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Old March 5th 12, 12:37 AM posted to rec.radio.amateur.moderated
Phil Kane Phil Kane is offline
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First recorded activity by RadioBanter: Jan 2007
Posts: 300
Default Auxiliary Communications System (ACS)

On Sun, 4 Mar 2012 14:11:33 EST, (Dave Platt)
wrote:

I'm writing about the Auxiliary Communications System (ACS), and I have
a whole lot of questions about it and about RACES and ARES and how they
fit - or don't - in the new system.

First, though, I need information about the new system, and where I can
find out about it. I haven't seen any mention of it prior to the March
ARRL Section Newsletter I read this morning.


California has had an ACS program in place for some years now.


Cal ACES was the Midsummer's Night Dream (I'm being circumspect in a
family-oriented group) of a maverick named Stan Harter who somehow got
himself appointed as the state's Emergency Communications Director
back in the 1980s after he messed up that function in the state of
Hawaii. He never heard of "use the resources within the system" and
decided that he and his hand-picked henchfolk knew more about
emergency communications that anyone else in the state if not the
world. He drove the professionals in public safety and even broadcast
(EBS) nuts trying to deal with him and his occasional skirting the
edge of FCC regulations. Needless to say, he had nothing to do with
RACES because we were "outsiders" to his world and made ACES the
competition. Stan is long since deceased and the two factions have (I
hope) reconciled but the mere mention of ACES drives some of us nuts
remembering its origins.

Oregon has a program that at one time was modeled on the California
program but because we have a strong integrated ARES/RACES team setup,
OR-ACES has adopted the role of setting standards and providing
training for volunteers in emergency communications, not only for
ARES/RACES, and has redesignated the acronym as Auxiliary
Communications Emergency Solutions. I have taken their course and it
is excellent.

'Nuff said.....
---

73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane

From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest

Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon

e-mail: k2asp [at] arrl [dot] net