The Amateur Radio Emergency Service®
(ARES®) provides emergency communications
to "Served Agencies" such as fire and police departments, the American
Red Cross, the National Weather Service, hospitals, and others. Many
ARES® teams also provide communications for
public service events such as marathons, parades, bike riding events,
and boat races. Individual ARES® teams are
organized at the county level in Missouri. This is the Web site of the
ARES® team serving St. Louis City and County,
Missouri.
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service®
is a program of the American Radio Relay League. "ARES" and "Amateur Radio
Emergency Service" are registered marks of and are used on this Web site
by permission of the American Radio Relay League.
The monthly Skywarn test net is scheduled
to take place tonight at 7:00 PM on the 146.910 (-)(141.3 Hz) repeater
Weather spotters are urged to participate. All Amateur Radio operators
are welcome.
Note: The monthly net will be cancelled and replaced by an alert
net if there is severe weather in the area.
* * * Severe weather in the area * * *
St. Louis City and County Weather Spotters
please monitor 146.910 MHz (-)(141.3 Hz)
There is NO severe weather in the area
This is a test message only
Emergency Communicator's Notebook
Amateur Radio tests are low priority
All too often served agencies will place their Amateur Radio equipment in a very poor location. It may be in a conference room, in a busy dispatch center, or even in someone's office. If you arrive to perform a regular test of the equipment and find that the location is in use or busy, don't try to perform the test. Inform your served agency contact, then leave. If checking in to a net was part of the test, let net control know if you are able. Be sure to let your Emergency Coordinator know as well.
Announcements
|
|
Special Help Needed
There is a vast amount of work involved in maintaining and improving
the St. Louis Metro ARES organization. We have set up a number of
Planning & Development sub-committees so that ARES members can
participate in these efforts. Right now we have volunteers to help
with two specific ares:
- Financial:
A sub-committee member should handle one or more of the
following tasks:
- Propose system for on-line donations. If approved, maintain
the service. (Funds themselves will be handled by EC and
STLCARES.)
- Website:
A sub-committee member should handle one or more of the
following tasks:
- Create new website pages using HTML, PHP, Javascript
and/or Perl
- Maintain or update pages using the same code as above
- Maintain the St. Louis Metro ARES database using MySQL
- Periodically scan the web pages and note obsolete or
incorrect information and broken links
- Archives Team:
A sub-committee member should handle one or more of the
following tasks:
- Act as recording secretary for meetings. Put minutes taken
into on-line archives
- Make sure event photos are archived on-line
- Make sure exercise and event materials are archived on-line
- Make sure received QSL cards are archived on-line
Please contact Steve Wooten, KC0QMU if you are interested or have questions.
|
The team always needs help
There is a vast amount of work involved in maintaining and improving
the St. Louis Metro ARES organization. You can help in the following ways:
Join a Planning & Development sub-committee
Financial ** needs volunteers ** Work under EC A sub-committee member should handle one or more of the following tasks: - Propose system for on-line donations. If approved, maintain the service. (Funds themselves will be handled by EC and STLCARES.)
Membership coordination ** needs volunteers ** Work under EC & PIO A sub-committee member should handle one or more of the following tasks: - Recruitment
- Stay in regular contact. Ask for suggestions and comments.
- Keep database up to date
- Keep participation lists up to date
Public Information & Publicity -- can use more assistance -- Work under PIO A sub-committee member should handle one or more of the following tasks: - Have promo kits, make sure material is at all events. This would include our event schedule flyers.
- Take EC-015
- Be able to make presentations to clubs or outside groups n absence of EC or PIO
Exercise Planning & Development ** needs volunteers ** Work under AEC - Exercises A sub-committee member should handle one or more of the following tasks: - Help find sites.
- Suggest various exercises and help develop those that are chosen.
- Help find other needed resources.
- Create and send certificates to participants
Asset Management ** needs volunteers ** Work under EC A sub-committee member should handle one or more of the following tasks: - Keep track of assets (database space will be provided).
- Store or find storage for assets.
- Work with EC to determine which assets to keep and which to sell.
- Make sure salable assets get to hamfests. Any that are sold should be noted as such in database.
- Make sure that unsold items are returned to storage.
HF Operations Work under AEC - Operation A sub-committee member should handle one or more of the following tasks: - Help develop HF operations plans.
- Help develop regular HF nets.
- Develop regular regional HF contacts.
- Help develop Metro area intra-zone HF plan
Archives Team ** needs volunteers ** Work under EC & AECs A sub-committee member should handle one or more of the following tasks: - Act as recording secretary for meetings. Put minutes taken into on-line archives.
- Make sure event photos are archived on-line.
- Make sure exercise and event materials are archived on-line.
- Make sure received QSL cards are archived on-line
Repeater Team -- can use more assistance -- Work under EC A sub-committee member should handle one or more of the following tasks: - Maintain the group's repeaters. Repair, replace, improve as needed.
Mobile Assets Team -- can use more assistance -- Work under EC A sub-committee member should handle one or more of the following tasks: - Clean up and assemble a working communication center from available asset(s) (currently a trailer).
- Maintain the mobile assets (gas up, charge batteries, test equipment, etcetera).
- Help transport asset(s) to events or deployment sites.
Digital Team -- can use more assistance -- Work under AEC - Digital Operations A sub-committee member should handle one or more of the following tasks: - Assist in build-out of digital networks.
- Help maintain existing digital infrastructure (such as APRS or Winlink RMS sites).
- Help install and maintain MEPN MSTL node.
- Keep abreast of local and regional digital efforts and help determine which may be of interest to us (such as AREDN, VARA FM).
Message & Traffic Handling Team ** needs volunteers ** Work under EC A sub-committee member should handle one or more of the following tasks: - Along with training coordinator and net managers, help develop protocols, training, and schedules for handling formal traffic.
- Handle formal traffic received by St. Louis Metro ARES.
Website ** needs volunteers ** Work under AEC - Operations A sub-committee member should handle one or more of the following tasks: - Create new website pages using HTML, PHP, Javascript and/or Perl
- Maintain or update pages using the same code as above
- Maintain the St. Louis Metro ARES database using MySQL
- Periodically scan the web pages and note obsolete or incorrect information and broken links
Please contact Steve Wooten, KC0QMU if you are interested or have questions.
|
|
Weekly Practice Message Net
It is very important that amateur radio operators working
emergency situations understand how to handle written messages.
There are standard protocols and message forms. All of the details
about handling these written messages, sometimes called "formal
traffic", can be found on our Resources page or via the link below.
We urge you to examine this material, then try copying messages
read during our weekly practice message net.
Net Controllers needed!
The weekly practice message net has only
two net control operators.
If you'd like the opportunity to learn more and actually
send
messages, even just one time, please contact
Gary Hoffman, KB0H.
Thank you.

Interested in joining ARES
®?
New online application form now available!
Click here to display
the form on your browser. Fill in the blanks as best you can,
then click the "Submit Form" button. A copy will be emailed to us.
If your prefer, you can download, print, and fill out a paper copy.
Just
Click here and send
us the completed form via postal service.
1
1 - Please see the
Software
section of the Resources page if you do not
have software necessary to read these files.
What will we do in the event of a disaster?
Click here to learn about Emergency
Support Functions and the role of St. Louis Metro ARES/RACES in
emergency management plans.
|
Check In
St. Louis Metro ARES®
holds a 2 meter net every week (see date and time listed
below). All amateur radio operators are welcome to participate.
|
Net Control
Run the show! We will teach you what you need to know. We'll
give you the opportunity to control a net and help you if
you have difficulties. See out
Voice Net Operations page.
|
St. Louis Metro ARES Repeaters
We maintain repeaters on -
- 145.350 MHz (-) CTCSS 123.0 Hz
- 442.375 MHz (+) CTCSS 141.3 Hz Temporarily off the air
Both use the call sign N0ARS.
|
Presentations
If you haven't been to our monthly meetings you've missed talks
and demonstrations on Go-Bags, Message Handling, the Missouri
Emergency Packet Network, DC Power and much more.
|
Help Is Available
Do you need help building a go-bag? Are you unsure about what
to use for emergency power? Would you like some information
about personal preparedness? We can help.
|
Share Your Expertise
Do you have emergency communications experience or knowledge that
you'd like to share with others? Do you have some other skill
or talent that could benefit the group? We'd be happy to hear from you.
|
Yes, We QSL
Do you monitor St. Louis Metro
ARES® activities? Write to us
and we'll send you a QSL card.
Click here for more information.
|
Next Meeting
The date and location of our next monthly meeting can be
found on the
Calendar of Events page, along
with directions how to get there.
|
Field Exercises
Join us in our field exercises and develop your skills. Find out
what things you do well and which areas you could improve. Help
us to create a robust response team.
|
Social Media
Click here to go to the St. Louis Metro ARES Facebook page.
Click here to go to the St. Louis Metro ARES Twitter page.
|
Donations
Yes, we accept donations of stamps, cash, items to sell or
raffle, items that we can distribute to our volunteers,
and so forth.
|
St. Louis Metro ARES® regular nets
- Weekly 2 meter voice nets:
The weekly ARES® 2 meter voice net
operates on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 PM Central Time. The net is
on the W0SRC repeater, frequency 146.850 (-) MHz, tone 141.3 Hz.
All amateur operators are invited to participate.
Next net is
Wednesday, April 28, 2021, 7:30 PM
Immediately following the regular voice net is the weekly
ARES® practice message / traffic net.
A test message is read over the air to give you an opportunity
to practice copying down formal traffic.
- Weekly Winlink net:
This net is held to learn how to send and receive messages via Winlink, and to add new capabilites, such as using forms, to your skills. The Net Control Operator sends his instructions to the Winlink group net some time on Wednesdays. Group members pick up his message when they are able and perform the exercise he has given. Send a message to [email protected] and ask to be added to the group.
St. Louis County Police Department
Office of Emergency Management
"Be Prepared" App
1 - Please see the "Software" section on the
Resources
page if you do not have software necessary to read these files.
© 2021 St. Louis Metro ARES
®
64386