PinCo ACS Tactical-Resource Net

The Pinellas County ACS Tactical-Resource net will be activated to support emergency and non-emergency events. When activated, the net has two main functions. First, as a tactical net, it will be used to manage the flow of real-time ACS tactical communications within the county. Second, as a resource net, its NCS will keep track of all ACS Communication Team members, the capabilities of each communications team, and the deployment status of each communications team. This net will also be used to issue assignments; locate needed equipment and supplies; and dispatch repair crews as needed. To keep the frequency available for tactical exchanges and resource management, whenever possible, formal written traffic will be redirected to the Winlink Digital Data net, the ACS Traffic net, or the ARES^® VHF traffic net, as appropriate, for servicing.

The W4ACS repeater system is the primary repeater used to support the tactical-resource net.

PinCo ACS Traffic Net

The ACS Traffic net will only be activated if the ACS EOC radio room team determines that the volume of traffic on the ACS Tactical-Resource Net cannot be effectively managed using a single repeater. When activated, the mission of the ACS Traffic net is to offload the exchange of formal written Priority traffic from the Tactical-Resource Net to a secondary repeater.

The WD4SCD repeater system is the primary repeater used to support the ACS Traffic net. The WD4SCD repeater has a single transmitter site and five receive sites distributed throughout Pinellas County. The repeater receive sites are connected to the transmitter site using UHF communication links. Each communications team should identify the receiving station that is closest to their deployment location and then program their radio with the corresponding Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System (CTCSS) tone shown in the following table.

The WD4SCD repeater system is also designated as the primary back-up repeater to the W4ACS repeater system.

The location of each repeater receive site is shown in the following map.

ARES^® VHF Traffic Net

The ARES® VHF traffic net is used to exchange Routine and Welfare traffic between stations within Pinellas County and as a gateway for traffic destined for or received from locations outside of the Tampa Bay region. A Section/Regional traffic net liaison station will be assigned to this net to expedite delivery of out of region traffic. The WA4AKH repeater system is the primary repeater used to support the ARES^® VHF Traffic Net. Refer to the following table for operational information.

Winlink Digital Data Network

The Winlink Digital Data Net is used to exchange both informal and formal message traffic between deployed ACS communication teams and the Pinellas County EOC.

VHF Inter-County Coordination Net

The WA4GDN repeater (New Port Richey) has been designated as the inter-county operations frequency for Emergency operations during extensive or long-term events affecting multiple counties in Pinellas/Pasco/Hillsborough.

This frequency is for NCS use only and should be used to relay significant emergency events moving from county to county or along county borders including weather emergencies.

If the WA4GDN repeater is unavailable, then the N4TP repeater can be used as the inter-county frequency with the permission of the Hillsborough ARES®/RACES EC/RO.

WCF ARES^® nets will be operated on a section level upon authorization of the WCF section EC or the section manager. Such nets will be conducted to support inter-county emergency operations using the NI4CE repeater system. Refer to the following table for operational information about inter-county coordination repeater systems.

Statewide Amateur Radio Net (SARnet)

The Statewide Amateur Radio Network (SARnet) is a network of linked UHF voice repeaters that serves the State of Florida. During a significant emergency event, SARnet may be called upon for support, through an official state emergency request, and radio traffic in and out of an affected area may become heavy. … During such an emergency, if a controlled net is called, it will be by [amateurs] working with the county and state EOCs.

Florida Statewide HF Emergency Net

The Florida Statewide HF Emergency Net will be activated by the Florida Division of Emergency Management during declared states of emergency and used to exchange priority and emergency traffic between Florida County EOCs and the State of Florida EOC. The assigned frequencies for this net are listed below.

Pinellas County Simplex Operations

Depending on the type of emergency PinCo ACS is supporting, it is possible that the primary and all back-up local repeater systems may become unusable. When this failure mode is encountered, ACS will activate a simplex net.

• • Plan A – All Pinellas County: 146.43 MHz – Wideband (5 kHz)
  • Plan B – Pinellas County split at Ulmerton Rd
    • North of Ulmerton Rd: 146.43 MHz – Wideband (5 kHz)
    • South of Ulmerton Rd: 146.47 MHz – Wideband (5 kHz)
  • Leverage the National Calling Frequency: 146.52 MHz – Wideband (5 kHz)