The Travis County Amateur Radio Emergency Services (TCARES) provides emergency communications to several served agencies with the motto “When All Else Fails”.
Monthly meetings are held the 4th Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm at the Applied Research Lab, 10000 Burnet Road, Austin, TX
Weekly Nets are each Sunday evening at 7:00 pm on the 147.36 repeater (tone 131.8).
Our served agencies
ARCHES (Amateur Radio Communication Hospitals Emergency System) provides back-up voice and packet communications between 15 area hospitals and the Emergency Operations Center
ADRN (Austin Disaster Recovery Network) – supplements ham radio operations to needs assessment and disaster recovery efforts
CTECC (Combined Transportation, Emergency, and Communications Center) ARES equips and mans a radio room connected to the EOC that commands all emergencies in the city and county
Infrastructure Awareness gathers information on the functionality of basic infrastructure and provides that information through MARS to the Department of Defense and Homeland Security in the event of terrorist or cyber attack
Natural Disasters can make communications infrastructure inoperable, non-functional or overloaded. ARES provides back-up communications locally, in adjacent counties or regionally with the Austin Rapid Response Team
National Weather Service – Weather nets are activated any time a severe weather warning is issued for Travis County. Weather reports according to SkyWarn guidelines are reported through the WX net to the NWS, all area EOCs, and all Austin TV stations through a controlled chat room.
Red Cross in addition to providing back-up communications as needed, ARES maintains the antennas at the Central Texas Red Cross Center on Pershing Drive
VOAD communications are provided to member agencies as required
If you are interested in supporting one or more of these served agencies, please join us on our weekly nets or monthly meetings.
OPERATIONAL PRIORITIES
1. INSURE TCARES VOLUNTEER SAFETY
2. Protect life and property
3. Provide effective and efficient emergency communications resources
4. Collect and quickly disseminate accurate situational awareness to assist decision making by emergency managers and served agencies
5. Support rapid and effective emergency response
6. Support mass care and temporary sheltering efforts
7. Support transition from response to recovery
8. Coordinate media inquiries through the ARES Public Information Officer
9. Provide accurate tracking and reporting of ARES volunteer activities