County of Orange RACES

OCRACES personnel are required to abide by local, County, State, and Federal laws, whether on or off duty. OCRACES personnel shall not self-activate, but must report for duty whenever OCRACES is activated. OCRACES personnel must adhere to the Rules and Regulations of the Federal Communications Commission, in accordance with the privileges of their particular class of amateur radio license. Whenever operating in a RACES net, personnel shall not communicate with a radio amateur that is not certified by a RACES organization, in accordance with §97.407(d) of the FCC Rules. (Note that a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the Hospital Disaster Support Communications System and with the Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross, recognizing a mutual affiliation whereby HDSCS and Red Cross personnel may pass government-related traffic on an OCRACES net.) OCRACES personnel must be thoroughly familiar with and adhere to the entire §97.407 of the Commission’s Rules, as printed below. This section is devoted strictly to RACES.

According to §97.3(a)(37) of the FCC Rules, RACES (radio amateur civil emergency service) is a radio service using amateur stations for civil defense communications during periods of local, regional, or national civil emergencies. OCRACES personnel are under the command of the Orange County Sheriff's Department, Communications Division, and are certified by OCSD, Emergency Management Bureau. OCSD/EM is the civil defense organization that is referenced in the FCC Rules.

Subpart A--General Provisions

§97.3 Definitions.

(a) The definitions of terms used in Part 97 are:

(37) RACES (radio amateur civil emergency service). A radio service using amateur stations for civil defense communications during periods of local, regional, or national civil emergencies.

§97.17 Application for new license grant.

(a) Any qualified person is eligible to apply for a new operator/ primary station, club station or military recreation station license grant. No new license grant will be issued for a RACES station.

Subpart E--Providing Emergency Communications

§97.407 Radio amateur civil emergency service.

(a) No station may transmit in RACES unless it is an FCC-licensed primary, club, or military recreation station and it is certified by a civil defense organization as registered with that organization, or it is an FCC-licensed RACES station. No person may be the control operator of a RACES station, or may be the control operator of an amateur station transmitting in RACES unless that person holds a FCC-issued amateur operator license and is certified by a civil defense organization as enrolled in that organization.

(b) The frequency bands and segments and emissions authorized to the control operator are available to stations transmitting communications in RACES on a shared basis with the amateur service. In the event of an emergency which necessitates the invoking of the President's War Emergency Powers under the provisions of Section 706 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §606, RACES stations and amateur stations participating in RACES may only transmit on the frequency segments authorized pursuant to part 214 of this chapter.

(c) A RACES station may only communicate with:

(1) Another RACES station;

(2) An amateur station registered with a civil defense organization;

(3) A United States Government station authorized by the responsible agency to communicate with RACES stations;

(4) A station in a service regulated by the FCC whenever such communication is authorized by the FCC.

(d) An amateur station registered with a civil defense organization may only communicate with:

(1) A RACES station licensed to the civil defense organization with which the amateur station is registered;

(2) The following stations upon authorization of the responsible civil defense official for the organization with which the amateur station is registered:

(i) A RACES station licensed to another civil defense organization;

(ii) An amateur station registered with the same or another civil defense organization;

(iii) A United States Government station authorized by the responsible agency to communicate with RACES stations; and

(iv) A station in a service regulated by the FCC whenever such communication is authorized by the FCC.

(e) All communications transmitted in RACES must be specifically authorized by the civil defense organization for the area served. Only civil defense communications of the following types may be transmitted:

(1) Messages concerning impending or actual conditions jeopardizing the public safety, or affecting the national defense or security during periods of local, regional, or national civil emergencies;

(2) Messages directly concerning the immediate safety of life of individuals, the immediate protection of property, maintenance of law and order, alleviation of human suffering and need, and the combating of armed attack or sabotage;

(3) Messages directly concerning the accumulation and dissemination of public information or instructions to the civilian population essential to the activities of the civil defense organization or other authorized governmental or relief agencies; and

(4) Communications for RACES training drills and tests necessary to ensure the establishment and maintenance of orderly and efficient operation of the RACES as ordered by the responsible civil defense organization served. Such drills and tests may not exceed a total time of 1 hour per week. With the approval of the chief officer for emergency planning in the applicable State, Commonwealth, District, or territory, however, such tests and drills may be conducted for a period not to exceed 72 hours no more than twice in any calendar year.

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Webmaster: Ken Bourne, W6HK, Chief Radio Officer, County of Orange (California) RACES
Last Update: September 28, 2007