The War Emergency Radio Service (WERS) was a civil defense service in the United States from 1942 to 1945. It was replaced by the current Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) system.
When the United States entered the Second World War, the United States Congress had suspended all amateur radio activity throughout the country.[1] WERS was established by the Federal Communications Commission in June 1942 at the insistence of the American Radio Relay League.[2] WERS was to provide communications in connection with air raid protection, and communications during natural disasters.[2] WERS licenses were given to communities, not to individuals; one of the requirements for individuals to participate in the WERS was to hold an Amateur radio license.
At the end of 1944, about five thousand radio transmitters operated under 250 licenses.[3][self-published source?] WERS remained in operation through the end of the Second World War in 1945.[4]
WERS was authorized to operate on the following bands.[5]
| Band name | Frequencies | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2½ meters | 112–116 MHz | Sixteen channels at 200 kHz spacing. Subset of current aircraft band |
| 1¼ meters | 219–225 MHz | Nearly identical to current 1.25 meter amateur band |
| 70 cm band | 400-401 MHz | Now allocated to Earth-orbiting satellite operations |
Frequencies were required to be stable to within 0.1%; tighter frequency control would have required use of quartz crystals, which were in high demand at the time for military radio purposes. The intention of the service was for communications up to about 10 miles, so power was restricted to 25 watts. The Office of Civilian Defense recommended home-built equipment, using salvaged components from civilian receivers, so as not to require critical items not readily available during the war.[5]