The latest updates for the 13th September “Field Day” exercise materials have been completed.

The Statewide ARES Sunday Evening Net Schedule, for the remainder of the 2025 Hurricane Season has been confirmed.

The net will convene on the following Sunday evenings at 20.00 US ET:
9/14/25, 9/28/25
10/12/25, 10/26/25
11/9/25, 11/23/25

Information regarding the non-hurricane season nets schedule and format  (December 2025 through May 2026) will be available  in October 2025.

If you have questions, send them along to Robert (WR8RW) at robert.webster@ares-sc.org

The upcoming are August and September 2025 ARES / Amateur Radio events as presented on the 3 August SC ARES Statewide Net by John (KE4JRK)

Event                                        Date / Time                      Location                                Contact                         Event Page

Florence ARC                      8/9                             West Florence Fire             Scott (KG4HIE)        Florence ARC
Tailgate                                 8AM – 1 PM              Company Annex                  843-479-4794

28th International         8/16  00.01 UTC     Hunting Island SC                                                         Lighthouse Event
Lighthouse Lightship    8/17 24.00 UTC
Weekend

Iron Mountain                  8/22                               Cripple Creek VA                 Randy (KE4RL)       Iron Mountain
Jubilee Endurance         8/23
Horse Ride

Get Ready                          8/22                                Greenville SC                                                                  Get Ready G’ville
Greenville
Registration
Deadline

ARRL Podcast                 8/26                                  On Line                                    ead@arrl.org                        Podcast Link
(September                      8.00 PM
National
Preparedness
Month)

Get Ready                         9/13                                Greenville SC                                                                     Get Ready G’ville
Greenville                        10 AM

Special Event                9/26 – 10/3                       145.190                                 Vicki Carnes                     Project Helene
N2G Hurricane           5 PM –                              (Mt. Mitchell                               (AD3I)
Helene                              9 PM                                  NC Repeater)                     vfcarnes@gmail.com
.                                                                                          EchoLink Node
.                                                                                               593509
.                                                                                             (N2GE-R)

Have questions?  Contact John (KE4JRK) at KE4JRK@gmail.com.

Recently the SC ARES DEC  (District Emergency Coordinator) Working Group met to discuss the topic of an SC ARES agreed replacement for the Ham Shack Hotline Voice Over IP (VOIP) service that will be decommissioned 31 August 2025.

The team agreed that Hams Over IP (HOIP) will be the SC ARES VOIP preferred replacement for Ham Shack Hotline.

Like Ham Shack Hotline, HOIP is a “no cost to the user” service. Numerous VOIP desk phone sets are supported as well certain soft phones. Your current desk set may very well be supported.

There are a some initial steps required to have a “number” assigned to you, and your HOIP implementation credentials being established.

-First go to:
https://helpdesk.hamsoverip.com/osticket/account.php?do=create
to establish an HOIP account
-Then go to:
https://helpdesk.hamsoverip.com/osticket/open.php
to log in, then open a “new ticket” requesting a “number”
Note: to establish an account, and to be assigned a “number”,  you will be required to submit an electronic image of your current active Amateur Radio license.

Following the approval of your “number” request, HOIP will e-mail you the credentials to “provision” your phone / set.

You are encouraged to migrate to HOIP as soon as you are able.  The 31 August date is not that far off.

The ARES statewide Sunday evening net schedule for the remainder of July and August  2025 has been updated.  The dates for our nets during these two months are:
20 July
3 August
17 August
31 August

On these upcoming nets, in July and August, we will be adding information segments related to:
-The latest hurricane prediction / status with time for Q & A
-SCHEART system status overview and important outages or upcoming changes with time for Q & A
-Any upcoming ARES / Amateur Radio-based events of note

Between these segments will take check ins as we customarily have done.

During July and August a team, consisting of ARES leaders and partners, will undertake a review of the net and suggest updates that would help add more value to the net.  It is anticipated that any changes recommended by this team will be ready by 7 September.

Updates will be available on this website as they occur.

If anyone has questions or suggestions feel free to contact WR8RW on robert.webster@ares-sc.org.

Bob Connell (KI4RAX) has served as the Manager for the ARES VHF/UHF Sunday night net since July of 2023.

Last week, Bob informed us that he will be stepping down from his net manager role at the end of  June.

We thank Bob for the time and effort he has contributed while managing this net during the last two years, and wish him well in the new efforts he will begin.

Due to Bob’s upcoming Net Manager retirement, we are looking for a resource to fill that role.

If you are interested in applying to fill Net Manager role, or want to know more about what the Net Manager is responsible for, feel free to contact me at:  robert.webster@ares-sc.org.

The Amateur Radio Emergency Services team is always looking for new members. People excited about providing communications in an emergency situation.  So how do you join ARES and what is the difference between level 1 and level 2?

ARES level 1 is the entry level, join the team come on in and look around. Talk to others that have been on the team for years and get the feel of what is expected as an ARES volunteer. You do not need to take any FEMA ICS or ARRL course to join ARES.

ARES level 2  So now you know what it is and you want to continue. You want to build your own go box and you want to deploy to a local emergency operations center (EOC). At this level you will increase your skill level by completing several FEMA ICS courses and the ARRL course.

ARES Level 3 You like everything ARES stands for and you want to contribute more.  To be appointed into a leadership position you need to step up to level 3. At this level you will learn about more advanced subjects.   Only the Section Emergency Coordinator can make ARES leadership appointments.

ARES level 1 you are required to do the following:

1) Get a copy of the ARES Task Book.  Click on the menu item above and download the latest copy.

2) Fill out and send in the ARES membership application. Again this is a menu item above.

3) Study for and pass the Technicians license test. Many local clubs have study groups and they provide the testing. If you need a contact then click on CONTACT above and let us know, we will find a local club for you to study and test with. You must have a Technician license, or higher to join ARES.

That is all you need to do to join the ARES team. After you join you might consider advancing your skill level by working on ARES Level 2, which you can read about in the Task Book.

ARES:
FCC Licensed Amateur Radio Operators who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment, with the local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. ARRL/ARES provides basic training curriculum and exercise opportunities. The list of agencies a volunteer might end up serving is long but could include a County EOC/CERT, Hospital radio room, Red Cross ERV/Shelter, Nursing Home radio room, NWS office.  Once you register with an agency your training & credentialing will be completed with them.

Who decides when ARES will be activated?

That would be the agency ARES volunteers are serving.  ARES is a registered trade mark for the ARRL.  The roles in emergency communication is really defined by the agencies, state, county, local government or NGO they serve as volunteer communicator.  Without these served organization ARES has no role to support.

Leadership is provided by the ARES county or state EC
Click on the LEADERSHIP DIRECTORY tab above for contacts.

RACES:
Amateur Radio Operators that  have registered with their EOC for volunteer communications service should the President of the United States order the shutdown of all amateur radio transmissions per FCC rule 97.407 ***
RACES operators are allowed to transmit only by order of the EOC they volunteer for.
Each RACES volunteer must be endorsed by the respective county or state EOC.

Leadership is provided by each EOC / RACES Officer, county or state.

AUXCOMM:  is not an organization, it is a training standard.

An all inclusive term used to describe the many organizations that provide various types of communication support to emergency management, public safety and other government agencies as described in themselves. This includes but is not limited to Amateur Radio, Military Radio, Citizens Band Radio, DMR, DMRS, FRS, SatCom, Skywarn and many others.
Members of Auxcomm all have the title of Auxiliary Communicator.
Auxcomm is a position specific specialist certification.

Leadership is provided by the State EMD
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The above information is specific to South Carolina, a home rule state, some states have organized these three groups differently. An example is some states may not organize RACES with the county EOC.  Check with your local EOC for direction.

Some common terms we use often….

EC = Emergency Coordinator (for a county)

SEC = Section Emergency Coordinator (State EC in South Carolina)

SM = Section Manager (State Manager in South Carolina )

EM = Emergency Manager

REM = Region Emergency Manager

EOC = Emergency Operations Center

DEC = District Emergency Coordinator

EMD = Emergency Management Division

ARES = Amateur Radio Emergency Service

RACES = Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service

NGO= Non-Government Organization

VOAD = Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters

one or coalition of (usually not-for-profit) Second Responder organizations in the United States. These groups voluntarily help survivors after a disaster. One example is the American Red Cross.

*** It has been reported that FCC part 97.407 was removed from law at some point in the past. This was investigated and found to be an opinion. FCC 97.407 is still in effect as of Sept 2021 here is the link if you would like to check for yourself.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-97/subpart-E/section-97.407
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