One of PCACS’s primary responsibilities is to provide emergency communications at Pinellas County Emergency Shelters.

In that role, we provide an amateur radio link from the Shelter to the Pinellas County Emergency Operations Center. As our resources at a Shelter permit, we offer outbound “Health and Welfare” messages to the Shelter residents. (Inbound Health & Welfare messages will probably face a 72 hour moratorium after a disaster. Some of our Shelters can offer this capability via Winlink 2000 where we, the shelter amateur radio operators, use the Winlink 2000 system to send e-mail over (packet) radio to the addressee of the Health & Welfare message.

Each Shelter is provided with a Radio Kit which contains a Pre-Programmed 65 Watt VHF mobile radio, earphones, an antenna and coax, a battery & charger, log books, office supplies, free meals and, best of all… provided with an opportunity to support emergency services in their own communities, especially those of you who already need to go to a shelter.

Hams are requested to log in and update the database on line at www.aresdb.com and sign up ASAP to man your shelter. Anyone who is a radio enthusiast can get free training and amateur licenses by contacting the ACS Radio Officer. Contact details are on the staff listing page.