This was emailed to me for posting to the public forums.
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Hello fellow Ham radio operators,
This is Rob KM6SRR; I am a member of the Fresno County ARES Group. I would like to invite all of you to contact us during the 2026 BEACON exercise.
The Fresno County ARES group will be participating in the BEACON exercise on April 30, 2026 from 09:00-17:00 local time. We are located close to the center of Region 5 of the Cal OES Mutual Aid Regions & Operational Areas. We would like to make contact with all of the Counties in Region 5 & our neighboring Counties.
The purpose of the BEACON exercise is to practice emergency communications and to see how effective our communication is, and who we can make contact with during an actual emergency. For detailed information go to beaconexercise.org.
The Fresno County ARES group will be following the Wilderness Protocol of checking into net control three minutes before until three minutes after the hour at 9am, 12pm, 3pm and 5pm. We will be monitoring and seeking check-ins on the following frequencies;
Net control operators will be routinely announcing “this is an exercise, this is an exercise, this is an exercise”. The following is an example of an unofficial exchange. During an actual event it is possible that the net control operator will be asking the following questions;
For next year’s BEACON exercise, we would like to encourage the use of horizontal antennas with the appropriate upper sideband radio. This would allow more reliable communication if the repeaters were to lose power. I realize that not everyone has this setup but wanted to let everyone know so you have a year to maybe add this to your station.
Please share this information with all of your club members and any other groups that might be interested. Thank you for taking the time to check in and we look forward to hearing you on the air on April 30th, 2026. If you would like to contact me, my email is egan@netptc.net.
__________________________________________________________________
Hello fellow Ham radio operators,
This is Rob KM6SRR; I am a member of the Fresno County ARES Group. I would like to invite all of you to contact us during the 2026 BEACON exercise.
The Fresno County ARES group will be participating in the BEACON exercise on April 30, 2026 from 09:00-17:00 local time. We are located close to the center of Region 5 of the Cal OES Mutual Aid Regions & Operational Areas. We would like to make contact with all of the Counties in Region 5 & our neighboring Counties.
The purpose of the BEACON exercise is to practice emergency communications and to see how effective our communication is, and who we can make contact with during an actual emergency. For detailed information go to beaconexercise.org.
The Fresno County ARES group will be following the Wilderness Protocol of checking into net control three minutes before until three minutes after the hour at 9am, 12pm, 3pm and 5pm. We will be monitoring and seeking check-ins on the following frequencies;
- Amateur Radio Primary/2M 147.150/+141.3
- Amateur Radio Secondary/2M 146.610/-141.3
- Amateur Radio Primary /70CM 444.200+141.3
- Amateur Radio Secondary /70CM 442.325+141.3
- Amateur Radio HF;
- Primary 40 Meters7.2655Primary 40M frequency assigned to Fresno County
- Secondary 40 Meters7.2705
- Tertiary 40 meters7.2605
- Primary 80 Meters3.8955Primary 80M frequency assigned to Fresno County
- Secondary 80 meters3.9005
- Tertiary 80 meters3.8905
- GMRS: Channel 16 (462.575 + PL 91.5)
Net control operators will be routinely announcing “this is an exercise, this is an exercise, this is an exercise”. The following is an example of an unofficial exchange. During an actual event it is possible that the net control operator will be asking the following questions;
- Are you safe?
- Is your structure stable?
- What kind of power do you have, if any?
- Do you require medical assistance?
- Name and general location.
For next year’s BEACON exercise, we would like to encourage the use of horizontal antennas with the appropriate upper sideband radio. This would allow more reliable communication if the repeaters were to lose power. I realize that not everyone has this setup but wanted to let everyone know so you have a year to maybe add this to your station.
Please share this information with all of your club members and any other groups that might be interested. Thank you for taking the time to check in and we look forward to hearing you on the air on April 30th, 2026. If you would like to contact me, my email is egan@netptc.net.