Colorado ARES
Resource Library

Latest update: 07/01/2007

This library is intended to be a repository of various documents and reports which can be used by anyone in Colorado ARES or other emergency communications groups as they see fit. It's intended to be a single place where Colorado ARES registrants can come to find general information about activities, lessons learned, or other topics of interest to those interested in ARES.

The following categories of information can be found here. Click on the appropriate heading to see a table of contents of available information:

After Action Reports

• After action reports are reports that are filed, typically by an emergency coordinator for a local area, which describes in detail what happened during an ARES mission. The information in these reports usually includes who was served and how, who participated, and most importantly, what was learned during the mission. It's from these "lessons learned" documents that we can learn and let others learn in order to reduce the number of mistakes made and to optimize our efforts.
  • Lessons Learned summary from the reports available above.

Year End Reports

• The ARRL has forms that need to be completed by all EC's (http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms). These are in addition to the After Action Report that is referenced in the COPLAN.

  Please submit a copy of the ARRL forms to the Section Emergency Coordinator by December 31st so that these can forward them to the League.

  • For the Annual SET, the form is
    http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms/ec_set.doc (MS Word or equivilent format)
    http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms/ec_set.pdf (Adobe PDF)

  • For the Year End Report, the form is
    http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms/ec_ann.doc (MS Word or equivilent format)
    http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms/ec_ann.pdf (Adobe PDF)

EC Newsletters & Meeting Minutes

• EC meeting minutes, when available, will be posted here.

TNC Reference Information

• Information about the TNCs that are of most use to ARES is summarized in this page. If you would like to see information on other TNCs included, please forward that information to WØIPL

ARESCO Software

• This section contains assorted software that has been useful to some of the Colorado ARES members. It has been either developed or recommended by Colorado ARES members.

Colorado Emergency Radio Plan (COPLAN)

• The purpose of the COPLAN is to provide information and guidelines to facilitate the sharing of amateur radio communications, human and technical resources within the state of Colorado as they relate to public service, emergency and support requests.

District Emergency Plans

• Links to the Emergency Plans for districts that have submitted those links or had an emergency plan on file with aresco.

Training Resources

• The training resources list some briefings, presentations, speakers, and courses that are available to us to help us learn more about emergency communications.

ARESCO Logos

• Here are three new logos for ARESCO that may be used in conjunction with Colorado ARES business.
• Black & white ARESCO Logo
• Blue & white ARESCO Logo
• Blue & white ARESCO with yellow trim

Other Resources on the Web

• ARRL's W1AW Bulletins Single topic bulletins are sent out periodically from the ARRL for significant events, and for other routine subjects such as propagation, DX, and satellite Keplerian elements. Many are routine, such as election results for a section manager, but you will also find bulletins relating to emergency communications, such as an FCC declaration of a communications emergency during a disaster.
• ARRL Letters The ARRL Letters are weekly summaries of many things happening in the world of amateur radio, such as regulatory, educational issues, Field Day, as well as public service. It's not uncommon to read stories about emergency responses to severe weather and natural disasters, such as the coverage of the snow emergency we had here in Colorado in October 1997. The ARRL maintains an archive of these letters at their web site. It's worth checking out.

• ARRL Field Organization This page briefly describes the ARRL Field Organization, of which ARES is a part. Besides links to ARRL affiliated clubs and hamfest listings, this page offers links to online public service documentation (e.g., the Public Service Communications Manual), forms (e.g., numbered radiograms, EC reports, reference cards) and descriptions of the requirements for section appointees (e.g., Official Emergency Stations, Official Relay Stations, and several Emergency Coordinator positions).

• ARRL Quick Reference List Here you can get to hundreds of reference files and software programs via the ARRL FTP server.

• Online HazMat Emergency Response Guidebook This emergency response guidebook is the same as is distributed to first response emergency personnel. It contains information about HazMat placard numbers, the kinds of hazardous materials you should expect to find for each kind of placard, how those materials are dangerous, and what to do when encountering that kind of material in a HazMat spill. Another related web site is the U.S. Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Website which also contains links to the printing office where you can purchase your own copy.