KC9LFD.org

Someone at work asked me why I had a handheld radio with me. I told them that I was in an Amateur Radio Emergency Services. His next question was obvious, “So what is that?” So I decided to do a little research to gather an official/proper definition. Wikipedia does a pretty good job:

“ARES groups are volunteer amateur radio operators who come together for the common purpose of providing emergency and/or auxiliary communications service to public safety and public service organizations. Most individual ARES units are autonomous and operate locally. Although the Amateur Radio Emergency Service is a program (and trademark) of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the structure is more supportive than directive in nature, providing mostly for mutual aid in the event of large-scale emergencies.”

That does a very good explaination of what ARES is. People associate groups such as Skywarn (storm spotting) with ARES or just ham radio in general. But keep in mind, that is not ARES.

Until next time!
73’s