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Local Volunteer Ham Operators Complete Summer Field Exercise

August 10, 2021 – Last Saturday, the Cape Cod and Islands ARES district held its summer field exercise.  These dedicated volunteers had field sites in Falmouth, Sandwich, Brewster, and Chatham with additional participation from home stations in other parts of Massachusetts. Broadcasting was conducted on VHF, UHF, 6m, HF (60 and 75m) and digital Winlink/NBEMS.

These Ham Operators make up a huge part of Barnstable County’s emergency response capabilities, as they guarantee backup communication should primary methods go down.  These teams can deploy anywhere, including hospitals, shelters, emergency operation centers, and impact zones, allowing emergency management personnel to maintain situational awareness across the Cape.

[su_quote]”Eastern Massachusetts ARES serves 190 communities in eight counties east of the Worcester County line from the New Hampshire state border to Cape Cod and the Islands. The organization maintains a liaison with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency through its Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) program as well as the National Weather Service Norton/Taunton Office’s SKYWARN™ program.[/su_quote]