DeKalb ARES is a volunteer group of FCC-licensed radio amateurs providing emergency and public-service communications to DeKalb County Emergency Management, area hospitals, and community organizations — on a moment's notice, and without dependence on commercial infrastructure.
No license yet? The Get your ham license page walks you through study materials (free guide + iOS/Android apps), where to take the exam, and what comes next.
Serving DeKalb County EMA. Damage assessment, inter-agency messaging, and EOC support when activated.
Standing radio equipment at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University Hospital, Emory Midtown, and the DeKalb Board of Health — staffed on request during activations.
Communications support for the Atlanta Marathon, Peachtree Road Race, and county-wide drills and exercises.
We provide public service communications support, on a voluntary basis, to Public Safety, Public Health, and other community organizations. Our commitment is to be a ready resource of trained communicators for these organizations, and to serve when and where needed.
DeKalb ARES / Alford Memorial Radio Club
DeKalb ARES joined the Alford Memorial Radio Club for ARRL Field Day 2026 at Pleasantdale Park, a 24-hour emergency-power operating event that doubles as our biggest annual exercise in setting up and running stations off the grid.
Dekalb ARES in conjunction with the Alford Memorial Radio Club will be operating Field Day on Sat 6/27/2026 @ 2:00pm thru Sun 6/28/2026 @ 2:00pm at Pleasantdale Park.
ARRL ARES Letter - 5/20/2026 - http://www.arrl.org/aresletterissue?issue=2026-05-20
Planning is underway for a potential rapid-deployment drill concept — a 'station scramble' exercise testing portable communications from multiple fire stations across the county, building on the March APRS coverage drill.
Thanks to Scott Sheppard, KJ4ZZB for his excellent demo of a DigiPi build and also to Facundo Fernandez, KK4ODA for his very informative presentation on the use of APRS objects in EmComm for Dekalb ARES.
Every Sunday at 8:00 PM local time on the Alford Memorial Radio Club repeater. Open to any licensed amateur — membership not required.
Taking a turn as Net Control? Use the net script (PDF) →
Two Winlink RMS gateways under callsign WD5EMA-10, moving email over radio when the internet is down.
Between meetings and nets, the group stays coordinated on Groups.io — meeting announcements, last-minute updates, drill coordination, and member discussion.
Members should register; non-members may read archived discussions.
Supplementary real-time chat on Discord →
"If you are interested in emergency communications, you are welcome at any monthly meeting or weekly net. No advance registration required."
— James W. Penland · N4RAR · Emergency Coordinator, DeKalb County ARES
No dues. No mandatory deployments. Just a standing monthly meeting, a weekly net, and an open invitation to be useful when it matters.
Learn how to join →