Redmond Amateur Radio Emergency Services® (ARES)®

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Redmond ARES provides communications support and other services for both planned and unplanned events as well as training, mentoring, and technical assistance with ham gear and antennas.

Examples of planned events include ​​​​King County and Washington State disaster preparedness exercises and drills. We also participate in Redmond Derby Days and Marymoor Park events.

Several residential and retirement communities in Redmond have built their own networks using inexpensive General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) walkie talkies, repeaters, and base-station radios. Redmond ARES members and hams within those communities have helped build these networks and have practiced getting information in and out during an emergency. They can also gather and relay vital information via ham radio. 

Many ARES members also participate in the ARRL Field Day exercises held each year during the last full weekend in June.  Field day activities were covered in both the Redmond Reporter and Seattle Times.

Unplanned events are situations or emergencies where Redmond ARES receives a formal activation request from the City of Redmond, King County or Washington State. Examples of past unplanned events include the following:

• Nisqually Earthquake – February 2001
• Snow Emergencies – Numerous
• President’s Day Windstorm – February 1993 

If Redmond ARES is activated, team responsibilities may include the following: 

• Communicate within the city using personal or city amateur radio gear, agency radios, cell phones, GMRS/FRS radios or other communications devices. 
• Communicate with the King County EOC in Renton, WA and the State of Washington Emergency Management Division at Camp Murray, WA.
• Communicate with other municipal Emergency Operations Centers.
• Support the Redmond Police as requested.​

In an emergency, most ARES team members will operate from their homes or vehicles. From there, they will be using programs like Winlink to send  situation reports, wellness messages, and other vital traffic over their radios. We plan to coordinate operations over the air using whatever repeaters are operational or using direct simplex contacts with other hams and governmental agencies. We all have independent electrical supplies that include battery, UPS, solar panels, power stations, and fuel generators to stay up when the power fails. 

First, you'll need a ham licence from the FCC to become a member.  In addition, your success as an ARES volunteer depends on a familiarity with basic emergency communications skills, and a working knowledge of the Incident Command System (ICS) used by FEMA, Washington State, King County, and the City of Redmond. 

The following table describes the training you're expected to complete as a Redmond ARES member. All of these courses can be taken online or in-person.

ICS and NIMS Courses--Those not shown in bold are optional.

• ICS-100: Introduction to the Incident Command System
• ICS-200: ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
• ICS-300: Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents
• ICS-400: Advanced ICS for Command and General Staff
• IS-700: National Incident Management System, An Introduction
• IS-703: NIMS Resource Management
• IS-706: NIMS Intrastate Mutual Aid – An Introduction
• IS-800: National Response Framework, An Introduction

  There are three basic requirements for ARES membership:

• An amateur radio Technician, General, or Extra class license.
• A willingness to serve your community and volunteer your time and talents.
• Access to a ham radio.

Those interested in joining the ARES team need to get their amateur radio license and pass the FCC amateur radio Technician Class exam. This test consists of 35 multiple-choice questions drawn from a pool of 412 questions. While the pool changes from time-to-time, it’s publicly available, allowing candidates to study the questions and answers before the exam.

To make this easier, there are several reputable and well-reviewed companies offering affordable online study programs that customize their training to match your existing knowledge. Those with electronics experience should be able to easily work through these programs. Those new the world of electronics and amateur radio will have to study a bit harder, but men and women from all ages and walks of life have passed the test.

Two of the most respected test preparation companies include (but are not limited to): Ham Test Online and Ham Study. Local Volunteer Examiners know that candidates using these companies have consistently excellent results.

• These test preparation companies use online (or even mobile) applications to integrate study materials with question drills. That is, they teach you a concept that’s linked to one of the published test questions and systematically drill you on how well you understand it. They track your progress and focus on your weak areas, drilling you on questions you get wrong more often than ones you get right.

• Be sure to choose a company that drills you on the entire set of questions in the test.

• Once your practice test scores are over 80%, you’re probably ready to test. But don't depend entirely on practice tests--use the "study mode" to ensure you're familiar with the entire question pool. 

Once you’re ready to test, you can use one of the online or in-person tests held by volunteer examiners here in Redmond. Contact GLAARG to find a test that meets your schedule. 

The online tests use Zoom and can be taken at home or anywhere with a modicum of privacy. When the Volunteer Examiner (VE) moves you into the testing room, they’ll welcome you and check your photo-ID. Next, you’ll use your computer’s camera to let the VEs see your desk, room, and check for study aids. 

In-person tests use the same Exam Tools program used in the online tests, but they’re held at a local ham’s home. There a team of VEs will get you started on a supplied tablet, calculator, and a piece of scratch paper. 

The test itself can be competed in as little as four minutes or as long as you need—it’s not timed. You get your results as soon as you complete the test and your application is submitted to the FCC electronically. If you pass (most candidates do), you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion signed by the VEs. The FCC will send you an email containing an invoice for $35. Once paid, and the FCC finds no issues with your application, you can receive your callsign in a matter of hours. Once you get your callsign, there is a program to supply you with a heavily discounted dual band hand-held (HT) radio. The Lake Washington Ham Club might also provide new hams with a free dual-band HT. 

Once you have your callsign, you can start transmitting and apply to join the ARES team. There are over a dozen clubs and support organizations in the Seattle area who welcome new hams with open arms. 

Here's how to become a member once you have your license:

1. Attend monthly meetings to find out if the Redmond ARES mission and activities are a good fit with your interests and abilities. These meetings are held online over Microsoft Teams.
2. Request an application. You can use our contact form, or send mail to "info" at redmond-ares.org.

 To maintain your status as an active member of Redmond ARES, you must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Attend at least one online meeting per quarter.
• Check-in during at least three weekly on-air radio nets per quarter or through a Winlink message.
• Show progress toward meeting the basic training requirement​s.
• Participate in planned deployments and emergency call-outs.
• Maintain a basic emergency activation kit (also known as a go bag or jump kit).