The Harford County, Maryland amateur radio public service communications (EmComm) group is comprised of amateur radio operators (hams) who volunteer their time, talents and equipment to provide communications support to various organizations in their communities during times of need. As part of our continual training in providing disaster communications support, we provide communications support to community based activities such as walkathons, severe weather observing & reporting, etc., for various organizations.

EmComm is a catch-all term. Most of our members are affiliated with the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) which is sponsored and administered by the community’s emergency management organization, and/or the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) which is a private organization sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) .

A primary mission of the amateur radio service is to provide communications support to one's community in times of need such as natural or man made disasters. Amateur radio operators, have been responsible for saving lives in times of disaster when normal means of communications have been disrupted.

While our group primarily is tasked with service to Harford County, Maryland, we actively and routinely coordinate our efforts with other Maryland counties and state agencies.

This group is open to all who have a bona fide interest in amateur radio public service communications. All parties joining this group need to be approved by a group owner or moderator.

Those members who become involved in either the Harford County RACES or ARES groups will be required to complete basic training to ensure a minimum competency. PLEASE BE ADVISED: A background check will be run by the Harford County government on all prospective RACES members.

The RACES Officer (RO) and ARES Emergency Coordinator (EC) for Harford County is Pat, WB0EGR. Pat can be contacted by e-mailing him at wb0egr@arrl.net