitute for the paper and pad mode of operation. Instructions from NET CONTROL and/or requests for relay from other stations or the Served Agency (Police, Fire, ESDA, Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc.) can become pure trauma if you're trying to "remember" what was needed/requested. Amateur Radio has been a very professional means of getting the message through for years and this is true because of ACCURACY of information. The need to carry a map, especially of St. Clair County, should be a real consideration if you are not familar with the area AND if an ARES / RACES from a surrounding County makes a request for assistance.
6. Support Supplies: in the event you may be "stationed" at a shelter, roadblock, hospital, etc., for an extended period of time, you may consider carrying a "support" back pack or other type of portable carrier that will allow you to carry bottle water, non-perishable foodstuffs (snacks), flashlight & extra batteries as well as a portable AM/FM radio (small) to add to the Emergency Broadcast/Emergency Alert System Information from radio station KMOX on 1120 kHz AM in this area.
7. CONDUCT: remember YOU are representing several areas. First, you are representing the Amateur Radio community. Secondly, you are representing the ARES/RACES organization. Thirdly, you are representing YOURSELF AS AN INDIVIDUAL. Professionalism both ON the air and in person reflects on ALL THREE AREAS. Remember the News Media is everywhere in an Emergency scenario, don't make comments or act in a manner that would adversely affect us all. NEVER ASSUME! Also ask NET CONTROL when in doubt. A large SCANNER audience is out there, especially during times of an emergency - THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK- think how it will sound to others. This is NOT the time for idle chit-chat jargon, or "funnies" on the air. Remember who you represent-at least three areas!

HOW ARE YOU NOTIFIED:

The method of contacting members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service/Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service depends on the type of emergency situation and the urgency for support communications. In an AREA Wide emergency, the request for RACES/ARES will be made by the St. Clair County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency and/or Emergency Management Agency Region 8 via telephone to the RACES Coordinator. If telephone lines are severed or not available the request will be made from St. Clair County ESDA/EMA 's Radio Dispatch Center (CENT-COM) via radio pager notification to the ARES EC for St. Clair Co. If the request for Emergency Support ARES/RACES communications is immediate, a telephone tree call out from the ARES/RACES members registration will begin. Again, if telephone communications is down, the NET Control STATION -WC9AAE will activate and make repeated announcements on the St. Clair County Amateur Radio Club Repeater of 147.120 Mhz or the 145.110 Mhz repeater for amateur operators.

GUIDELINES FOR RESPONSE:

Earthquake - if you feel the earth move to the point where doors and windows rattle, items fall from shelves, ext., immediately turn your VHF rig ON to the NET frequency.

1. If the sky has turn extremely dark (this is not a SKYWARN lesson) and winds are pushing you and or other objects about and/or hail is falling -immediately turn your VHF rig ON to the NET frequency.
2. If you hear directly and/or hear from NEWS media broadcast about explosions and/or large scale - area wide fires, turn your VHF rig ON to the NET frequency.
3. When making an inquiry on the NET frequency, use PLAIN TEXT English, do not use CW phrases such as QRV, QTH, QRU, as some operators not associated with CW will become confused and cause unnecessary air time delays by repeats. These terms should be used if using HF (explained later in this manual) for both SSB and/or CW operations.

NET CONTROL WILL ISSUE "TACTICAL" ID'S:

The NET CONTROL operator will issue the "tactical call sign" when operators are asked to report to areas other than their fixed home locations. An operator sent to Memorial Hospital for support communications would still identify with their FCC assigned call every 10 minutes, BUT NET CONTROL would call that operator (site) by its "Tactical Identification (ID),i.e., Memorial Hospital. This saves time and reduces confusion, especially if an operator reliefs another operator at the same site.

HF RADIO OPERATIONS:

The American Radio Relay League recognizes the importance of World Wide Communications capabilities during emergency situations. All ARRL appointed Emergency Coordinators with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service are responsible for reporting into the Illinois ARES NET on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month at 1630 hours local time on 3.950 Mhz Lower Sideband during the fall and winter seasons and optional 7.230 Mhz during the Spring and Summer months. The ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator conducts this roll call net with all 102 Illinois Counties with ARRL EC's and their designees.

ARES / RACES members licensed to work HF frequencies may be asked to report to one of the following frequencies for "Outside Assistance" requests and/or relay of data to the ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator:

*Operates as part of the National Traffic System

PACKET COMMUNICATIONS:

NET CONTROL may ask for Digital Communications between sites, especially if Red Cross or Salvation Army "sheltering" operations are extensive. The important area here is for "Portable Packet" stations if at all possible. With the exception of some Government offices and emergency facilities, emergency power may be limited and a full-blown PC may not be practical. If you have PACKET capabilities OR other digital modes from Home with no problems with AC power, you may be asked by NET Control to establish a simplex link and provide information to NET Control if you can not relocate to NET Control's position with your station. The PACKET frequencies most likely to be used include: 145.090 Mhz, 144.930 Mhz, 145.070 Mhz, and 145.010 Mhz as well as 145.030 Mhz.

ALERTING DEVICES:

There are several radio receivers available on the market that will enhance the "ALERTING/WARNING" capabilities to alert you to immediately reach for your VHF Amateur transceiver and tune to the Net Control Frequency (147.120 Mhz). The One Single Receiver that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission is embracing is that of the NOAA Weather Alert Receivers. The NOAA , National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration has established a system throughout the United States to alert populous of life threatening severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, flash floods, and Winter storm related threats to life and property. The network of NOAA operations and the low cost of the receivers has rapidly moved the old Emergency Broadcast System of alerting people of area wide emergencies into the National Alert System which involves the NOAA Weather Radio Network already in place.

The NOAA weather radio receivers are soon to become the MAIN FOCUS FOR ALL HAZARDS ALERTING including forewarning of the following conditions:

1. Severe Thunderstorm Watches and Warnings for the area
2. Tornado Watches and Warnings for the area.
3. Winter Storm Watches and Warnings, including Heavy Snow, Ice storms, etc.
4. Earthquake magnitude data follwing an earth movement (or event as it is known).
5. Any threats from outside the United States (Nuclear/Meteor impacts/ etc.)
The receivers used to receive this information is presently known as the NOAA Weather-radio and there are several makes and models of this unit and they are not expensive. Tandy Corporation makes several models (Radio Shack) but it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT YOU OBTAIN THE RECEIVER THAT HAS THE ALERT FEATURE, NOT ONE THAT MERELY RECEIVES THE NOAA BROADCASTS. There is even a NEW NOAA receiver that has just been introduced to the consumer market and sold by Radio Shack called S A M E NOAA WEATHER RADIO RECEIVER. This unit is more expensive (around $80.00 compared to around $25-$40.00 for the standard Weather Alert Receiver) But the S A M E receiver will active its ALERT TONE ONLY FOR THE AREA YOU PREPROGRAM,I.E., St. Clair County. S A M E stands for Specific Area Message Encoding.. Our area of NOAA Tone Alerting coverage is on the frequency of 162.550 Mhz. This receiver is highly recommended to all ARES/RACES members as a "paging" -"pre-alerting" device!

FREQUENCY MONITORING -EMERGENCIES:

Once you have been alerted to the hazardous situation/emergency whether by experiencing it or by the use of the NOAA Weather Radio System, switching to the St. Clair County ARES/RACES frequency of 147.120 Mhz and/or 444.625 Mhz for further information from NET CONTROL is vital. There are other frequencies that are designated to the rebroadcast or initial broadcasts of emergency information during Hazardous /life/property threat conditions and they include the following:

This information for monitoring purposes ONLY and can provide you with possible "first" indication of an emergency situation that you might be requested to provide support communications. Remember to attempt radio contact with the RACES/ARES NET CONTROL station for clarification of any traffic you copy from the listed frequencies.

Do not act on the information you monitor on these frequencies, always check with NET CONTROL.

147.120 Mhz-Primary 145.110 Mhz-secondary

Seven State Earthquake Affected Area
Midwest: New Madrid Fault Threat

Amateur Radio Communications Links Via ARES
American Radio Relay League 1990 Net Listings

Il County Map	Mo County Map

• Section 1: Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)
• Section II: National Traffic System (NTS)

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