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| Tomorrow is ShakeOut 2025–Amateur Radio Support for USGS! On International ShakeOut Day, October 16, 2025, at 10:16 AM local time, millions of people worldwide will practice earthquake safety. After you “Drop, Cover, and Hold On,” amateur radio operators have a unique role to play: supporting the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) by submitting Winlink DYFI (“Did You Feel It?”) reports. These reports provide valuable ground-truth data that helps USGS monitor and respond to earthquakes.
By sending your DYFI report via Winlink (cc: SHAKEOUT; ETO-DRILL), you are not only testing our emergency communication readiness but also contributing directly to a critical USGS data stream that informs science, emergency management, and community resilience.
LAXNORTHEAST is once again showcasing the Amateur Radio Community Intensity Map (ARCIM)—a powerful tool that visualizes Winlink DYFI reports (cc: SHAKEOUT) in near real-time. This demonstrates how amateur radio operators can rapidly transform individual reports into actionable, map-based situational awareness. In parallel, the EmComm Training Organization (ETO) strengthens the exercise by providing its well-known message evaluation process for all reports submitted with cc: ETO-DRILL, ensuring both accuracy and readiness across the amateur radio community. View the Instructions for submitting your Winlink DYFI report. The EmComm Training Group Guide is available for background. For more information on DYFI and earthquake science, visit the official USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. Let’s show the power of amateur radio in action—support science, improve preparedness, and participate in ShakeOut 2025.
The ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) is this month! While the primary SET weekend was October 4–5, in consideration of local and Section-wide schedules and relationships with partners, agencies and many others, ARRL Field Organization leaders have the option of conducting their local or section wide SET at another date. SETs should be conducted no later than the end of the fall season or the calendar year. Check with your local ARRL Field Organization leadership for the exact date or dates of the SET in your area.
This nationwide exercise is the chance to test your personal emergency operating skills and the readiness of your communications equipment and accessories in a simulated emergency deployment. Learn about and participate in this year’s SET.
Get on board the NTS train! Find a local, Section and/or state ARRL National Traffic System net to handle ARRL Radiogram-formatted messages. The main function of the National Traffic System in an emergency situation is to tie together all of the various local activities and to provide a means by which all traffic destined outside of a local area, section or region can be systematically relayed to the addressee. For the SET, normal NTS routing should be followed. (A valid exception is the handling of emergency traffic that should be routed as rapidly and efficiently as possible, bypassing various levels of nets when delivery can be expedited). Another exception is when one station is loaded down with traffic for one region or Section. At the discretion of the Net Control Station (NCS), the station may be directed to bypass a normal channel and go directly to a lower (or higher) echelon net.
The interface between NTS and ARES lies in the liaison function between local nets and other NTS nets, particularly at the section level. Responsibility for representation of the local network on the section net lies with the local net manager who may or may not be the ARRL Emergency Coordinator. Although we usually think of ARES members being the representatives in section nets, it is equally valid to expect NTS personnel to act as liaison to local nets.
ARRL has been working in coordination with the Radio Relay International team on a project called NTS 2.0. Practice sending and receiving radiograms for a well-rounded, capable ARES organization.
Send letters to Washington as ARRL continues its nationwide grassroots campaign to pass the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act. The process is simple: click the button at www.arrl.org/HOA, put in your call sign, and press the red SEND MY LETTERS button. It takes mere seconds!
The letters will automatically be sent to your elected officials encouraging them to support the bipartisan bills. This legislation is intended to prevent restrictive homeowners’ association (HOA) rules that currently prohibit or severely limit the installation of amateur radio antennas. Passage would give amateur radio operators the same rights to install antennas on their property as those enjoyed by users of TV antennas, wireless internet, and flagpoles.
ARRL is also encouraging radio clubs and ARES groups to provide letters of support, and is urging each club officer to sign the letters. There are instructions for clubs (PDF) on how to complete the letter and a sample letter for clubs (DOCX) that should be customized with their information. Send your letters now.
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Illinois Club, ARES Members, Participate in Civil Assistance Plan Communications Exercise |
| On the evening of September 18, 2025, a joint communications exercise was conducted in Illinois by members of the Amateur Radio Club of Mt. Vernon (ARCOM), members of Illinois ARES, volunteers of the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency (JCEMA), and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO).
The goal of this exercise was to evaluate radio communication coverage within Jefferson County, specifically the assembly and staging areas as outlined in the Sheriff’s Civil Assistance Plan (CAP). Volunteers were sent to each location and established contact with the EMA EOC using 5-watt 2-meter handheld radios as well as 50-watt mobile units. These units used both the local ARCOM repeater frequency as well as 146.58 MHz simplex. The 50-watt units had 100% success with repeater and simplex communication throughout the county. The 5-watt handheld units were successful in 8 of the 9 locations using the repeater, but only in 3 of 9 using the simplex frequency.
Another test, by Alan Jolly, KB9AA, successfully demonstrated the use of Winlink. The Winlink program allows a message to be sent to any valid e-mail address without using a local internet service. The message is sent by HF radio to an operational portal which is connected to the internet either in Illinois or another state. The message is held in a queue until the recipient logs on to their e-mail account for delivery as normal. Winlink messaging will be useful to send requests for assistance out of the area or to convey situational awareness.
We identified a potential weakness to our system in a previous exercise in April as being an almost total dependance on the ARCOM repeater being functional in an emergency. If the repeater tower or building is destroyed or inoperable for whatever reason, it would severely limit our communication ability to only 50-watt mobile units. This problem has been addressed by testing in this exercise a local commercial DMR repeater system owned by Ogden Communications. Nick Skaggs, N9BIG, and Steve Ogden, KC9JFN, are the operators. They also have a mobile communication bus available for deployment in an emergency. The commercial tower is situated in Bluford at the 150-foot level. The handheld units operated successfully in all areas during the communications exercise. A significant advantage for this commercial and private system is that the operators of the DMR handheld units are not required to have an FCC-issued license.
I feel confident that we have a capable, robust system and an actionable plan to provide effective back-up communications for Jefferson County in an emergency. Javier Ruiz of the Sheriff’s Office is planning an exercise in the future in which simulated messages, called injects, are passed back to the net control operator for the simulated dispatch of emergency response personnel. —Steve Warner, WA9SWW, Jefferson County EMA ARES Coordinator, ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator, Illinois Section
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Working Together: MERT’s Commitment to Be Ready |
| The Marion County Emergency Response Team (MERT) in central Florida has as its primary role the support of all open evacuation shelters throughout the county during declared emergency events. We also support the Emergency Operations Center Incident Commander, staff and other EMCOMM groups (CERT, ARES) with voice, image and data communications locally, statewide and across the United States. Behind every clear transmission, emergency alert, and coordinated response is a team of volunteers who are ready to make it possible. At MERT, our current volunteers are leading an ambitious effort to update, renew, replace, and improve the communications infrastructure that serves the Division of Emergency Management. It’s a quiet revolution with a powerful impact which is only possible with the strong leadership and support of Director Preston Bowlin and his staff. Across the county, from downtown Ocala to the center of Ocala National Forest, volunteers have been hard at work replacing aging repeaters, rebuilding our systems on the towers, expanding battery backup resources and insuring shelters are in good working order. These aren’t just hardware improvements—they’re lifelines being strengthened by people who really care about our community safety and resilience when the majority are unable to do anything to help others. The recent installation of a new repeater in the Ocala National Forest, the equipment moves and enhancement of the Sheriff’s Complex tower last fall, and the rebuilt EOC tower and systems, represent milestones driven by many hundreds of hours of collaboration, technical skill, and commitment. —QST NFL, newsletter of the ARRL Northern Florida Section, October 2025
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SKYWARN® Recognition Day On the Horizon |
| SKYWARN® Recognition Day acknowledges the contributions of public service volunteers who provide essential weather information as it’s happening. Each year on the first Saturday in December, the day honors those volunteers who pay attention when the wind picks up or the sky turns dark. Their efforts keep their communities safer by communicating warnings to the National Weather Service.
The observance recognizes the vital public service contributions that amateur radio operators make during National Weather Service severe weather warning operations. It also strengthens the bond between amateur radio operators and the local National Weather Service forecast office.
Around the country, nearly 290,000 SKYWARN weather spotters volunteer their time. They identify severe weather that could potentially affect life and property. Spotters warn the National Weather Service of the threat of thunderstorms, tornadoes, and floods.
SKYWARN spotters complete training through a variety of formats and communicate through amateur radio. As members of their community, they’re vital resources both locally and on a national basis.
If you are a SKYWARN radio operator, you can participate in SKYWARN Recognition Day by visiting a National Weather Service office or by contacting other radio operators. To learn more about becoming a SKYWARN spotter, go to skywarn.org. Use #SkywarnRecognitionDay to post on social media.
SKYWARN® Recognition Day History
The National Weather Service and ARRL created SKYWARN Recognition Day in 1999 to recognize the importance that amateur radio provides during severe weather. Many NWS offices acquire real-time weather information from amateur radio operators in the field. These operators, for example, may report the position of a tornado, the height of floodwaters, or damaging wind speeds during hurricanes. All of this information is critical to the mission of the NWS, which is to preserve life and property. The special day celebrates these contributions by amateur radio operators.You can find more information on the National Weather Service/amateur radio relationship.
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Common Operating Picture at the 2025 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon |
| Every year, just before Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon weekend in Minnesota, the ham in charge of medical communications gives a short talk to the public safety team (fire, EMS, police and emergency management) on our systems and processes in the Race Operations Center. This year we had again rented 350 trunked radios and seven amateur repeaters. We have two software tools: RaceSafe, a mobile app for patient care, and Trivnet, a Linux database we wrote that tracks injured or dropped-out runners.
Hams are in a field observer role, reporting what is happening on the race course and in the sprawling, 20-acre finish area. Reports (just bib number and location) from a range of sources –hams in yellow shirts, race officials, a designated phone number, law enforcement, and 911 calls — go into our database. When we get a report in the Race Operations Center from any source, we work as a team, making sure care is instantly dispatched, and the correct resource is applied based on a valid street address.
So, a runner face-down on the pavement (a “Red Case” in EMS lingo) needs first aid and a 911 response at the same time. Ideally, we get multiple reports to validate the street address and bib number. We now had a police commander at our table who was invaluable in sorting out fragmented, informal and landmark-based address information.
The simple/easy cases (“Green Cases”) such as a sore knee or blister are handled locally. These are often logged, but if judged by providers as minor, we do not involve 911. We see hundreds of these cases with 15,000 runners out there. Cases in between (“Yellow”) are negotiated. In some, our providers offer local treatment, or the runner refuses hospital transport.
In the age of cell phones and social media, it is important that Incident Command is aware of issues out on the course before they go viral online. We try not to waste scarce ambulances or emergency room beds, while ensuring everyone gets proper care. This year, we tried out some new procedures. In the past, hams used to dispatch 40 student EMTs in the Capitol grounds on the rented radios out of the 40×100 foot Hospital Tent. EMT leaders have now asked for their instructors and coaches to be in charge of this function — we issued them a rented radio channel and they now take their own calls and contact our hospital tent for backup support. That worked well, reducing our communications center workload and shortening field response times.
We tried out our new command truck, our new generation Ubiquiti Unifi® mesh network, and a tactical single-mode fiber connection between the medical tents. The truck reduced setup time over our old trailer, and the new mesh network is several times faster and has intuitive management tools. The 500-foot armored fiber optic cable was safer near ac power cables to the tents and ignored electrical interference. This would be used to also get backup Internet from our Starlink dishes to critical medical and EOC facilities. (We had major carrier internet problems in 2024).
We got some feedback from St. Paul Fire and Emergency Management: They would prefer an actionable live dashboard showing just open and closed cases rather than an IC 214-like text log on the big screens. When it was all over, the medical team saw over 200 patients: We had 90 in the medical tent, 15 hospital transports and 110 on the eleven SAG buses we manage. Everyone recovered and we are back to drafting more process improvements for 2026. — Erik Westgard, NY9D, Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator for Events, Minnesota Section
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Notes from the Field: Ham Radio Classes are Outreach Opportunities |
| If you’re not already teaching ham radio classes to your community, you’re missing out on an amazing outreach opportunity. Here in Santa Rosa County, Florida, we started last year and have been wildly successful in attracting interest in amateur radio. We just recently completed our first time at teaching an upgrade-to-General class and had six students ace their upgrade exam! I’m so thankful to our amazing team that takes time out of their busy schedules to teach these classes. —Arc Thames, W4CPD, ARRL Northern Florida Section Emergency Coordinator
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Buy 90 Years of ARES stickers!
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| The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment with their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization is eligible to apply for membership in ARES. Training may be required or desired to participate fully in ARES. Please inquire at the local level for specific information. Because ARES is an amateur radio program, only licensed radio amateurs are eligible for membership. The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable, but is not a requirement for membership.
How to Get Involved in ARES: Fill out the ARES Registration form and submit it to your local Emergency Coordinator.
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| ARES® is a program of ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®. No other organization works harder than ARRL to promote and protect amateur radio! ARRL members enjoy many benefits and services including digital magazines, e-newsletters, online learning (learn.arrl.org), and technical support. Membership also supports programs for radio clubs, on-air contests, Logbook of The World®, ARRL Field Day, and the all-volunteer ARRL Field Organization.
Join ARRL or renew today! www.arrl.org/join
The ARES Letter is free of charge to ARRL members. Subscribe: www.arrl.org/subscribe
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ARRL Store: www.arrl.org/shop
Support programs not funded by member dues at www.arrl.org/donate
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| The ARES Letter is published on the third Wednesday of each month. ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data Page at www.arrl.org/opt-in-out.
Copyright © 2025 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated. Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution. All other purposes require written permission.
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