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EmComm Knowledge Quiz
To encourage Sumter County ARES members to stay engaged and to enhance their knowledge of EmComm-related information, five questions will be emailed to SCARES members each month, along with a tip to where they can find the answers. All answers can be found on the Sumter County ARES website at www.sumterares.org, or the ARRL Emergency Communications Course, or Sumter County ARES Manual, all of which are available online.
SCARES members, and anyone else who would like to test their knowledge, should email their answers to the Sumter County ARES Emergency Coordinator at kx4leo@gmail.com before the 4th Thursday of each month. The answers will be revealed, along with any discussion, during the monthly SCARES VHF Net on the 4th Thursday of each month at 7:30 PM ET on the K4HOG 147.030 repeater. The answers will also be posted here.
August 2026
Question 11
During a “Directed Net” in which you are NOT the net control station (NCS), what is the correct procedure to follow if you want to contact another station directly?
Question 12
When a Logistics Net is activated on the 147.030 MHz repeater, and a piece of Health and Welfare traffic needs to be passed, what frequency / repeater is to be used to actually pass that traffic between the sending and receiving station according to the ICS-205 for Sumter County?
Question 13
According to the SCARES Emergency Operations plan, as a general rule, a minimal deployment kit should include provisions for how many hours?
Question 14
During an ARES Alert Level 2, on what frequency / repeater will SCARES members receive deployment instructions?
Question 15
What is the ARRL suggested procedure, according to the SCARES Emergency Operations Plan, if you need to interrupt a “Directed Net” because you have emergency or priority traffic?
July 2026
​Below is another set of 5 questions to test your EmComm knowledge. All answers can be found in the Emergency Operations chapter found on the ALERTS tab on the www.sumterares.org/alert webpage.
Question 6
At what ARES Alert Level are SCARES members required to remain in contact with the ARES Incident Commander (AIC) to inform him or her of their availability for deployment?
Answer: Level-2, Emergency Operations Plan, 2.
Question 7
What is/are the primary responsibilities of the ARES Incident Commander when SCARES is activated for an emergency condition?
Answer: “…the primary responsibility of the AIC is to ensure that all critical posts and/or assignments that are requested by the EM or other served agency to be staffed by ARES personnel are adequately staffed and operating effectively, and that reliable communications is established between the EOC and those locations.” Emergency Operations Plan Page, 5.a.
Question 8
Any one of three conditions must exist before the SCARES Emergency Coordinator will declare an ARES Alert Level-2. Please name one.
Answer: “…will be declared for Sumter County ARES by its EC or AEC under any of the following conditions: (a) When specific ARES duty posts / field assignments in Sumter County are to be staffed and made operational; or (b) When requests are received from the NFL Section or any other County under mutual aid; or (c) When requests are made by the Sumter County Emergency Manager, or other organizations approved by the EC or AEC.” Emergency Operations Plan, 2.
Question 9
When using "tactical callsigns", when must you transmit your FCC assigned call sign?
Answer: Using a “tactical call sign” is permitted by FCC rules providing that each station transmits their FCC assigned call sign at the end of their conversation and at 10- minute intervals throughout that conversation. Emergency Operations Plan, 6.g.
Question 10
Under normal conditions when the Sumter County EOC is activated, who is primarily responsible for sending official messages between the Sumter County EOC and the Florida State EOC using amateur radio?
Answer: “When the Sumter County Emergency Operations Center is activated, all official messages between the Sumter County EOC, Florida State EOC, and EOCs of other counties is the sole responsibility of the Communications Unit of each EOC regardless of the method of transmission. No SCARES member may transmit or send any official message to the State EOC or EOC of another county, regardless of form, unless requested to do so by the Communications Unit in the Sumter County EOC, or unless the EOC is unable to do so for any reason, i.e. lack of staffing, building or equipment damage, etc.” Emergency Operations Plan, 6.h.
June 2026
​All the answers can be found in the ALERT tab of the Sumter County ARES website, www.sumterares.org/alert.
Question 1
During an EmComm deployment, when is it necessary to send an ICS-213 message?
​Answer: "...when a message needs to be sent AND that member (or location) is expecting a response..."
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Question 2
What form is used to send a Health and Welfare message through the National Traffic System?
​Answer: ARRL Radiogram
Question 3
What repeater / frequency is used as an Operational / Administrative Net by the EOC?
​Answer: KS4EOC repeater on 146.925 MHz
Question 4
What repeater / frequency is used as a Logistics net by Sumter County ARES?
​Answer: K4HOG repeater on 147.030 MHz
Question 5
What simplex frequency is used for Sumter County EmComm?
​Answer: 147.585 MHz