Brazos County ARES Weekly Brief

Week of June 19, 2026

From the EC

ARRL Field Day is coming up next weekend, and it is one of the best low-pressure opportunities we have to learn, observe, and operate around other amateur radio operators.

Many of the skills our members have expressed interest in — HF, portable operations, antennas, logging, emergency-style operating, and practical hands-on learning — naturally show up during Field Day. You do not have to be an expert to participate. You can make a contact, help log, assist with setup, ask questions, or simply watch how experienced operators work through real problems in real time.

Some of the best learning in ARES happens standing around a radio, asking questions, and seeing how things actually work. If you have been curious about HF or portable operations, Field Day is a good place to start.

73,
Ron Estes, KJ5EFO
Emergency Coordinator
Brazos County ARES

Did You Know?

FIFA World Cup 2026 Volunteer Opportunities

The FIFA World Cup is underway, and large events like this depend on a wide range of planning, logistics, communications, and volunteer support.

Amateur radio operators have a long history of supporting large public events by helping with communications, logistics, staffing support, and coordination. If working around a major international event sounds interesting, take a look at:

wc2026ses.org

Ready in Five

Save These Resources

Take five minutes this week to bookmark these sites on your phone, tablet, or computer:

• BrazosARES.org
• BrazosSkywarn.com

After saving them, verify that both sites open correctly from your mobile device.

Operations Corner

Net Discipline Depends on the Type of Net

Many amateur radio operators are used to club nets where everyone checks in. Operational nets are often different.

SKYWARN nets, welfare traffic nets, incident nets, and tactical nets are usually focused on passing applicable traffic, not building a list of everyone listening. In those situations, Net Control may not need to know you are there unless you have a report, message, resource request, or operational need to transmit.

If you have no traffic, the correct action may simply be to monitor. Knowing when not to key the microphone is just as important as knowing when to transmit.

Member Recognition

Mike Wisby, KA5HIA

This week we’d like to recognize Mike Wisby, KA5HIA, for his continued leadership and support of amateur radio emergency communications throughout our region.

Mike serves as both the ARES District Emergency Coordinator (DEC) and the Texas RACES Regional Radio Officer (RRO) for TDEM Region 8. In those roles, he helps support emergency communications planning, training, exercises, and operations across a large portion of Central Texas.

Recently, Mike assisted with communications support activities surrounding the major soccer match at Kyle Field. While his leadership was an important part of that effort, Mike is often quick to point out that successful operations are never the result of one person. They are made possible by the many hard-working ARES and RACES volunteers who show up, train, prepare, and stand ready to serve.

That reminder is worth repeating. Whether supporting a public service event, severe weather operation, exercise, or activation, our success depends on dedicated volunteers working together as a team.

Thank you, Mike, and thank you to all of the operators throughout the region who help make ARES and RACES work every day.

Upcoming Dates

Closing Thought

Not every contribution requires a deployment, a net control position, or a special skill. Sometimes readiness is simply showing up, learning something new, and being a little more capable than you were yesterday.