The City of Costa Mesa, Emergency Service Amateur Communications organization (known as MESAC), is comprised of FCC licensed amateur radio operators dedicated to serving the community and the public in the event of emergencies and disasters. Members also frequently participate in non-emergency city and community activities to provide health, welfare, logistical, and safety communications.

WHAT IS MESAC?

Mesa Emergency Service Amateur Communications (MESAC) is and organized team of experienced, trained and dedicated amateur radio operators (Hams). Members regularly volunteer their time and extensive radio knowledge and skills to support an auxiliary radio communications network designed to augment (or replace) normal methods of communications used by the City of Costa Mesa in times of emergencies or major disasters when normal communications may be disrupted.

Under the supervision of the Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) and the City’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM), MESAC is a valuable part of Costa Mesa’s Emergency Preparedness. Volunteer Members are FCC licensed Amateur Radio Operators dedicated to serving the community and the public in the event of emergencies and disasters.

MESAC members participate in ongoing training to hone their skills and ensure they are ready to provide emergency communications support when needed. Members also frequently participate in non-emergency city and community activities where portable communications capabilities are necessary. Additionally, members are available to provide mutual aid support to our jurisdictional partners, the county and state as requested.

MESAC is governed by written by-laws that can be found here: MESAC By-laws 03-26-03.doc

MEETINGS:

MESAC meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 99 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA, at 1830 hours. The meetings are fun and informative often including presentations on relevant Ham Radio or communications topics. Plans for future activities are discussed, assignments made, and reviews conducted of previous activities. The meetings are open to the public and we invite you to come meet us and find out about our organization?

WEEKLY NET:

The weekly MESAC Radio Net is held each Monday night at 1915 hours (7:15pm) on the MESAC 2-meter repeater at 147.060 MHz. To join the conversation using the repeater, set your radio for “positive offset with a 100 HZ PL (CTCSS) tone”. The net is open to visitors, and we encourage you to listen and join in and get to know what we are all about.

MEMBERSHIP:

ACTIVE membership is open to anyone age 18 or over who possesses a valid Amateur Radio License, who lives within a reasonable commuting distance of the City of Costa Mesa and has a sincere desire to assist others in time of emergency or need.

YOUTH membership is open to those under the age of 18 who possess a current FCC amateur Radio License with a desire to become an ACTIVE member.

AUXILIARY membership is available to those who for any reason cannot commit to ACTIVE membership, but who may be counted upon to offer assistance in an emergency. Their participation is limited due to vetting and back ground requirements and therefore are not registered Disaster Service Workers.

Please see the By-laws for a full description of MESAC membership levels.

Interested in joining MESAC? Join us at our next meeting. We can’t wait to meet you.

For more information visit the MESAC website and download our membership application.