← Get involved · East TN emcomm hub
Volunteer pathYour first week as an emcomm volunteer
Linear runway for SKYWARN, ARES, or RACES — study and listen before you deploy. County organization varies; this week gets you trained and on a net without guessing.
Day 1–2
Training baseline
- Register for IS-100, IS-200, IS-700, IS-800 at training.fema.gov — see course list
- SKYWARN: start NWS spotter training — NWS spotter hub
- Find your county Emergency Coordinator — ARRL EC directory
- Read five-step deployment workflow — understand you do not self-deploy
Day 3–4
Gear & frequencies
- Technician license or higher — exam prep if still studying
- Program local frequencies or regional PDF into your HT
- Run go-kit checklist — spare battery, programming cable, printed freq card
- Pack ARES activation checklist template in your kit folder
Day 5–6
Listen & practice reports
- Listen one full net cycle on East TN training nets before transmitting
- Practice SKYWARN format with spotter report tool
- Review first net checklist and net control reference
- Log listening notes in QSO log
Day 7
First check-in
- Check in to a training or club net — callsign, location, “no traffic” unless asked
- Email your EC that you completed week-one training and want county net schedule
- Fill PACE planner for home Primary/Alternate before any deployment
- Assigned field tech? Open COMT hub for logging tools
Technician is enough for most VHF/UHF volunteer nets. General adds HF Winlink and regional liaison — plan upgrade path when your EC asks for HF traffic.