Simulated Emergency Test (SET)
The national ARES readiness exercise we take part in every year.
The 2026 SET
Franklin County ARES takes part in the ARRL Simulated Emergency Test every year. It is the national readiness exercise for ARES groups, and the closest thing we have to a dress rehearsal for a real activation.
- What
- ARRL Simulated Emergency Test — a nationwide emergency-communications exercise
- When
- Saturday, October 24, 2026, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM (0800–1200)
- Scenario
- A statewide winter storm, run by the ARRL Maine Section
- Who
- ARES groups across the United States and Canada, including W1FCA
- Cost
- Free — members and prospective members welcome
Maine runs its SET on October 24
The ARRL's national focal-point weekend is October 3–4, but the ARRL Maine Section holds its 2026 SET on Saturday, October 24, from 0800 to 1200. The Maine Emergency Communications Net (MECN) runs every hour on the hour — on 3.940 MHz from 0800 to 0900, then on 7.262 MHz from 0900 to 1200.
Franklin County plans its part at the October 3 meeting. Members will find the Section's drill packet in the members area; anyone else is welcome to contact us or listen on the wednesdays and saturdays nets.
What is the SET?
The Simulated Emergency Test is an annual exercise run by the ARRL. Groups activate as though a real emergency were under way: stations come up, a net is established, messages are passed, and everything that happens is recorded and reported back to the ARRL afterwards.
The ARRL gives three purposes for it:
- Find the strengths and weaknesses of ARES, NTS, RACES and other groups in providing emergency communications.
- Demonstrate to served and partner agencies — and to the public through the news media — the value amateur radio provides in time of need.
- Give operators experience using standard procedures and a variety of modes under simulated-emergency conditions.
The second one matters to us particularly. We exist to support the Franklin County Emergency Management Agency, and the SET is where that partnership gets exercised rather than just described.
What it looks like for us
The SET is a working exercise, not a contest. Depending on the scenario, taking part can mean any of the following:
- Checking in to the exercise net and staying available for assignment
- Passing formal written traffic accurately, and on time
- Operating from a served-agency location such as the EOC, or from home
- Using digital modes — packet, APRS or Winlink — alongside voice
- Standing up a station on emergency power, the way we do at Field Day
Afterwards we look at what did not work. That is the point of the exercise: a problem found in October is a problem we do not discover during an actual emergency.
This is an exercise
All traffic passed during the SET is exercise traffic and is identified as such on the air. The SET never involves a real emergency and is never a request for public assistance. In a real emergency, always call 9-1-1.
Taking part
You do not need years of experience to be useful in the SET — you need to be licensed, reachable, and willing to follow net discipline. If you are new, the best preparation is the ordinary one: check into the wednesdays and saturdays net at 7:30 PM (1930), and work through the training courses at your own pace.
Interested in joining us for this year's exercise? See the Join page or contact us. Details will also go out on the nets.
The ARRL's official information about the exercise is on the ARRL Simulated Emergency Test page.