Lane County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is a group of Amateur Radio operators committed to provide radio communications when existing communications systems are disrupted or overloaded, and even if a communications system does not exist in the area needed.
ARES volunteers can forward messages by voice or digital communications, and do this at state, county, and city facilities, when the normal communications systems fail. The equipment and service is provided at no cost to the public or the agencies served. Most if not all of the equipment is provided by these volunteers and can be available on short notice.
Amateur Radio is a hobby, however, participating in emergency communications is a major commitment made by our members. While we are called amateurs, because we do not charge for our volunteer services, we are professional in all that we do to help when all other communications systems fail.