ARRL Delaware Section Registration for ARES® and RACES

The most critical part of any Emergency Operation is to ascertain what and where your assets are, as well as their capabilities. Amateur Radio operators interested in assisting in emergencies are THE key asset to both the Amateur Radio Emergency Service and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service. ARES ® and RACES are two different services with a common goal, which CAN operate under different circumstances. The goal of the ARRL Delaware Section Administration is to establish agreements with governmental agencies to allow everyone who wishes to do so, to operate under any conceivable set of circumstances. During times when War Emergency Power is declared, ONLY stations who are designated by a Civil Defense authority as a RACES, in writing, station can even be on the air by FCC rules. Conversely, RACES stations are limited in their opertaions by those same rules so a combination of ARES®/RACES combines the best of both worlds.

We have developed a form that will allow us to keep current data on interested Amateurs, including their operational capabilities and training, so that the Section Manager, RACES Officers, and Emergency Coordinators can recommend the most qualified operator(s) to served agencies when called upon for assistance. It is critical, if you sign up to help, that you keep your data up to date. If you upgrade or complete a training course, we need to know about it. You can sign up to assist with both services, or if you prefer to only support one or the other, please make note of your preference in teh comments section on page two. We realize that you, as well as all of us, are volunteers. The information you provide will ony be shared with the Section Manager, Emergency Coordinators, and the Delaware Emergency Management Agency.

This form is NOT an application to join any club or organization. Completing the registration form and returning it to your Section Manager, RACES Officer, or Emergency Coordinator indicates your interest in helping out in emergencies and willingness to do so if the circumstances at the time allow. You can fill it out on your computer and submit it via E-mail to the Emergency Coordinator for New Castle County (wn3eoc@comcast.net), who will forward it to the proper authority for your county, or you can print it out and submit it directly, whichever you prefer.

A word on filling in pdf-based forms:

After you open the form using the link below, you can use the tab key to advance to the next field, shift-tab to go back or you can click each field you want to fill in or check. Using the arrow keys will advance or go back within a field, but will not advance you to the next field. When you come to the drop-down boxes, like License Class, you can either start typing or click the arrow to reveal the choices. If you try to enter anythig other than a, e, g, or t, for this field, you will get an error beep. For the check boxes, like modes and bands available, you can use the tab to advance and the space bar to check the box. You will have to manually advance to the next check box using tab or directly clicking the desired check box. If you make a mistake, you can use shift-tab to go back to the previous check box and then press the space bar or click it again to clear the box. When you get to page 2 under the section for certifications and credentials, the date fields will allow you to enter text like "can't remember"or "not sure", whatever you feel is accurate. Some credentials do not show an effective date, like the ARRL-VE credentials, just type "not sure" in the field in these cases. The ARRL-VE shows the expiration date of your license not the effective date of your appointment.

After you are finished filling in the form, you can click the "Print Form" button at the top to print it out for snail-mail submission, or the "Submit by Email" button, which will probably bring up several dialog boxes, depending on your computer configuration and programs installed. All available options under this button will also allow you to print the form for your records. In isolated cases, sending the form via E-mail doesn't actually send it, depending on your Email client and settings.

If you do not receive a confirmation back from wn3eoc@comcast.net within 48 hours, please try again using a different Email option, or use the Save Data File option to save the xml file and manually attach it to an email to that address. You MAY be able to save the whole pdf file and attach it, depending on your version of pdf reader.

ARES® / RACES Registration Form

ARES® is a registered trademark of the American Radio Relay League, 225 Main Street newington, CT. 06111.
RACES is defined by FCC rules part 97.407