Amateur Radio operators have a long tradition of operating from backup power sources. Through events such as Field Day, hams have cultivated the ability to set up communications posts wherever the are needed. 

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service(ARES) and the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service(RACES) are the umbrella organizations of Amateur Radio emergency communications. The ARES is sponsored by the ARRL (although ARRL membership is not required for ARES participation) and handles many different kinds of public service activities. On the other hand. RACES is admin- istered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA) and operated only for civil preparedness and in times of civil emergency. RACES is activated at the request of a local, state, or federal official. 

The FCC Rules list emergency communications as one of the purposes of the Amateur Radio Service, and in reality, the ability to privide emergency commun- ications justifies Amateur Radio's existance. The FCC has recognized Amateur Radio as being among the most reliable means of medium and long-distance communications in disaster areas. 

Amateur Radio operators have a long tradition of operating from backup power sources. Through events such as Field Day, hams have cultivated the ability to set up communications posts wherever the are needed. 

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service(ARES) and the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service(RACES) are the umbrella organizations of Amateur Radio emergency communications. The ARES is sponsored by the ARRL (although ARRL membership is not required for ARES participation) and handles many different kinds of public service activities. On the other hand. RACES is admin- istered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA) and operated only for civil preparedness and in times of civil emergency. RACES is activated at the request of a local, state, or federal official. 

Amateurs serious about emergency communication should carry dual RACES/ ARES membership. RACES rules now make it possible for ARES and RACES to use the same frequencies, so that an ARES group also enrolled in RACES can work in either organization as required by the situation. 
Public service and traffic nets are part of a tradition that dates back almost to the dawn of Amateur Radio. The ARRL, in fact, was formed to coordinate and promote the formation of traffic nets. In those early days, nets were needed to communicate over distances longer than a few miles. (Thus the word "Relay" in American Radio Relay League.) 

Public service and traffic nets benefit hams and nonhams alike. Any noncommercial message--birthday and holiday greetings, personal information, or a friendly hello-- may be sent anywhere in the US and to forieign countries that have a third-party agreement with the United States. Many missionaries in South America, keep in touch with stateside families and sponsors via Amateur Radio. 

The ARRL National Traffic System(NTS) oversees many of the existing traffic nets. Most nets are local or regional. They use many modes from slow-speed CW nets in the Novice HF bands, to FM repeater nets on 2 meters. 

HF nets usually cover a region, although some span the entire US. This has obvious advantages for amateurs sending traffic over long distances, as VHF FM nets usually cover only a local area. 
NTS includes four different net levels which operate in an orderly time sequence to effect a definite flow pattern for traffic from origin to destination. A message flows through the NTS in a manner similar to an airline passenger who starts out in a small residential town with a destination across the continent in another small town. He has to change carriers many times in the process, starting with a local ground conveyance to a feeder airline, to a transcontinental airline, to another feeder airline then local transportation to deliver him to his destination. In a very similar manner, a transcontinental message starts with the originating station in a local net, is carried to the section net, the region net, the area net, via the Transcontinental Corps(TCC) to a distant area net and then back down the line to delivery. 

According to the latest ARRL "Net Directory", there are 31 VHF/UHF FM nets listed, and 8 HF Voice/CW nets listed for Indiana. I know that there are many more in Indiana that are not listed because the Net Managers simply didn't send in a registration card to ARRL Headquarters. Three of the HF nets list their purpose(s) as traffic handling and emergency communications. These 3 nets are the Indiana Traffic Net(ITN) which meets 3 times daily at 8:30AM, 4:30PM, and 6:00PM on 3910KHz; the Indiana Section CW Net(QIN) which meets at 9:30AM and 7:00PM daily on 3656KHz; and the Indiana Code Net(ICN) which meets at 6:15PM daily on 3705KHz. For you CW buffs, QIN operates at about 18-20 wpm, and ICN operates at about 10 wpm. Another notable traffic net is the Great Lakes Emergency & Traffic Net, which meets daily at 20:00 Local Eastern time for pre-net and 20:30 Local Eastern time for net on 3932 KHz. 

I hope that this article has enlightened you about ARES and NTS, and that the link between them is very necessary and quite real. The true emergency communicator isn't just equipped with canteen and extra battery packs, he must know about message handling, net discipline, and the National Traffic System.

Jim Sellers K9ZBM
Indiana Section Emergency Coordinator
e-mail: k9zbm@arrl.net