Hams have been providing services to the public since 1913.
Emergency communications is a founding principle of the Amateur Radio
Emergency Service. The Amateur Radio Emergency Service consists of FCC
licensed amateur radio operators who have voluntarily registered their
qualifications and equipment for
emergency communications duty in public service when disaster strikes.
ARES is organized on local, section, and national levels. The program of
public service is organized by the
American Radio Relay League to
provide a reserve of emergency communicators. RACES is administered by
local, county and state emergency management agencies. It is supported by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA). RACES provides radio communications during times of civil
emergencies. RACES is activated only by emergency management officials.
ARES/RACES Support Role
The primary role for both services is to support the emergency management
community (responders, relief, and recovery agencies) with communications
during times of emergency and disaster when normal communications are
unavailable or overwhelmed with use. Amateur radio works when other methods
fail as it does not rely on wires and communication facilities of common
carriers. Amateurs have a wide range of frequencies and modes available to
deliver routine, welfare, emergency and tactical messages. Amateur operators
are licensed and authorized to communicate internationally into and out
of places where disaster has struck. The radio services provide Herkimer
County with a reserve of operators and technicians that are trained and
equipped in the art of radio communications. For more detailed information
about ARES and RACES see the
ARRL Public Service
Communications Manual.
VHF Repeaters
Herkimer County ARES/RACES owns and maintains three Very High Frequency
(VHF) repeaters. The N2ZWO/1 repeater is tuned to 145.110 MHz using a minus
offset and a PL Tone of 167.9. This repeater is interfaced with a weather
receiver that automatically broadcasts severe weather alerts for the local
area when the alerts are issued by the National Weather Service Albany.
Also, a telephone autopatch system is available on this repeater for
authorized users. The repeater is located in southern Herkimer County. The second, N2ZWO/2 VHF repeater is tuned to 147.045. It uses a
plus offset and a PL Tone of 167.9. It is located north of the Mohawk Valley. The third repeater, N2ZWO/3 is located at the 911
center in Herkimer. Each of the repeaters is provided with an emergency
power source for use when commercial power fails. The repeaters have
received frequency coordination through
UNYREPCO.
Herkimer County
ARES/RACES owns and maintains an Automatic Position Reporting System
(APRS) wide area node N2ZWO-10. The APRS system includes the use of the
Global Position System (GPS) satellites and a nationwide network of amateur
VHF and HF radios, computers, and maps used to digitally transmit messages,
weather events and real time positions. Also transmitted are the real time
positions of people, vehicles, aircraft and satellites. Members of Herkimer
County ARES/RACES
own personal APRS equipment and actively participate in the network
activities. An active APRS station is even included along with other amateur
radio equipment aboard the International Space Station.
ARES/RACES Station at the Herkimer County
Communications Center
Installed at the Herkimer County Communications Center in the Office of
Emergency Services is an all mode ARES/RACES communications station. This
station includes VHF, UHF, and HF voice radios. A
computer and VHF radio provide APRS and Packet radio communications.
Included in the equipment are a Kenwood D700A, a Yaesu 920, and an Alinco
DR140. Digital communications are also possible on VHF and HF frequencies
using "Fldigi" software. Using Fldigi enables real time messaging using
message formats from the Incident Command System and Red Cross.
Training
Members of Herkimer County ARES/RACES actively train throughout the year.
Training nets are held every Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. on the 145.110 MHz
repeater. (Alternate frequencies are 147.090/ 147.045/ and 146.580
simplex.) The New York State RACES training net is held each Sunday morning
at 9:00 a.m. on 3.993.5 mhz. The annual ARRL "Field Day" is held on the
fourth weekend of June. During that weekend extensive training in setting up
remote temporary communications stations is provided through a nationwide
competition of ARES organizations. Each fall the annual Simulated Emergency
Test
(SET) is run to test the response readiness of ARES groups throughout
the U.S. ARES/RACES members provide communications for various parades, bike
and foot races, and at Halloween for the NY State Police "Pumpkin Patrol".
During the patrol NY State Thruway Bridges are watched for any signs of
mischief that might endanger travelers on the interstate highway. Each event
provides further skill training for ARES/RACES personnel.
SKYWARN
"SKYWARN"
is a network of community weather spotters serving the National
Weather Service. An important part of weather forecasting is the inclusion
and use of data supplied by trained weather observers. Herkimer County
ARES/RACES participates in the National Weather Service Skywarn program
through the direction of the
Albany Office of the NWS. Skywarn spotter training is provided annually
by instructors from the Albany Office of the NWS. An amateur radio station
is installed at the Albany forecast office. During severe weather events
local Skywarn spotters are activated. Information concerning
rainfall/snowfall amounts, wind speeds, hail size, storm damages, etc. are
forwarded to the Albany meteorologists. Skywarn activities have become a
very important part of ARES activities in the county.
Fort Herkimer Amateur Radio Association
and ARES/RACES Meetings
Herkimer County ARES/RACES is officially an integral part of the Fort
Herkimer Amateur Radio Association, Inc. The corporation attained 501(c)3
public charity status in March 2020. Meetings are held on the 2nd Wednesday
of the month at the Herkimer County communications center.
Hank Crofoot KB2VLP - AEC for Skywarn
(315) 823-2993 (h)
Chris Bouck KB4CMF - AEC for Skywarn
(315) 429-3927 (h) (315) 868-0132 (c)
Western New York ARRL Officials
Section
Manager - Laura Mueller - N2LJM
--- 2011 East Main St, Falconer, NY 14733 (716) 338-3122 Section Emergency Coordinator - Joseph
Tedesco - KC2DKP--- 12 Greenfield St,
Orchard Park, NY 14127-4215 Section Traffic Manager - Raymond Feness -
K2RMF --- 11258 Brown Schoolhouse Rd.,
Freedom, NY 14065-9751 District Emergency Coordinator - Brian Webster
- N2KGC
--- 214 Eggleston Hill Rd, Cooperstown, NY 13326 Assistant Section Manager Catskill District - Don Rankins
-
N2ZWO--- 1435
Elizabethtown Rd, Ilion, NY 13357
Atlantic Division Officials
Director - Tom Abernethy
W3TOM --- PO Box 73, Accokeek, MD 20607
(301) 257-6225 Vice Director - Bob Famigilo
K3RF --- PO Box 9, Media, PA 19063
(610) 359-7300
New York State RACES
State RACES Radio Officer - Gil Saez
N2PKB--- 183 Kings Rd, Coxsakie NY 12051
(518) 292-2267 State RACES Deputy Radio Officer- Ken
GoetzN2SQW
---
PO Box 426, Cairo, NY 12413 (518) 925-6051 RACES Region IV Coordinator - John Darling
K2QQY--- 279 Klocks Corners Rd.,
Oswego, NY 13126 RACES Region IVOEMRegion4dl@dhses.ny.gov ---
(315) 438-8907 Fax (315) 438-3350
Links of Importance
Direct all questions, corrections, or additions regarding this webpage to:
Chris KB4CMF