Palo Alto Emergency Communications

This web site supports amateur radio ARES/RACES emergency communication activities for Palo Alto, CA. This web site has no official connection with the City of Palo Alto.

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Goal: 5 x 9 = 45

Our goal is to have 45 hams qualified, certified, and assigned to emergency communications roles in Palo Alto. This will be five hams for each of the nine billets we would staff in a minimum activation.

Why five per billet? Because in a major activation, we could be required to staff each billet three or four shifts a day for four to seven days. Could we use more than five hams per billet? You betcha. Please recruit your friends.

Check Into Our Weekly Net

We conduct a Palo Alto and North roll call as part of the weekly SPECSNet. Join this net any Monday at 8PM on the SPECS repeater (see Frequencies, below).

You may find the SPECSNet a little unusual if you are new to it. Only ARES/RACES leadership officials are called to check-in directly on the main net. We then split up into separate local nets for each city on different frequencies, where full roll calls are taken. If you live in Palo Alto or any city north of Palo Alto, listen for the announcement of the Palo Alto frequency and switch there to check-in. Normally, we take our local roll on the Palo Alto simplex frequency. If you cannot check-in on the local net (for example, if no one can hear you on simplex) then try to check in with the net control back on the main net. New hams are especially welcome and encouraged to check-in. More detailed instructions are available here.

Join the EC-PA Mailing List

We use the EC-PA mailing list for routine and urgent email communications. List membership is restricted to amateur radio operators and others involved in ARES/RACES activities in Palo Alto. To join EC-PA click on the button below. You will not need a Yahoo! ID if, on the Yahoo! Groups signup page, you select "Join the mailing list."
Subscribe to ec-pa

Register with Santa Clara County ARES

Fill out this web form to register with Santa Clara County ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service).

Frequencies

Most local emergency communications takes place on 2M FM. The Palo Alto simplex frequency is our primary working channel.

Palo Alto simplex: 147.54

Many hams active in Palo Alto emergency communications monitor and use the following repeaters:

N6NFI repeater: 145.23(-) 100PL
SPECS repeater: 145.27(-) 100PL
SVECS repeater: 146.115(+) 100PL

This is just a small piece of the complete ARES/RACES frequency plan for Santa Clara County.

This page was last updated   11/12/2007