Thank you for volunteering to help your friends and neighbors in the event of a communications emergency. ESCAR has been set up to allow the public to reach emergency services such as police and fire when normal telephone services are not operating. Net control, located at the McHenry County Government Center Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Woodstock, will relay messages to the appropriate services.
Link with ESDA/RACES: At this time, there is no need to become a member of McHenry County ESDA, although participation is encouraged. Filling out a brief form will let ESDA know that you would be available, and ESDA will supply you with signs, message forms, and other materials.
Activation: This group will only be activated by ESDA in the event of an emergency. There may be occasional drills and mailings.
Means of notifying the public: You will be assigned election-type lawn signs to be placed in front of your home in the event of an emergency. These signs are the property of ESDA, and should be returned when you are no longer able to participate.
What frequencies will be used?
The ESDA repeater, located in Woodstock, is on 146.835, (-), with a 91.5 PL.
The KB9I repeater in McHenry, is on145.410, (-), with a 107.2 PL.
If the repeaters are down, use the following:
TAC 1: 145.330 Simplex
TAC 2: 145.410 Simplex
TAC 4: 147.420 Simplex
TAC 5: 146.505 Simplex
What about Citizens Band? The EOC does not presently have CB capabilities. You are encouraged to monitor channel 9, and relay information as needed.
Someone is at my door, asking for help. What do I do? Using the supplied message form, ask for the nature of the emergency and the location. If it is a life-threatening emergency, call it in at once. Otherwise, fill in the rest of the form and call it in. You will be given a tracking number by net control, and what the response will be. Notify the person of the response.
What type of messages should I relay? Any message that involves
emergency services such as police, fire, and medical. You might
get requests for Health and Welfare, such as checking on a relative.
If the net is busy, you may have to wait for a quiet time to relay
these messages.
Do I have to let the person into my home? No. Use your discretion,
and instruct other family members on what to do.
If the person appears intoxicated, disorderly, or is threatening,
inform net control. Do not put yourself in danger.
Could a non-ham use my radio in an emergency? Yes, by all means. You may want to show other family members how to use your radio.