No connection to server. Showing local offline copy of page.
Santa Clara County ARES®/RACES

City and Agency EOC Station Essential Equipment

The following equipment is considered the minimum equipment necessary for efficient and effective communications via amateur radio.

VHF/UHF Antennas

Recommendation:

  • Minimum two tri-band ground-plane antennas separated by 20 feet and free of near-field obstructions
  • DC-blocking, inductor-type arrestor for each feedline

Voice Equipment

Recommendation: Minimum three dual-band (2m/70cm) mobile radios

Two separate radios are needed to maintain continuous monitoring of both the county Message Net and county Command Net. (Putting them on the same, dual-VFO radio is not recommended.)

The second VFO of either radio could be used to monitor other, optional nets, such as the Resource Net and Hospital Net. The radio used for the Command Net can occasionally be used for something else. (Be sure to check out of the Command Net before leaving and check back into the Command Net when returning.) Repeated check out/in or being away from the Command Net for extended periods of time puts an added burden on the net control and means that your EOC may miss important communications. Continuous monitoring is best.

Additional radios will be needed for city Tactical Nets. The number of radios and the method used are dependent on the city’s/agency’s communications plan. The physical location of radios will have an impact on how flexible the station is when staffing is at a minimum. Seek to locate equipment such that one operator can handle more than one net.

As amateur radio becomes more integrated with WebEOC, computer equipment for the voice station should be considered. Also, consider connecting the computer and printer to a local radio-room LAN to enable printer sharing with the packet station and eventual connectivity with a high-speed connection to the county ARES/RACES network.

Packet Equipment

Recommendation: At least one complete packet station, including radio, TNC, TNC/radio cables, PC, printer, and recommended software.

The 1.25m (220 MHz) access frequencies are recommended for City/EOC packet stations. This is because most individual users will access the packet BBSs on 2m (144-145 MHz).