Beaufort RadioAmateurGroup
W4BFT
Beaufort, SC
A R E S:
ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) is the emergency communications arm of the ARRL. To be an ARES volunteer you do NOT need to be a member of the ARRL. ARES membership costs nothing. ARES is growing in Beaufort County since the creation of the SCHEART system and our role in emergency communications is increasingly focused upon the Public Health sector as the government agencies continue to add redundant communications systems of their own.
Locally, there are radios at several DHEC Region 8 hospitals. Colleton Medical Center has a repeater on 444.850 MHz (PL = 123.0). Beaufort Memorial Hospital has a repeater on 443.850 MHz (PL = 123.0). Hilton Head Regional Medical Center has a repeater on 444.350 MHz (PL = 123.0). There are also dual band base stations at Coastal Carolina Medical Center, Hampton Regional Medical Center, and the USN Hospital - Beaufort has a dual band handheld.
The repeaters are for anyone's use. ARES wants to know they are working! In an ARES declared emergency the repeaters are to be used for emergency traffic only -- like all repeaters. Join ARES and you can use them ALL the time and help your community as well. ARES through SCHEART is benefiting from an influx of federal funds and we are using those funds to install a well-engineered system for South Carolina.
Under the ARES umbrella, we are supporting our community in several other areas as well. Recently, we have provided communications for the Water Festival Parade in Beaufort and the Saint Patrick's Day Parade on Hilton Head. We are often asked to participate in special events like the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's "Light the Night Walk"; the MS Society's Fifty Mile Walk; and DHEC's Pandemic Flu Triage drill. We work with the American Red Cross and participate in state-wide drills such as the Hurricane Isabella Drill in 2006 and the Earthquake drill in 2007.
ARES in the Lowcountry is a way to meet hams from other areas and clubs, as well as to fulfill the promise you made when you got your privileges --
§97.1 Basis and purpose.
The rules and regulations in this Part are designed to provide an amateur radio service having a fundamental purpose as expressed in the following principles:
(a) Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.
Each county should have an ARES Emergency Coordinator (EC). At this time there are some Counties that do not have an ARES Emergency Coordinator. In DHEC's Region 8 area: Colleton and Hampton Counties. Lowcountry ARES needs your participation!
Contact: Jim Campbell KB9LX kb9lx@arrl.net Beaufort County EC