About

Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) consists of licensed amateur radio operators who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment with their local ARES (e.g., BCARES) leadership for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes.

Amateur radio operators use their training, skills, and equipment to provide communications during emergencies “When All Else Fails®”. Hams (as amateur radio operators are commonly called) serve our communities when storms or other disasters damage critical communication infrastructure, including cell towers, and wired and wireless networks. Amateur radio can function completely independently of the internet and phone systems. An amateur radio station can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. Hams can quickly raise a wire antenna in a tree or on a mast, connect it to a radio and power source, and communicate effectively with others.

Source: http://arrl.org/ares

Boone County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (BCARES)

In Missouri the 114 counties and the City of Saint Louis are grouped into nine ARES districts. Boone County is in District F.

Founded in 2003 the Boone County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (BCARES) provides emergency communications to “Served Agencies” such as the Office of Emergency Management, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the National Weather Service, hospitals, and others as agreed in each of the District F counties served.

Many ARES organizations such as BCARES have also provided communications for public service events such as marathons, parades, bike riding events, and boat races.

The FCC prohibits any Amateur Radio Operator from accepting payment for these services.

The BCARES organization is fortunate to have a strong working relationship with the Boone County Office of Emergency Management and the Boone County Joint Communications Center/ 911 Dispatch located in the Boone County Emergency Communications Center (ECC). The Center has provided an Amateur Radio Station in the Dispatch center, consisting of 5 amateur radios and four computers. We have implemented the following configurations:

  • SHARES/General Purpose Station
    • TS-2000X HF/VHF/UHF/1.2 GHz radio
    • Pactor 4 modem
    • USB-Signalink
    • Desktop computer
  • Winlink HF Gateway Station
    • TS-2000 radio
    • USB-Signalink
    • Desktop computer
  • Winlink RMS Packet Gateway Station
    • V71 VHF/UHF radio
    • 9612 TNC
    • Desktop computer
  • D-Star VHF/UHF Radio Station
    • Icom 880 Radio
  • Analog VHF/UHF & Tracking Station
    • D-710G VHF/UHF radio with desktop computer displaying APRS map

Mission

The mission of the Boone County Amateur Radio Emergency Service organization is to prepare for and provide communications during emergencies and/or community events.

To accomplish this mission we aim to facilitate ongoing training and guidance of its members as we foster teamwork, cooperation, and collaboration with emergency, disaster relief, and other organizations in the Boone County area while maintaining an honorable, wholesome and ethical image of the amateur radio operator by conduction operations in the spirit of the Amateur Radio Relay League Amateur’s Code.