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San Luis Obispo County, California
| Fully remote testing sessions are listed here: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/remote. |
The San Luis Obispo County Emergency Communications Council (SLOECC) is the logistic support organization for amateur radio emergency communications in San Luis Obispo County, on California's beautiful Central Coast, about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
This site offers information about activities of SLOECC and the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) in San Luis Obispo County. These organizations are made up of over 100 FCC-licensed amateur radio operators who have volunteered their time and resources to serve the community in times of emergency. ARES/RACES/SLOECC members are located throughout the County. They maintain reliable radio systems that do not depend upon regular sources of electric power, and are prepared to respond to the need for radio communications whenever regular systems fail or are overloaded, including such emergency conditions as fire, flood, toxic spill, earthquake, nuclear plant emergency, or other disaster.
Please follow the links below for more information on
Amateur radio operators in the United States have a long and distinguished history of community service, most notably in the field of emergency communications.
Whenever regular communications channels are down and/or commercial electric power systems have failed or are overloaded, "Hams" have provided a temporary and reliable back-up system. Fires, floods, earthquakes, major storms, power outages... virtually any disruption of normal services brings out the amateur radio emergency teams. While our primary emphasis is on relaying "health and welfare" information, Hams also provide direct support to public safety agencies when regular channels are inaccessible.
In San Luis Obispo County, hams have served during the Las Pilitas Fire, Highway 41 Fire, both Highway 58 Fires (1996 and 2002), December 1988 snowstorms and the December 2003 earthquake. Additionally, they have participated in every County wide siren test and emergency exercise.
Licensed amateur radio operators include college professors, engineers, psychologists, business executives, public employees, students, and homemakers... folks from all walks of life who have developed technical skills and who want to make a valuable contribution to their communities.
Let's clear up one possibly confusing term. The Federal Communications Commission licenses certain non-commercial radio operators as "amateurs" because they are not permitted to accept any pay for their services. Except for that, "amateur" is not an accurate description of the efforts or skills of the ham community. These are trained, licensed and experienced communicators who know the territory, and understand their role when the need arises.
San Luis Obispo County's amateur radio emergency operations are organized into three overlapping services:
Amateur radio emergency communications service agreements are in place with several public agencies and community organizations in San Luis Obispo County, including:
Amateur radio, via ARES / RACES / SLOECC, is an integral part of the emergency plans of each of these key community service agencies. (Many have licensed amateurs on their staffs.)
Communities -- If you are an elected or appointed public official who represents a municipality in San Luis Obispo County, ARES representatives will be delighted to explain how amateur radio can offer reliable back-up for your public safety communications. Amateur radio can help.
Schools -- Is your district prepared to provide communication with families during a possible evacuation? Might you need emergency backup for contact with buses or other district sites? Amateur radio can help
Hospitals -- In a recent power outage in Orange County, one major hospital's telephone system failed. The hospital invited local amateur radio operators to help, and emergency service was made available within minutes. Amateur radio can help
Agencies -- Nationally and in SLO County, the American Red Cross and Salvation Army are linked with amateur radio through formal service agreements. Hams provide communications assistance for "health and welfare" messages, keeping agencies in touch with each other, and letting anxious relatives far away know about the status of loved ones. Could your agency use similar help in an emergency? Amateur radio can help.
If you are a licensed amateur radio operator who would like to be of direct help to your neighbors and community in times of emergency, ARES/RACES/SLOECC can use your help! As they say in the classifieds: "No experience necessary; Will train." We'd love to hear from you. If you are not licensed, we can help you get your amateur radio license.
Contacts for more information include:
| Member | Phone | |
|---|---|---|
| Scott Currie, NS7C | 253-569-5102 | ns7c@arrl.net |
| John Bonnett, KK6JRA | 805-748-9013 | jhb@uuplus.net |
| Tom Tengdin, | 805-704-1878 | wb9vxy@gmail.com |
| Member | Callsign | City | Office | Phone # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Bonnett | KK6JRA | Los Osos | President | 805-748-9013 |
| Tom Tengdin | WB9VXY | Los Osos | Vice-President | 805-704-1878 |
| Ron Rose | K6JTA | Paso Robles | Treasurer | |
| Mike Lindsay | AD7RZ | Los Osos | Secretary | 520-334-7880 |
| Bill Bailey | AE6EQ | Los Osos | Director | 805-534-1524 |
| Marc Levy | K6ZAP | Grover Beach | Director | 310-351-4171 |
| Dave Garth | W6DEG | San Luis Obispo | Director | |
| Wolf Leverich | WA6I | San Luis Obispo | Webmaster, not voting BoD | 805-594-1025 |
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The Board of Directors meets on the second Tuesday of each month, at 10 a.m. Consult a Board member for the location of the next meeting.
GENERAL MEETING: General meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of most months at 7 p.m. Confirm meeting location by clicking on the calendar tab at the top of the page. (There are no meetings in July and December. The November meeting is held on the third Wednesday of the month.)
SLOECC Bylaws are available for download.