Amateur Radio

AMATEUR RADIO

The Coles County EMA maintains an Amateur Radio Station as part of its EOC. The call sign for the station is KC9KRA. Information pertinent to Coles County Amateur Radio Operators and information regarding activities and information related to emergency communications in Coles County will be provided on this page. Please check back periodically to receive the most up-to-date information as it becomes available.

Coles County EOC Amateur Radio Reporting Information

When contacting the EOC Radio operator, be prepared to give the following information:

  • Call sign (with phonetics);
  • Your location (if you are base) or if you are mobile; and
  • Whether or not you are a trained spotter (while spotter training is encouraged, all interested hams may check in)
What information should be reported to the EOC? Report any significant severe weather event. The most common examples of information that should be reported to the EOC include:

  • Tornado (on the ground, causing damage)
  • Funnel Cloud (still aloft)
  • Rotating Wall Cloud
  • Hail (especially dime size or greater)
  • Storm damage reports (downed trees, power outages, roofs blown off, etc.)
Stations should refrain from giving general weather reports, i.e. "It's raining here, it's pretty windy, and there's a lot of lightning." Rather, limit your reports to situations of truly unusual or severe nature. If you are in doubt as to whether something should be reported or not, it is always best to contact the EOC and advise them of what you are observing.

The EOC Communications Center is a highly busy place during a severe weather watch or warning.  While we will try to have a dedicated individual assigned to the EOC Amateur Radio, this will not always be possible.  Please assist us by keeping non-emergency traffic to a minimum during weather incidents, and keeping all other traffic as concise as possible.

One final note -- Severe weather conditions change rapidly, and may catch spotters off guard. Spotter Safety is a critical function that must be attended to by all parties involved in the weather watch system. Consequently, all stations that check in need to be sure and check out, either at the conclusion of the net or at any time that they must suspend operations. This way we are confident that everyone is safe and accounted for. Remember, spotting is a voluntary activity!
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