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Sevier County Emergency Radio Services

 is a Non Profit 501C3

Charter: January 4, 2004

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We provide Radio Communications for the served agencies in Sevier County and others throughout the state of Tennessee or other locations if needed.

Our members are highly trained in emergency communications.

The amateur and amateur-satellite services are for qualified persons of any age who are interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest. These services present an opportunity for self-training, intercommunication, and technical investigations.

The amateur and amateur-satellite services are for qualified persons of any age who are interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest. These services present an opportunity for self-training, intercommunication, and technical investigations. Twenty-seven small frequency bands throughout the spectrum are allocated to this service internationally. Some 1,300 digital, analog, pulse, and spread-spectrum emission types may be transmitted.

Millions of amateur operators in all areas of the world communicate with each other directly or through ad hoc relay systems and amateur-satellites. They exchange messages by voice, teleprinting, telegraphy, facsimile, and television. In areas where the FCC regulates the services, an amateur operator must have an FCC or Canadian license. FCC-issued Reciprocal Permit for Alien Amateur Licensee are no longer needed. Reciprocal operation in the U.S. is now authorized by Section 47 C.F.R. § 97.107.

All frequencies are shared. No frequency is assigned for the exclusive use of any amateur station. Station control operators cooperate in selecting transmitting channels to make the most effective use of the frequencies. They design, construct, modify, and repair their stations. The FCC equipment authorization program does not generally apply to amateur station transmitters.

Operator Class & Examinations

The FCC has issued six types of license operator class, each authorizing varying levels of privileges. The class for which each licensee is qualified is determined by the degree of skill and knowledge in operating a station that the licensee demonstrates during an examination to volunteer (VEs) in his or her community.

Most new amateur operators start at the Technician Class and then advance to the General Class or Amateur Extra Class operator license. The VEs give examination credit for the license class currently held so that examinations required for that license need not be repeated. The VEs construct the written examinations from question pools that have been made public. Helpful study guides and training courses are widely available. 

WHY SEVIER COUNTY NEEDS RACES

Sevier County sits in a place where communications can fail fast — mountains, hollows, tourist loads that spike in minutes, and weather that can knock out power or cell sites without much warning. That’s exactly the kind of county that benefits from an organized, trained Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) element under Emergency Management. RACES isn’t just “ham radio folks helping out.” It’s a way for the county to have a pre-identified, FCC-recognized pool of licensed radio operators who can be activated, tasked, and controlled during an emergency, even if normal amateur operations are restricted.

When wildfires, ice storms, tornados, or wind events hit the Smokies — like the Gatlinburg fire in 2016 — commercial systems can become overloaded or fail, and mutual-aid agencies start rolling in from outside the county. That’s when the EOC needs extra ears and extra circuits: shelter-to-EOC, field-to-EOC, hospital or staging area traffic, damage-assessment reports, and sometimes simple welfare messages when people can’t get a phone call out. A RACES group can stand up VHF/UHF voice, digital modes like FLDigi/NBEMS, and even HF paths out of the county if the local infrastructure is hurting. Because they train together ahead of time, Emergency Management doesn’t have to improvise in the middle of the incident — they already know who to call and what they can do.

Another reason Sevier County needs RACES is control and accountability. During a disaster, Emergency Management has to know: who’s on the air, where they are, what frequencies they’re using, and what traffic they’re handling. RACES runs under the authority of the local government, so operators work from an assignment, not at random. That keeps frequencies clear, prevents rumor traffic, and makes sure tactical and administrative messages get priority. It also creates a place for volunteers to plug in legally and safely — with credentials, nets, and procedures tied to the county.

Finally, Sevier County is a tourist county — thousands of visitors who don’t know the back roads, don’t have local contacts, and may all try to use the same two or three cell sites at once. In that kind of environment, having a government-affiliated amateur radio reserve is a low-cost way to add resiliency. You’re leveraging equipment people already own, skills they already practice, and mountaintop repeater coverage that’s already there — but you’re doing it inside a recognized structure: RACES. 

Darrell Sperry, KA4TAR

RACES is an organization of amateur radio operators who volunteer to provide radio communications for State and local governments in times of emergency. Created in 1952 primarily to serve in civil defense emergencies, RACES provides essential communications and warning links to supplement State and local government assets during emergencies.

RACES is a special part of the amateur operation sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). RACES provides emergency communications for civil preparedness purposes only. RACES is conducted by amateurs using their primary station licenses or by existing RACES stations. In the event that the President invokes the War Emergency powers, amateurs officially enrolled in the local civil preparedness group would become limited to certain frequencies, while all other amateur operations would be silenced.

Darrell Sperry, KA4TAR,