Radio Recommendations |
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The Tera TR-590 radio shown above on the left is an analog-only dual band handheld. The Anytone AT-878UV radio shown above on the right is an analog and DMR mode dual band handheld. Both radios are available online from Powerwerx. These FCC Part 90 accepted handheld radios perform very well on the amateur bands and are legal to operate on the City of Rainier's EOC net. Hence they are a good handheld choice for ETC ARES team members supporting the Rainier EOC. |
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The Anytone AT5888UV dual band radio shown above is FCC Part 90 accepted, performs very well on the amateur bands, and is also legal to operate on the Rainier EOC Net. This radio is a good choice for a mobile rig for ETC ARES team members supporting the Rainier EOC. |
This is the home of the East Thurston County ARES Team in Washington State. The all-volunteer ETC ARES Team was established by the ARRL Western Washington Section leadership to serve the communities of Yelm, Rainier, Tenino, and the surrounding areas of East Thurston County, Washington. For ARRL training and administrative purposes, our team is currently organized under the ARRL Western Washington Section, District #5, and is affiliated with the Yelm Amateur Radio Group. We work with the Thurston County ARES (TCARES) Team who are the amateur radio interface to the Thurston County Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) and Thurston County Emergency Management.
The ETC ARES Team's vision is to increase public safety and reduce the uncertainty and chaos in our communities in the aftermath of a disaster event by facilitating efficient and effective radio communication between our neighbors, local organizations, and government officials.
Sunday Weekly PNW ARES DMR Check-In Net. This net is held at 6:30 PM local time on Sunday evenings on the Pacific Northwest DMR repeater network, using the "Pacific Northwest Regional" or "PNWR" DMR talk group (TG 31771). This simple check-in net is open to all DMR-capable, ARES-minded hams in range of the PNW DMR repeater network.
Sunday Weekly Team Net. This net for our East Thurston ARES Team members is held each Sunday evening at 7PM local time on 146.550 MHz simplex. Visitor check-ins are always appreciated.
Note: Net control and all ETC ARES Team members transmit CTCSS (103.5) so if you want to hear only our traffic you can program a channel of your radio to use CTCSS on receive. Team members are using this feature so they can leave a radio tuned to our net frequency 24/7 for the purposes of emergency call-out drills and emergency announcements.
Tuesday Weekly District 5 Net. District 5 holds a net each Tuesday evening at 7PM local time on the Grass Mountain W7AOO repeater (145.370-/136.5). Our team falls under ARRL's Washington ARES District #5. Team members are encouraged to check into this net to learn about events and training happening at the district level.
Our group works with a multi-layered approach at disaster communications that encourages the integration with other non-ham radio services such as FRS/GMRS. This approach is compatible with the Radio Relay International (RRI) National SOS Radio Network Hamwatch program as described in their training presentation: NSOS-Hamwatch-PPT-TR-003-Final-Approved.pdf. The primary benefit is that we expand the reach of our finite amateur radio resources and increase our contact with the public. We hope to grow the following list of organized neighborhood emergency radio nets:
If you represent such a neighborhood group or would like to help form one please contact us with the e-mail link at the bottom of the page. The ETC ARES team has regular comm exercises and drills where we'd like to practice interfacing with the various neighborhood emergency radio nets.Anyone with a current FCC-issued Amateur Radio license may apply for membership on the East Thurston County (ETC) Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Team. Having a current FCC-issued General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) license is optional, but also a helpful asset to the team. We serve the eastern area of Thurston County, so ideally you live in Yelm, Rainier, Tenino, or one of the surrounding areas. Our current Disaster Communications Plan in the Documents section below describes our served area in detail.
If you are interested in joining the team or have questions that our Plan doesn't answer, feel free to contact the ETC ARES Team Emergency Coordinator (EC) via e-mail [ec@etc-ares.org], text message, or phone [+1 (360) 999-0680].
A radiogram is a telegram sent by shortwave radio nets operating 365 days per year, 24-hours per day. These nets are sponsored by Radio Relay International and use a variety of communication technologies including voice, Morse code, and the latest, very sophisticated, digital methods. See the frequently asked questions on the back of the "Standard Radiogram Form" below.