What is ARES?

What does ARES do?

ARES, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, is the American Radio Relay League's (ARRL) volunteer emergency service in the United States. Licensed hams register their skills and equipment with a local Emergency Coordinator, then take communications duty when a disaster strikes. ARRL membership is not required.1

Only licensed amateurs can join, because ARES is an amateur service.12 The ARRL counted 31,332 ARES members in 2017, up nearly 13 percent on 2016.3

ARES follows the ARRL's sections. Each level has a coordinator:2

In 2019 the ARRL Board adopted an ARES Plan and a standard training plan.4 The task book is at version 3.0 as of July 2024 and has three levels:5

• Level 1, Basic. Join a local ARES group, hold a Technician license or higher, and take a basic course plus the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) courses IS-100 and IS-700.
• Level 2, Intermediate. Adds IS-200 and IS-800, a net each quarter, and writing and sending an ICS-213 message, a form from the Incident Command System.6 The book says this level meets the minimum for deployment.
• Level 3, Advanced. The leadership path, including running nets.

How is RACES different from ARES?

RACES, the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, is a part of the US amateur service for civil-defense communications, run by government emergency-management agencies. ARES is run by the ARRL and works for served agencies in any emergency. They are separate, and many hams join both.72

With approval of the state's chief emergency-planning officer, RACES drills can run up to 72 hours, no more than twice a calendar year.7 While operating as RACES, a station cannot talk to amateurs who are not in RACES.2

The ARRL recommends dual membership. A group enrolled in both can "switch hats" without changing people or frequencies, for example from ARES in an ordinary emergency to RACES once authorities declare one.2

How do hams pass messages in a disaster?

Hams pass written messages, called radiograms, through the ARRL's National Traffic System (NTS). Trained volunteers hand messages on through daily nets, which are scheduled on-air meetings of stations, at local, section, region and area level. Each radiogram carries a precedence: Emergency, Priority, Welfare or Routine.89

The National Traffic Plan was announced in QST in September 1949.10 The ARRL says much traffic is now between hams, and that phones, text and the internet give the public other options.8

The goal for Emergency traffic is 30 minutes from end to end.11

A radiogram has a preamble, an address, the text and a signature.12 The "check" in the preamble is the number of word groups in the text. The receiver counts them and compares.12 Prowords and the phonetic alphabet used on air are listed under radio codes. To write one and see how it is read on air, try the radiogram builder: it counts the check for you.

What is Winlink?

Winlink is a worldwide email system that runs over radio. Users connect to gateway stations, which pass messages on to ordinary internet email. It can also work station to station without the internet. Licensed volunteers build, run and administer it.13

The Amateur Radio Safety Foundation, Inc. (ARSFI), a US nonprofit, operates it.13 It is one of the digital modes described in What is ham radio?.

After Hurricane Maria in 2017, the first aim of the ARRL teams in Puerto Rico was to move health-and-welfare messages to the Red Cross "Safe and Well" system by Winlink.14 In Hurricane Helene's recovery in 2024, the ARRL said Winlink "has been used significantly". Its emergency-management director said the 2023 FCC removal of symbol-rate limits let hams use it at once without a waiver.15

It has limits. An older ARRL Eastern Massachusetts page calls Winlink good for routine and welfare messages to known email addresses, and not for emergency or priority traffic unless the receiver is also told by voice.16

Which frequencies are used for emergencies?

The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) lists emergency "centers of activity" on five bands. 14.300, 18.160 and 21.360 MHz are the same in all three IARU regions. The 80 m and 40 m choices differ by region. Emergency traffic may be found within 20 kHz of each.17

Region 1 covers Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the former Soviet states. Region 2 is the Americas. Region 3 is Asia and Oceania.18

These are centers of activity, not exact channels, and some countries keep their own emergency frequencies.17 Real events use their own channels. After the 2023 Türkiye earthquake, 28.540 MHz (upper sideband) was the main frequency.19

The Hurricane Watch Net activates when a storm at hurricane strength is within about 300 statute miles of populated land. It uses 14.325 MHz (upper sideband) by day and 7.268 MHz (lower sideband) at night, and works with WX4NHC, the amateur station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.20

Much local work happens on VHF and UHF instead. The IARU says local VHF and UHF networks keep working when commercial links fail or are overloaded.21 Band reach is in What is ham radio? and the two-way radio range guide.

Is there ARES in Europe?

Not under that name. ARES is the ARRL's service, so groups elsewhere use their own names: RAYNET in the UK, Notfunk in Germany and Austria, REMER in Spain, DARES in the Netherlands. Most are run by national amateur radio societies, a few by civil-protection authorities.12223242526

RAYNET in the UK

RAYNET grew out of the North Sea storm flood of early 1953. Its FAQ and the RSGB date it to 1953, while its history page says 1954.223027 Anyone aged 14 or over can join through a local group. No amateur license is needed, and the national fee is £12 a year, which some groups pay.31

The UK amateur license (Ofcom OFW611) lets the licensee use or permit use of the equipment to assist communications in times of disaster or emergency. A "user service" such as the British Red Cross or St John Ambulance may use it in an operation run by a "Responder". The license does not name RAYNET.32

Notfunk in Germany and Austria

"Notfunk" is German for emergency radio. The DARC has a unit for emergency and disaster radio (Not- und Katastrophenfunk).23 Some DARC repeaters receive the federal warning feed used by the NINA app.23 A 2018 ÖVSV talk said hams are not an "Einsatzorganization", a formal emergency service with a hierarchy.33

The Ahr valley flood of July 2021 has more than one account. IARU Region 1 reported that the DARC emergency unit handled requests for radio support in the worst-hit areas.34 DARC's own 2022 slides say amateurs were not requested in the Ahr valley, and DARC chose to act even without being asked.35 Hessen's interior minister says hams gave practical help.36 Taken together, hams were active in 2021 but not part of the official response.3536

REMER in Spain

REMER, the Red Nacional de Radio de Emergencia, is a state network of volunteer hams under Civil Protection. A Civil Protection resolution created it on 1 December 1986, and Orden INT/1149/2018 of 29 October 2018 now regulates it. Applicants must be adults living in Spain, hold a valid amateur license and be authorized by the Directorate.25 The club URE runs a separate emergency office, EMCOM España.37

Outside Europe

When has ham radio helped?

Hams have supported relief work from Japan in 2011 to Hurricane Helene in 2024. They carry welfare messages, link shelters and agencies, and pass reports when other links are down or overloaded. Their role depends on the event and on who asks for them.411542

The Maria request was the first of its kind in about 75 years of the Red Cross and ARRL relationship.14 For Helene, the ARRL wrote that radio was the only means of passing information for several days.15

Why not just use phones or TETRA?

Professional responders use networks built for them: TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio) in Germany, 4G-based networks in the UK and a dedicated broadband network in the US. They are strong systems, but they run through base stations and network cores. Ham radio works radio to radio.454647

Hessen's interior ministry says the German network is hardened to keep working at least 72 hours without mains power.36 The IARU says low-power HF gear with a car battery and a simple wire antenna can work from almost anywhere.21 ÖVSV adds that each ham station works on its own and hams can bridge different radio systems.33 But ham voice is unencrypted, which limits its place in official channels.36

Push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) belongs to the network family: like the 4G responder networks, it needs a mobile connection. See What is a PoC radio?, TETRA and public-safety radio.

What goes in a go-kit?

The ARRL's guidance from September 2024 is to pack two kits: one for personal needs and one for radio needs. The personal kit holds several days of food and water, a first-aid kit, medications and chargers. The radio kit holds a dual-band handheld or mobile radio with its antenna, power supply and cables.49

• Radio. Add paper and pens. For HF add a radio and antenna. For digital modes add a computer with software preloaded.49
• Extras. Tape, tools, spare batteries, headphones, a flashlight, phone chargers and a multimeter.49

How do you join?

Get a license, find your local coordinator or group, register, train, and join nets and drills. In the US you join ARES through the local Emergency Coordinator. In the UK you join RAYNET through a local group, and no license is needed. The steps are below.131

1. Get a license. In the US, Technician or higher is the ARES baseline.5 You need a ham license, and you can test yourself first.
2. Find your group. Use ARRL's "ARES by Section" resource, or the Contact page on RAYNET-UK.131
3. Register. Give the ARES Registration form to the EC. For RAYNET, register with the group, which sends the application to RAYNET-UK.131
4. Train. Take the free EC-001 course, IS-100 and IS-700, and keep a task book.45
5. Join nets and drills. Take part in nets, the Simulated Emergency Test and public-service events. Consider SKYWARN, the National Weather Service's storm-spotter program.550

Once licensed, you get a call sign: see What is a ham radio call sign?.

Questions

Sources

1. Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) · ARRL
2. ARES Manual (chapters 1 and 4) · ARRL
3. Amateur Radio Emergency Service transitioning to new online reporting system (2018) · ARRL
4. Efforts continue to enhance ARES program, add resources (2019) · ARRL
5. ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book, version 3.0 (July 2024) · ARRL
6. Auxiliary Emergency Communications · CISA
7. 47 CFR 97.407: Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service · eCFR, FCC
8. National Traffic System · ARRL
9. NTS Manual, chapter 6: ARRL precedences and handling instructions · ARRL
10. History of the National Traffic System · ARRL NTS 2.0