What Is ARES®

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® is a program of ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio offering to the public and to its partners trained, federally licensed operators who are skilled in applying a wide range of effective emergency/disaster communications techniques and who are committed to supporting our partners’ missions in service to the public.

The organization is divided into sections, districts and counties.

About Us

One of the key functions of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service®, Inc. is to assist in message handling for the benefit of disaster victims. ARES® has assisted thousands in disaster affected areas get messages  to loved ones to let them know that they are safe when other methods of communication are inoperable, overloaded or inaccessible.

We assist governmental and non-governmental agencies with their communications when emergencies exist and normal communications are compromised or insufficient. We also assist the community by providing communication services during public events (i.e. parades, marathons, races, etc.)

Montgomery County Amateur Radio Emergency Service®, Inc. is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization in the State of Ohio.

Our organization call sign is K8MCA. This call sign is used by our net control stations in both emergency and public service events.

Join Montgomery County ARES

Click here for information about joining Montgomery County ARES or to update your current registration record.

Montgomery County Priority Traffic List

Click here for information about receiving activations and notifications through the Montgomery County Priority Traffic List.

ARES Vision Statement

ARES® will be the premier amateur radio emergency communications service to the United States and its territories.

ARES Mission Statement

ARES® strives to be an effective partner in emergency/disaster response, providing the citizenry and public service/safety partners with communications expertise, situational awareness, and capabilities of professional communicators.

ARES Values

  • RELEVANT: ARES is there When All Else Fails®… and before.
  • LEADERSHIP: ARES leverages the strength of its ARRL member-volunteers and the leaders within its organizational structure to create and nurture professional-level relationships with community, government, and other partners in emergency management.
  • RESOURCEFUL: ARES strives to be an invaluable tool that communities and first responders can call upon in times of need for reliable and robust communications.
  • INNOVATIVE: ARES adopts state-of-the-art capabilities for deployment, setup, and operation of world-class, resilient communications from operations centers to field locations.
  • SKILLED: ARES volunteers have access to leading training courses in radio communications and related technologies to support wide-ranging emergency scenarios.
  • EQUIPPED: ARES provides robust, multi-spectrum analog and digital communications as well as networking assets to its trained force of volunteers, regardless of location, for in-person, mobile, and fixed capabilities.

Meetings

ARES General meetings are held on the last Tuesday of February, April, June, August and October at 7:00 PM at the Miami Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross located at 370 W. First Street in downtown Dayton. All amateur radio operators are welcome.

Repeaters

We own and/or maintain three repeaters that are open to all amateur radio operators. These repeaters are used to conduct weekly training and traffic handling nets. They are also used  to support communications for public service events and for Dayton Skywarn when storm spotters have been activated by the National Weather Service. A double-beep courtesy tone indicates that a Skywarn Net is in progress and all other radio traffic should be moved to another frequency. Please see our Net Information page for more details.