How it works
It’s 2 AM.
The power’s out, and so is cell service.
A scenario, not a real event. It shows how the system is meant to work.
- The phones go quiet. Ice brings the lines down overnight. At a warming shelter, a resident’s home oxygen concentrator has no power.
- A volunteer picks up the radio. The shelter’s ACS operator writes an ICS-213 and reads it, word for word, to net control on W7GBU.
- The radio room copies it. Another volunteer copies the message, logs it on an ICS-309 and hands it to the county’s Emergency Operations Center.
- The EOC acts on it. The request moves through the agency’s own channels. By morning it’s handled, and every hop is on paper.
Radio still works. Because people practice.
The weekly net
A net is an on-air meeting. Ours is a directed net: net control calls each group in turn, so everyone gets heard.
Every Tuesday, 8:00 PM
- W7GBU
- 147.300 MHz, +600 kHz, 100 Hz tone
What happens, in order
- Net control opens the net; emergency or priority traffic may break in at any time.
- Officials check in.
- Members check in.
- Visitors check in.
- Visiting? Wait for the call for visitors. Give your call sign slowly and phonetically, then your name and location. Not licensed? Just listen.
- Simplex, no-tone and cross-band stations, then relays.
- Traffic and late check-ins, then net control closes the net.
Other nets
- Winlink nights: 2nd and 4th Tuesdays; net control gives a Winlink assignment during the net.
- Fifth Tuesdays: the net starts on simplex, then moves to W7GBU.
- ACS GMRS net: 3rd Tuesdays, 7:30 PM, for county volunteers with GMRS licenses.
When the county calls
The county activates ACS members; ARES members serve events and the National Weather Service without a call-out. ARES and ACS
It has happened for real: in the Gray and Oregon Road fires of August 2023, the group provided a mobile network unit for the incident command post and the Disaster Assistance Center.
- Request. The county needs radio support.
- Mission number. The county gets a state mission number, which ties the activation to Washington’s emergency-worker protections.
- Activation message. It goes to members registered for notices.
- Check in. Available members check in with net control on W7GBU.
- Assignment. Go to your assignment or a staging area.
- Release. Served agencies and the emergency coordinator release members.
- Review. Once every station is secured and home, leaders hold an action review within 72 hours.
Readiness levels
Four levels tell members what to do. This site never shows a current level.
Inactive
Green
Normal conditions
Normal operations. Check and recharge batteries monthly.
Alert
Yellow
Something might happen
Check radios, go-kits and supplies. Watch National Weather Service statements.
Stand by
Orange
Something has happened
Load your go-kit. Monitor NOAA Weather Radio WXL86 (162.400 MHz) and W7GBU.
Deploy
Red
Full activation
Follow the activation steps above.
When no one has called yet
If communications fail and there are no instructions, the Eastern Washington Section’s Standing Order 1b applies. Safety comes first: no one is asked to leave home or travel. Then send a Washington State Field Situation Report by Winlink.
How a message moves
If W7GBU is down, messages move by the alternate repeater, simplex (radio to radio), HF radio or Winlink.
Forms and logs
The ICS-213 is the Incident Command System’s standard message form. It travels by voice, on paper or inside Winlink. Keep it short: To, From, Subject, Date, Time, the message and who approved it. The reply goes on the same form.
Precedence: Emergency, then Priority, Welfare and Routine.
Winlink
Winlink is email by radio, with forms and attachments. It works with or without the internet. State and USGS forms are built in; reports can be plotted on a map. The group runs its own gateway, W7GBU-10.
Training and exercises
Every month
October
The Simulated Emergency Test, the Great ShakeOut and the State COMMEX.
With partners
Joint exercises with other agencies, and EOC-to-EOC exercises across the county.
On the air
ARRL Field Day, Winter Field Day and SKYWARN Recognition Day.
Dates: Exercises & events
Roles members take
| Role | What you do | Open to |
|---|---|---|
| Net control | Run the net in turn; the Net Manager coaches first-timers. | All members |
| Field or shelter operator | Pass messages from a shelter, staging area or event post. | ACS for shelters; all members for events |
| Radio room operator | Staff the county radio room during an activation. | ACS |
| Hospital team | Keep backup hospital communications ready. | ACS, with HIPAA training |
| Public-event operator | Work a race course or parade route. | All members |
| SKYWARN spotter | Report severe weather to the National Weather Service. | Anyone with NWS spotter training; no license needed |
| Winlink operator | Send forms and reports by radio email. | All members |
| Mobile units and logistics | Set up the trailer and mobile units; keep equipment ready. | ACS Senior Radio Operators |
Ready?