Indiana Amateur Radio
Emergency Service

ARES District 1
Serving Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Jasper, and Newton Counties. 

• The need to overcome the extraordinary challenges introduced by not having had an ARES organizational entity or one that had viability for at least the last five years within the ARES D1 geographical area.

 

Any forward momentum that once existed has been lost in the last five years or longer. Hams in the D1 area have reported the absence of ARES in some parts of the area has been as long as a decade.

 

• The lack of awareness, belief or trust by potential and/or existing served agencies in the capabilities and benefits that ARES D1 and its affiliated groups, that working in partnership brings.  

 

In the past, voice communications and perhaps slow-speed packet digital communications were the only offerings of ARES to served agencies. Most often, voice communications relied on Repeaters, which have known vulnerabilities during disaster situations and can render them unreliable or inoperable.

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Packet digital communications was very unreliable, lacking an algorithm that ensure 100 percent readability when received at the destination. It also lacked the ability to interoperate with traditional email systems (Outlook, etc.), lacked sufficient encoding to prevent its casual interception and it was unable to transmit or receive attachments (documents, images, etc.). ARES D1 uses modern, reliable, and interoperable digital technology that overcomes these issues.

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• The significantly smaller pool of wiling, licensed Ham Radio Operators available to volunteer for ARES D1 public service as compared to what was available five, ten or fifteen years ago.

 

The increase of licensed Ham Radio Operators in recent years does not proportionately translate to an increase in volunteers for ARES D1.

 

Potential willing volunteers may not yet know of the genuine need or believe there is a sincere desire to have them volunteer for ARES D1, other ARES organizations, or emergency communications related groups with whom we affiliate.

 

• An aging population, many of whom have health concerns, limitations and/or constraints on their time availability to volunteer.

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Aged people with health concerns and/or limitations need to be made aware that they can serve as ARES D1 volunteers from their own home, or if they desire, motor vehicle. They do not need to risk exposing themselves to COVID-19, other infections or diseases, or ever place themselves in uncomfortable or risky situations or environments.