St. Louis Metro ARES®: Resources Main Page

Yes! We would appreciate contributions to this page. Write to [email protected].

This page contains information regarding resources available to emergency communications operators.

Antennas:
- Base or Field:
  - Arrow Antennas - A variety of antennas and accessories
  - Comet Antennas - A variety of antennas and accessories
  - Cushcraft Antennas - A variety of antennas and accessories at MFJ
  - Diamond Antennas - A variety of antennas and accessories
- Field:
  - Barker and Williamson - Field HF antennas
- Build your own:
  - Building a 2 meter quad antenna by WX9DX (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
Antenna feedline and accessories:
- Cable X-Perts, Inc - Feedline, connectors, baluns, and accessories
- Field Components, Inc - Cable, connectors, and accessories
- The Original Wireman - Feedline, connectors, baluns, and accessories. The "Wirebook" manual has many tips, including how to install connectors onto coaxial cables.
Antenna masts and accessories:
- Base:
  - Easy-Up - Tripods and stands.
  - Penninger Radio - "Tipping" antenna masts and accessories.
  - Radio Shack - Antenna mast and mounting accessories.
  - Ronard Equipment - Tripods and stands.
- Field:
  - Blue Sky Mast - Field masts and mounts.
  - In The Swim - Swimming pool telepoles.. may be used as field antenna masts.
  - Musician's Friend - Speaker stands may be used as field antenna mast stands.
  - Penninger Radio - "Tipping" antenna masts and accessories.

Apparel:
- American Radio Relay League - ARES^® caps and vests.
- Barker Specialty Company - Caps, shirts, jackets, vests.
- HamThreads Caps, shirts, jackets, vests.

Bags and carrying cases:
- Bass Pro Shop - All manner of bags and carryalls. (Use the site's search search feature and enter "BAG".)
- Coleman - All manner of bags and carryalls. (Use the site's search search feature and enter "BAG".)
- Duluth Trading Company - All manner of bags and carryalls. (Select "Organizers & Bags" from top row of buttons.)
- Storm Case - Sturdy cases for sensitive equipment

Batteries, discount:
- Battery Mart - Sealed Lead Acid, Gel Cell, Rechargeable, and accessories. They also sell AAA, AA, C, D, and 9 volt batteries in bulk.
- Quill - Packaged small batteries
- Wholesale For Everyone - Packaged small batteries
Batteries, information:
- Wind & Sun alternative energy site - Good information on batteries and how they work.

Cables, connectors, adaptors, etcetera:
- Antenna/Feedline: (see Antenna feedline and accesories)
- Data/Digital: (see Digital equipment and information: Data cables, adaptors, etcetera)
- Electrical: (see Power: Cables, connectors, etcetera)

Digital equipment and information:
- St. Louis Metro ARES digital operations
- Pactor - Description of PACTOR
- Tigertronics - Modems, soundcard interfaces, and other digital items
- Masters Communications - Soundcard interfaces and other digital items
- Digipan - Soundcard interface freeware
- AGW - "AGW Packet Engine" software for soundcard interfaces, "AGW Packet Pro", "AGW Term", and more.
- Timewave - Various digital products
- West Mountain Radio - Easy sound card interfaces for over 100 software programs
- Winklink
  - Winlink 2000 - Winlink main page. Instructions and software
  - Winlink User Programs
  - Implementing VARA FM and WINLINK by George Thornton - AE7GA,
  - VARA | Winlink Global Radio Email
  - Quick Setup Guide for VARA FM for Windows
- Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS)
  - aprs.fi - View APRS stations
  - www.aprs.org - Useful information by Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, creator of APRS
  - Byonics - APRS-related hardware, including trackers
  - findu.com - View APRS stations
  - www.wa8lmf.net - Useful information by Stephen Smith, WA8LMF
  - APRS symbol chart - Chart showing the authorized APRS symbols
- Data cables, adaptors, etcetera
  - Associated Radio - cables to connect soundcards and TNCs to transceivers
- Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System (NBEMS)
  - W0CEH's presentation - Overview of NBEMS (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
  - NBEMS freeware downloads Fldigi, Flmsg and other NBEMS software components
- TNCs (Terminal Node Controllers)
  - Kantronics - TNCs (Terminal Node Controllers)

Electrical: (see Power)

Emergency communications:
- ARRL ARES Manual (Adobe Acrobat format)¹

FEMA / Department of Homeland Security Documents:
- Auxiliary Communications Field Operations Guide (AUXFOG)
- National Interoperability Field Operations Guide
Field Equipment: (Also see Personal Preparedness)
- Canopies, Shelters, Tents: (Coming soon)

Field Stations:
- Information on building your own deployable field station

Formal Traffic: (see Message handling and Forms)

Forms:
- Log sheets
  
  ICS-309 form for logging messages (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
  
  ICS-309 fillable form for logging messages (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
  
  Contact log sheet (Word format)¹
  
  ARES net log sheet (Word format)¹
  
  Message handling log sheet by W0CMR (Word format)¹
- ARRL Radiogram
  - ARRL Radiogram form (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
  - ARRL FSD-244 form (Radiogram modified for welfare-only messages) (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
  - List of ARRL Radiogram emergency, welfare, and standard messages (FSD-3) (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
- RRI Radiogram
  - RRL Radiogram form (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
- FEMA ICS-213
  - FEMA ICS-213 message form (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
  - Information at www.ics213.com
  - Some guidelines for using the ICS-213 form by W3EOC, the Chester County, Pennsylvania ARES/RACES group
- FEMA incident forms
  - FEMA ICS-201 incident briefing (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
  - FEMA ICS-202 incident objectives (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
  - FEMA ICS-205 incident radio communications plan (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
  - FEMA ICS-213 general message (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
  - FEMA ICS-214 activity log (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
  - More complete collection of FEMA ICS found at Missouri Section ARES website (All are in Adobe Acrobat format)¹

Frequencies:
- St. Louis Metro ARES^®
  Primary repeater = 146.850 MHz (-)(141.3 Hz) W0SRC
  Secondary repeater = 146.910 MHz (-)(141.3 Hz) N0TYZ
  Digital (Winlink) net = 145.070 MHz
  Digital (packet) net = 145.070 MHz (Missouri Emergency Packet Network)
  For tactical simplex frequencies see "Local area emergency nets" below.
- Local area emergency nets
- Missouri Section ARES^® frequencies and plans
- List of frequencies programmed into St. Louis Metro ARES/RACES and Hospital Amateur Radio Net transceivers
- HF and NTS nets (Adobe Acrobat format)¹

Go-bags:
- KC0NRK's Go-Bag Web page
- KC0NRK's Go-Bag presentation (Powerpoint format)¹
- KC0NRK's Go-Bag presentation handout (Word format)¹
- AB2NM's Go-Bag suggestions
- KB0HAE's Go-Bag suggestions

Interoperability:
- National Interoperability Field Operations Guide, Version 1.4

Manuals, TNC:
- Kantronics KPC3+ TNC operating manual (Adobe Acrobat format)¹

Manuals, Transceiver:
- Icom IC-2720H 2m/70cm transceiver operating manual (installed at VAMC sites) (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
- Kenwood TM-V71A 2m/70cm transceiver operating manual (installed in numerous local hospitals) (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
- Kenwood TS-480 HF transceiver operating manual (installed in some local hospitals) (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
- Yaesu FT-897D HF/2m/70cm transceiver operating manual (installed in CCE911 control center) (Adobe Acrobat format)¹

Maps:
- St. Louis County topographical map
- St. Louis County watershed map
- Elevation mapping tools using Google Earth and Ubiquiti (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
- Ubiquiti Elevation Map

Message handling: (also see Forms)
- St. Louis Metro ARES weekly practice message net
- ARRL message handling guide (Adobe Acrobat format)¹
- Overview of traffic handling, by K9HDX
- QNI Newsletters by James Wades WB8SIW NTS and emergency preparedness newsletter (scroll down the K6JT page until you find this)

Mobile installations:
- ARRL: Mobile installation information from auto manufacturers
- General Motors Radio Telephone - Mobile Radio Installation Guidelines
- HF Mobile - by KA6WKE
- Alan Applegate, K0BG Many articles on mobile installations
- Pro.Fit International Mounting hardware for transceivers, control heads, GPS devices and so forth
- Ram Mounts Mounting hardware for transceivers, control heads, GPS devices and so forth

Personal Preparedness:
- Photon Light - Key chain LED flashlights

Power:
- Batteries: (see separate Batteries listing above)
- Cables, connectors, etcetera:
  - Powerwerx - Electrical cables, Anderson Powerpoles and other connectors, fuses, batteries, etcetera
  - Powerpole description by Orange County RACES
- Conversion:
  - PowerStream automobile to laptop power converters
- Solar:
  - Alt E Store Solar power products

Propagation: See "Maps"

Q-signals:
- Net Q-signals

Radio Repairs:
Sorry, there is nothing in the immediate St. Louis Metro area. Radio manufacturers usually have a repair facility somewhere in the continental United States. Check the manufacturer's Web site.
In addition, the following independent repair shops have reasonably good reputations.
- Burghardt Amateur Center

Red Cross:
- Damage assessment pocket guide

Repeaters:
- Repeater guide for the greater St. Louis area

Software:
- Adobe Acrobat Reader reads PDF files.
- LibreOffice is a free suite of office programs which can read Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents.

1 - Please see the "Software" section on this page if you do not have software necessary to read these files.

Thank you to all of the folks who contributed to this page.
Much of the mobile installation information was contributed by Robbie Goodwin, WD5GEE
Information about and instructions for using Google Earth and Ubiquiti thanks to Brian Oester, KE0EYA

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