Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club
ARES History

The History of Emergency Service Communications
in the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club
Compiled by Lou Dartanner (N6ZKJ)

Copyright © 1997 by E. L. Dartanner.
Reprinted by SBARC with permission of the copyright holder.

The earliest record found of an SBARC emergency communications drill comes in October 1938 when it was reported that six SBARC members using battery sets proved that the fire department's five stations could still be coordinated to wage effective service should disaster strike and disrupt telephone lines. At that time, dispatch of fire equipment was made by telephone or call boxes.

Records of SBARC activities are scarce until the Club's newsletter, Key-Klix began publication in 1952. It was obvious from these early issues that the activities of the Amateur Radio Emergency Corps (AREC) were an important part of the Club.

Public service communications was a function of this early AREC group. One of the first mentioned was providing communications at check points for the Four Cylinder (automobile) Club. Another popular event conducted by the AREC group was a monthly hidden transmitter hunt.

In 1955, the AREC group decided to stage a simulated emergency message handling practice every second Monday, a transmitter hunt or social activity on the fourth Monday, and regular roll calls on the first and third Mondays. In 1956, new 2-meter and 75-meter stations, on loan, were installed at the Red Cross to compliment the then existing 10-meter setup.

Operation Alert '57 was held in July to gather comparative signal strength reports for a fade chart. Mobile stations went to points such as fire stations, harbor master's office, ambulance office, and hospitals, exchanging signal reports with each other and W6LUC, the Club station.

A Simulated Emergency Test (SET) was held in October 1959. Seventeen local amateurs set up their stations "following a breakfast of hot cakes and sausages." They used 10 and 2 meters to practice message handling.

A report in the February 1966 issue of Key-Klix shows a revival of the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES). The Santa Barbara Region was issued the call KB6YRX for its 2-meter transmitter in City Hall. The RACES Council maintained close communications with SBARC and was considered an adjunct to the Club's public service functions.

By the end of the 1960s, SBARC's activities appear to be concentrated in public service communications. AREC had been non-existent for nearly a decade and RACES became inactive in the late 1960s. The Club provided communications for community events such as the Fiesta Parade, Semana Nautica, Hike for the Hungry, and the Pumpkin Patrol (Halloween in Hope Ranch).

In January 1972, eight AREC stations participated in a SET, a ship aground leaking nerve gas at Shoreline Park. Four mobiles were dispatched and the W6LUC station was manned to provide communications from 2 meters to the Section Net on 3935 kHz.

In January 1976, the annual SET exercise was held and AREC units from the Tri-Counties participated. Traffic flowed on the VHF and HF bands and the .31/.91 repeater was shut down to force participants into the simplex mode. Ten days later, a major earthquake occurred in Guatemala and thousands of health and welfare messages were handled on HF nets.

In May 1977, the ARRL's AREC became the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES). Activity with the Red Cross increased and the ARES unit joined AVERT. The Affiliated Volunteer Emergency Response Teams (AVERT) group was developed by a group of volunteer public service organizations from communities within Santa Barbara County. Participants includes local search and rescue organizations, Civil Air Patrol, Citizens Band radio, and four wheel drive groups. During the next few years, the AVERT group was extremely active assisting each other during emergency operations and exercises. Contacts made during the AVERT era would pay off later for South Coast ARES in an affiliation with the Los Padres Search and Rescue Team and the Sheriff's Aero Squadron, in addition to recognition from the community.

In 1981, about 20 hams provided communications to the Red Cross shelter and 75-meter phone patch welfare contacts. In addition, ARES members were participating in the Sky Warn Spotter Network as well as AVERT operations. The group held a four-hospital emergency drill and permanent antenna installations were made at Goleta Valley and Cottage Hospitals.

During this time, ARES members provided communications for public service events such as the Santa Barbara Triathlon, American Cancer Society Bike-a-thon.

In early 1984, a committee of four SBARC members was formed to obtain a mobile communications van. On September 18, 1984, Santa Barbara Research Center presented the Club with a 20-ft step van. Thus began a new era in SBARC when the focal point for the Club became the refurbishing and equipping of this mobile communications van. Eventually, $25,000 would be donated to this purpose, much of the money coming from private resources donated in appreciation of the work done by SBARC and ARES in the community over the years. The van was dedicated to Bob Dyruff (W6POU) on January 26, 1985. Bob had dedicated his life to emergency communications and much of what ARES became was a result of his work.

In April 1985, the Santa Barbara Chapter of the American Red Cross granted SBARC clearance to move its emergency radio equipment into the radio room at Chapter Headquarters.

On July 3, 1985, the SBARC/ARES Mobile Communications Van and ARES members had a "baptism of fire." The US Forest Service asked for assistance in providing communications between headquarters and its base camp at the Wheeler Fire in Ojai. During the next 10 days, 73 members of SBARC and ARES handled more than 1500 messages (mostly health and welfare from the fire fighters).

There were lots of ARES activities in 1987, including a fire at Cachuma and a downed aircraft locator beacon training with Civil Air Patrol and the Los Padres Search and Rescue Team.

In April 1989, the first test was made of CARES (California Amateur Radio Emergency Service). CARES provided emergency radio communications for the State Dept. of Health Services, Dept. of Social Services, Emergency Medical Services Authority, and Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. ARES continues to support the County Emergency Medical Service by providing communications between hospitals and the EMS emergency operating center.

A Special ARES Fire Emergency (SAFE) Team was established to assist the US Forest Service by patrolling front country areas during Red Flag alerts and times of high fire danger.

In June 1991, ARES assisted the Los Padres Search and Rescue Team and Civil Air Patrol with communications during a downed aircraft mission near Jamison Lake. The versatility of communications was evident: 2-meter and 220 Amateur, Mountain Rescue Assn., aeronautical, CAP, sheriff, and US Forest Service frequencies, plus cellular phones all played vital roles in keeping information flowing between base operations and field teams. A crossband relay was also used.

1995 and 1996 were busy years for the ARES group. In January 1995, Santa Barbara was hit with massive flooding. ARES first assisted the Los Padres Search and Rescue Team evacuate resident. They were also needed at City and County Emergency Operations Centers and the Red Cross requested operators to provide communications for their shelters.

Also in January 1995, an SET had a HAZMAT spill south of Buellton. Santa Barbara ARES were sent to support two Red Cross shelters, three hospitals, and a search for a missing person. Communications links were maintained between ARES and other public service groups such as Direct Relief International and Equine Evacuation.

Today, the Santa Barbara South County ARES group continues to support the County Emergency Medical Services and has strengthened its ties with the Los Padres Forest Service in a more active Fire Watch program. It also continues to provide back-up communications for the Los Padres Search and Rescue Team. A county-wide packet network has been installed to enable the Office of Emergency Services to communicate with the emergency operating centers of all cities in the county. Additionally, slow-scan TV, ATV, APRS, and computer-generated coverage-area maps are all being tested for use by ARES to help its customers. Members are also becoming more active in event communications and in the National Weather Service Weather Spotter program. More on-the-air exercises are being conducted during the Monday night nets.

SBARC is fortunate to have seven repeaters on three bands, some with remote and auto-patch capability, and all rent-free and on government sites. The amateur community is encouraged to use these facilities to keep them active, in exchange for the priority use for emergency and public service communications. As this history shows, this philosophy has been embraced by SBARC and its members for decades and has enabled the amateurs of Santa Barbara to reaffirm their pledges to amateur radio, their community, and to SBARC.