ARES will be conducting a county-wide communications exercise with the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and the Office of Emergency Management on Thursday, November 16, from 0800 to 1200 hours. (Set up will be at 0800 with comm checks around 0830. The drill itself will start at 0900 hours.)  The 146.79 repeater will be used for south county operations and the 224.08 repeater will be linked to service all north county activity. The 446.4 repeater will be used for traffic between the EOC and the Public Health Department’s Department Operating Center. Linking between 146.79 and 145.18 will remain off to facilitate exercise communications.

It is likely the operations will be concluded prior to 1200 hours. At the present time, they expect to have an open net until such time as the exercise begins, so an abbreviated SBARC morning net on 146.79 seems like it will not interfere. But space should be left between transmissions for emergency or exercise traffic.

As soon as normal communications is restored at the hospitals, which is anticipated to be around 1100 hours, the net will either be terminated or put on open net status.