SKYWARN Newsletter #239

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Hello to all....

SKYWARN Recognition Day Update....

Wrapping Up the Inactive 2006 Hurricane Season....

VoIP Hurricane Net Activation Summary for 2006....

ARRL Letter Article: Ernesto Puts ARES/RACES On Alert....

ARRL Letter Article: Hawaii Hams Scramble in Earthquake's Wake....

ARRL Letter Article: Kentucky ARES Fill Communications Gap Following Flooding....

Newsletter Issued: 11/30/2006.

SKYWARN Recognition Day Update....

The following is the final update on SKYWARN Recognition Day. Please note

that due to the threat for Severe Weather and damaging winds Friday Afternoon

and Night, the schedule for 2 Meter and 440 MHz may be significantly

impacted. Also, the New England Network system, IRLP reflector 9123 and the

EchoLink *NEW-ENG* Conference Node #: 9123 will be utilized for the

SKYWARN Activation as required.

Below is the schedule noting the caveat above:

SKYWARN Recognition Day 2006 will occur next Saturday December 2nd

from 0000-2400 UTC. This timeframe translates to Friday December 1st

at 7 PM through 7 PM Saturday December 2nd. Operations at NWS Taunton

will include VHF/UHF/HF and VoIP operations.

The following is a schedule of repeaters that will be

utilized along with simplex being utilized during certain timeframes

on Saturday. We hope Amateurs will utilize this schedule and try and

work WX1BOX during these various timeframes. If you don't hear NWS,

feel free to call for WX1BOX and if the office is monitoring, a

response will be given. When you make contact, give your current

sky condition and temperature as required. Below is the tentative

schedule of operations:

Friday December 1st, 2006:

7:00-7:30 PM: 145.470-Danvers Repeater

7:30-8:00 PM: 145.490-Fairhaven Repeater

8:00-8:30 PM: 146.655-Falmouth Repeater

8:30-9:00 PM: 147.180-Bridgewater Repeater

9:00-9:30 PM: 146.79-Vernon, CT Repeater (linked via IRLP.)

9:30-10:00 PM: 147.225-Killingly, CT Repeater

10:00-10:30 PM: 146.760-Scituate, RI Repeater

10:30-11:00 PM: 146.955-Westford Repeater

11:00-11:30 PM: 146.970-Paxton Repeater

11:30 PM-12:00 AM: 146.640-Waltham Repeater

**Will Attempt to monitor both the New England Network and the

*WX-TALK*/IRLP Reflector 9219 systems during this entire timeframe.

**Will be on the Litchfield County SKYWARN system in parallel to the

listed frequencies from 900-930 PM.

**It is possible we may switch off to different repeaters or simplex

during time slots if we run out of contacts.

Saturday December 2nd, 2006:

7:00-9:00 AM: 146.595 Simplex

9:00-9:30 AM: 145.230-Boston Repeater

9:30-10:00 AM: 146.640-Waltham Repeater

10:00-10:30 AM: 146.79-Vernon, CT Repeater (linked via IRLP.)

10:30-11:00 AM: 147.225-Killingly, CT Repeater

11:00-11:30 AM: 145.470-Danvers Repeater

11:30 AM-Noon: 146.895-Walpole Repeater

Noon-2:00 PM: 146.595 Simplex

2:00-2:30 PM: 146.955-Barnstable Repeater

2:30-3:00 PM: 146.955-Westford Repeater

3:00-3:30 PM: 146.970-Paxton Repeater

3:30-4:00 PM: 147.165-Exeter, RI Repeater

4:00-4:30 PM: 146.760-Scituate, RI Repeater

4:30-5:00 PM: 145.490-Fairhaven Repeater

5:00-5:30 PM: 147.180-Bridgewater Repeater

6:00-6:30 PM: 146.895-Walpole Repeater

6:30-7:00 PM: 147.000-Dartmouth Repeater

**Will Attempt to monitor both the New England Network and the

*WX-TALK*/IRLP Reflector 9219 systems during this entire timeframe.

**Will be on the Litchfield County SKYWARN system in parallel to the

listed frequencies from 930-1000 AM.

**It is possible we may switch off to different repeaters or simplex

during time slots if we run out of contacts.

SKYWARN Recognition Day 2006, which will be on Saturday December 2nd,

2006 from 0000-2400 UTC, will feature VoIP operations on *WX-TALK*

EchoLink Node: 7203/IRLP reflector 9219 as in past years along with

NWS offices making contacts via HF/VHF/UHF, PSK-31 and other digital

modes. We currently have 13 NWS Forecast Offices confirmed for

various 1 or 2 hour time slots including WX4NHC, the National

Hurricane Center in Miami Florida. Here is the latest schedule:

Time in UTC NWS Office Call-Sign

0000-0100: WX1BOX

0100-0200: WX2PHI

0200-0300: WX4MLB

0300-0400: WX2ALY

0400-0500: Open

0500-0600: WX9GRB

0600-0700: WX0GLD

0700-0800: WX0GLD

0800-0900: Open

0900-1000: WX7PHX

1000-1100: Open

1100-1200: Open

1200-1300: Open

1300-1400: VE4WWO

1400-1500: WX2PHI

1500-1600: WX1BOX

1600-1800: WX4NC (2 hour time slot and time slot is from last year)

1800-1900: WX2ALY

1900-2000: WX4MLB

2000-2100: K0MPX

2100-2300: WX4NHC (2 hour time slot is from last year)

2300-2400: W4IAX (NWS Mobile, Alabama)

A few technical reminders for folks interested in making contacts

with the NWS Forecast Offices:

-The system allows both EchoLink and IRLP connections. For EchoLink

users, you connect to the *WX-TALK* Node: 7203 conference system. For

IRLP users, you would connect to IRLP reflector 9219.

-If you are using EchoLink, the RF node or PC that you’re using must

have EchoLink conferencing disabled. If it is not disabled, the

system will automatically kick the node or PC off of the system.

The reason this occurs is to prevent unintentional interference from

a conferencing station that may not know the node is connected

somewhere else. This will keep traffic moving on the net and reduce

interference considerably.

For more information on VoIP Technical Configuration Tips, please go

to our web site at http://www.voipwx.net where we have a link to that

information on the main menu of the web site. This announcement will

also be on the web site.

For those that want to do listen-only, New England IRLP reflector

channel 9129 and the *VKEMCOMM* Node: 270177/IRLP reflector 9508 will

be utilized for those that just want to listen to the event.

The New England Reflector system, IRLP reflector 9123, EchoLink

Conference *NEW-ENG*, Node #:9123 will also be available for usage as

required. NWS Taunton Amateur station, WX1BOX, will be on the system

looking for contacts and stations and can designate the use of that

system to other NWS offices on an informal basis. From NWS Taunton,

we will be able to monitor both VoIP systems during our timeframe for

operations during SRD.

Event information on SKYWARN Recognition Day can be found at

http://hamradio.noaa.gov and can also be found in the December issue

of QST on page 66.

Below is the ARRL Letter Announcement of SKYWARN Recognition Day:

==> SKYWARN RECOGNITION DAY IS DECEMBER 2

The 8th annual SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) special event will take

place Saturday, December 2, 2006. SKYWARN Recognition Day is an event

co-sponsored by the National Weather Service and the American Radio

Relay League, and it is the National Weather Service's way of saying

"thank you" to Amateur Radio operators for their commitment to

helping keep their communities safe.

During the 24-hour special event, amateur radio operators will visit

their local National Weather Service (NWS) office, set up Amateur

Radio stations, and work as a team to contact other hams across the

world.

"Ham radio operators volunteering as storm spotters are an extremely

valuable asset to National Weather Service operations since they are

cross-trained in both communications and severe storm recognition",

says Scott Mentzer (N0QE), organizer of the event and

Meteorologist-In-Charge at the NWS office in Goodland, Kansas.

In typical warning operations, it is the direct communication between

mobile spotters and the local NWS office which provides vital ground

truth information. Spotter reports of hail size, wind damage and

surface-based rotation in real time greatly assists the radar warning

operator since that information can be correlated with Doppler radar

displays. The result can range anywhere from a more strongly-worded

statement to convey a greater sense of urgency, or the issuance of a

tornado warning a few minutes earlier than would otherwise have been

possible.

While National Weather Service offices utilize the real-time

reporting of severe weather events to assist in warning operations,

hurricanes and tropical storms have shown us that ham radio operators

are equally important during the recovery phase of natural disasters.

There are countless stories where ham radio worked in tandem with

more conventional technology to relay emergency traffic.

SKYWARN Recognition Day will be held on December 2, 2006, from

0000 UTC to 2400 UTC.

The object is for all radio amateur stations to exchange QSO

information with as many National Weather Service Stations as

possible on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, and 2 meter bands plus the 70

centimeter band. Contacts via repeaters are permitted.

The exchange should include call sign, signal report, location, and a

one or two word description of the weather occurring at your site

("sunny", "partly cloudy", "windy", etc.). NWS stations will work

various modes including SSB, FM, AM, RTTY, CW, and PSK31. While

working digital modes, special event stations will append "NWS" to

their call sign (e.g., N***A/NWS).

We hope to hear many Amateurs on VoIP and all other modes that will

be utilized during SKYWARN Recognition Day 2006.

Wrapping Up the Inactive 2006 Hurricane Season....

The 2006 Hurricane Season is over and the season was much quieter than

expected and was inactive with no landfalling hurricanes hitting

the United States. One Tropical Storm, Beryl, impacted extreme

Southern New England causing wind gusts to tropical storm force

on Nantucket Island. Two of the topics in this newsletter discuss

the tropics and what was done for some of the tropical systems that

affected the area.

VoIP Hurricane Net Activation Summary for 2006....

The VoIP Hurricane Net faced a much less active season in 2006. Activations

were done for Alberto, Ernesto and Florence. Chris almost prompted

activation but was cancelled as the system lost intensity rapidly over

Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

Alberto threatened to become a hurricane and prompted activation of

the VoIP Hurricane Net as Alberto made landfall in the big bend area

of Florida. Reports of tropical storm force winds were received and

a couple of county EOC's were on the system during this event but Alberto

eventually weakened causing the activation to be secured.

Ernesto threatened to become a hurricane and prompted activation of

the VoIP Hurricane Net as he approached Florida and then North Carolina.

No reports of criteria were received as Ernesto went over Florida as

Ernesto was a minimal tropical storm. As Ernesto went over Southeast

North Carolina and made landfall. Reports of trees down, power outages

and measured wind gusts in the strong tropical storm force category

were received from Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotters in the area. The

National Weather Service in Wilmington, North Carolina, WX4ILM,

was also on the system and provided reports of bridge closures

due to strong winds along with additional wind measurement and

damage reports.

Florence brushed Bermuda and the VoIP Hurricane Net was there with

VP9HK-Tony providing reports of hurricane force wind gusts on the

western side of the island with tropical storm force wind gusts

on the eastern part of the island. Roughly a third of the island

was without power with rainfall of 1-2" at this location. Tony

reported that the island was spared the worst of Florence's wrath.

The VoIP Hurricane Net's efforts were featured in Amateur Radio

Newsline after the Florence activation.

National Hurricane Center coordinators, John McHugh-K4AG and

Julio Ripoll-WD4R, were very appreciative of the net's efforts

in 2006. They also assisted in publicity for the net's efforts

during this year and were active on the net during these activations

and during the Communications Test.

The 3 activations for 2006 were far less than the number of

activations in 2004 or 2005. For more information on the VoIP

Hurricane Net and recordings of key moments in certain nets

and audio recordings of publicity received, check out the

web site at http://www.voipwx.net to learn more about this

up and coming response net for hurricanes in support of

the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center,

WX4NHC.

ARRL Letter Article: Ernesto Puts ARES/RACES On Alert....

The following ARRL Letter article was on Ernesto as it affected the Carolinas

and Virginia as a strong Tropical Storm.

==>ARES/RACES DEAL WITH ERNESTO IN FLORIDA, CAROLINAS, VIRGINIA

At week's end, Tropical Depression Ernesto was poised to put a damper on the

long Labor Day weekend for many East Coast residents. Heavy rain resulting

in flash flooding, isolated tornadoes and gale-force winds were the major

threats remaining from Ernesto. Amateur Radio Emergency Service and Radio

Amateur Civil Emergency Service (ARES/RACES) volunteers were on alert in the

Carolinas and Virginia. After strafing Florida earlier in the week, Ernesto

went out over open water but again made landfall at near-hurricane strength

the evening of August 31 near Wilmington, North Carolina. ARRL Official

Emergency Station Keith Deringer, WA4KD, in Richmond said September 1 the

Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) had requested Amateur

Radio volunteers to support a communication watch at the state emergency

operations center.

Virginia Section Emergency Coordinator Henry Wyatt, K4YCR, told ARRL that

Chesterfield County ARES -- in the Richmond area --was standing by to

support the American Red Cross in the event of heavy flooding in the

Richmond area.

The governors of North Carolina, Virginia and other states in the Middle

Atlantic region declared emergencies, and state emergency management teams

on September 1 were preparing for possible evacuations and sheltering.

ARRL North Carolina SEC Bernie Nobles, WA4MOK, said his state seemed to have

weathered Ernesto pretty well, although there was "lots of street and

highway flooding" and some roadways had to be closed to traffic. Nobles told

ARRL that the Eastern Branch EOC in Kinston (NC4EB) was maintaining a

listening watch on local and regional repeaters at week's end. "We are

getting some reports of evacuations of small communities, due to rising

water," he said.

With Ernesto threatening to become a Category 1 hurricane, the Hurricane

Watch Net (HWN) activated August 31. "After a 3-1/2 hour net, we had a great

turnout of reporting stations," said HWN Assistant Manager Bobby Graves,

KB5HAV. HWN members gather and report ground-level storm data via WX4NHC at

the National Hurricane Center in Miami to assist forecasters in better

understanding a storm's behavior.

In its final advisory on TD Ernesto, the National Hurricane Center was

predicting rainfall totals of from 4 to 7 inches over the Mid-Atlantic

states, including the central Appalachians from Virginia northward through

September 3, and up to a foot in some areas.

"Life-threatening flash floods and mud slides are possible with these

rains," the NHC warned.

Earlier in the week, ARES/RACES teams in Florida, the HWN and WX4NHC and the

VoIP Hurricane Net went on alert as Ernesto, still a tropical storm, drew a

bead on Southern Florida and later lashed the region with heavy rains and

strong winds.

ARRL Letter Article: Hawaii Hams Scramble in Earthquake's Wake....

The following is an article on how Hawaii Hams activated and handled

the Earthquake that struck the "big island".

==>HAWAIIAN HAMS RESPOND AS EARTHQUAKES STRIKE "BIG ISLAND"

Amateur Radio volunteers scrambled to provide emergency communication and

assist with relief efforts after earthquakes October 15 on the "Big Island"

of Hawaii. The initial jolt of the so-called "Kona Earthquake" just after 7

AM local time rousted many residents from sleep; another followed soon

after. Widespread power outages as well as structural and highway damage

resulted throughout the Hawaiian Islands, although a feared tsunami never

developed and no deaths were reported.

"ARES and RACES operators responded to Hawaii State and Oahu Civil Defense

Emergency Operation Centers," reports Hawaii State RACES Coordinator and

ARRL State Civil Defense (SCD) Emergency Coordinator Ron Hashiro, AH6RH.

Right after Oahu stopped shaking, Hashiro put out a call on the Honolulu

146.88 MHz repeater seeking reports.

"Other stations confirmed the violent shaking," he said. Hashiro started

emergency operations on the Honolulu repeater, then proceeded to the

inter-island 147.06 MHz repeater system and repeated the sequence. Hashiro,

Robin Liu, AH6CP, and Mitch Pinkerton, KH6MP, arrived at the State Emergency

Operations Center (EOC) in short order, and RACES operations from KH6HPZ

commenced within a half hour of the first earthquake. After checking into HF

and VHF nets, ARRL Pacific Section Emergency Coordinator Kevin Bogan, AH6QO,

responded to the SCD EOC.

Bogan said the primary focus was on the Big Island, where most damage

occurred because the epicenter was so close. "Although buildings on Oahu

suffered only minor structural damage, the biggest problem was the power

outage due to generators for the island powering down as a safety

precaution," he said. "Within minutes of the first earthquake, telephone

calls on landline and many cell phone carriers were difficult due to

congestion."

Hashiro said operators at the EOC rotated among the HF and VHF operating

positions, running messages with the EOC operations desk and checking with

staff on their various needs and concerns. The Hawaii Emergency Net on 7088

kHz provided the main HF link in the earthquakes' aftermath. Communication

around the Big Island was handled on 7095 kHz. Where Internet remained

available, radio amateurs were able to take advantage of Voice over Internet

Protocol (VoIP) modes such as EchoLink and IRLP.

At Oahu Civil Defense Agency, RACES Coordinator Ray Moody, AH6LT, responded,

while Adrian Ditucci, KH7GK, handled net control service duties from his

home a few miles away, operating on battery power.

Other Amateur Radio emergency communication volunteers did "the heavy

lifting in the field," Hashiro said. "The key to their success was that they

had varying degrees of portable and mobile capabilities with emergency power

-- using VHF and HF," he said. "They were able to drive right to the scene

and pass along assessments, status reports and messages through us, right

into State CD operations."

"For example, Steve, WH6N, passed formal traffic on the condition of a

hospital and the closure of a neighboring highway due to a landslide,"

Hashiro said. "AH6RR and KH7MS passed information on the condition and

evacuation of Kona Community Hospital, while WH6WI updated us on the

progress and availability of a 1000-person American Red Cross Shelter at the

old Kailua-Kona airport." As a precaution, officials evacuated several

hospitals in Hawaii until they could check the safety of the structures.

Dozens of tremors followed the initial quake, on the west side of the Island

of Hawaii, which measured at 6.7 on the Richter scale. It was the first

major earthquake in Hawaii in 20 years. A second quake measured 6.0, Bogan

said, and there were many aftershocks. Hashiro says State CD RACES/ARES

operations wrapped up at 5:20 PM, while Oahu RACES operations from KH6OCD

ended at 10:55 PM. He reports upward of a dozen stations on the Big Island

provided HF and VHF communication with SCD, while another seven radio

amateurs were active on the island of Maui.

The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) activated for a

short time Sunday afternoon on 14.265 MHz to assist with emergency

communication to handle health-and-welfare inquiries and traffic.

Hashiro says that unlike some other areas of the US, radio amateurs in

Hawaii stress and believe in joint operation -- a collaboration of ARES,

RACES, SKYWARN, HealthComm, the American Red Cross, Volunteers Organizations

Active in Disaster (VOAD), and SATERN.

"We become one operation, one team to our emergency management partners," he

said. "We help each other out and work and train together. That's the only

way to operate; there's simply not enough equipped, capable and available

operators to go around. Isolated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there's

not a lot of missteps and mistakes we can afford."

ARRL Letter Article: Kentucky ARES Fill Communications Gap Following Flooding....

The following ARRL Letter Article shows how Kentucky ARES helped fill

communications gap following flooding.

==>AMATEUR RADIO FILLS COMMUNICATION GAP DURING WEEKEND FLOODING

When telephone and Internet service in Kentucky fell victim to flooding over

the September 22-24 weekend, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) teams

took over to bridge the communication gap. Kentucky ARRL Section Emergency

Coordinator Ron Dodson, KA4MAP, says the deluge, the product of up to nearly

10 inches of rain in Kentucky and Southern Indiana, resulted in states of

emergency in 19 Kentucky counties and 12 cities, including Frankfort, the

capital. Dodson says the high water, which evoked memories of severe

flooding in March 1997, left at least 10 dead and many others homeless.

"All phone communications to the state emergency operations center (EOC)

went down as early as 2 AM Saturday, returned and then went out a second

time around 5 AM," Dodson reports. Emergency managers contacted Dodson to

activate the Kentucky Emergency Net on 3.993.5 MHz to provide support

communication between the EOC and Kentucky's 120 counties.

Dodson says telephone service in the EOC came back around mid-morning on

September 23, although the Kentucky Emergency Net remained in operation as

heavy rainfall began in western Kentucky.

"Within minutes, Shelby Ennis, W8WN, in Hardin County reported via the K4ULW

146.625 repeater that all telephone service, including the Hardin County

E-911 facility, had gone down," Dodson said. "Cell phones soon overloaded

and also shut down, basically stranding the whole county without outside

contact except via Amateur Radio." He explained that conventional telephone

systems failed in Hardin County because the provider had installed all its

systems in a basement area that flooded.

For the next several hours, Dodson said, communication between the state EOC

and Hardin County took place via the Bullitt Amateur Radio Society's KY4KY

146.700 repeater in Brooks. "The American Red Cross headquarters in

Louisville also used this machine to communicate with their shelter and

Hardin County emergency management," Dodson said. While the KY4KY repeater

supported command-and-control communication, other operations took place via

the W4BEJ 146.98 repeater in Elizabethtown and the neighboring K4ULW 146.625

repeater in Meade County.

Communications Supervisor Bob Stephens, WA4CMO, of the Kentucky Department

of Military Affairs said the Kentucky Emergency Management command vehicle

was positioned adjacent to the state EOC to provide communication on both

Amateur Radio and MARS frequencies. Pat Compton, KF4FMZ, and Bull Uschan,

K4MIS, staffed the Amateur Radio side, while Richard Howe, KB5WCH,

represented the Civil Air Patrol during the Saturday operation, which

continued for several hours.

"We operated all systems during the afternoon and provided critical

communication between the EOC and Hardin and Meade counties," Stephens

reported.

The American Red Cross summoned members of ARES District 6 -- the

Louisville/Jefferson County Metro area -- to assist with damage assessments

and to maintain communication with the Hardin County shelter operation.

According to Jefferson County Emergency Coordinator John Hesse, KF4IZS,

those operations continued on Sunday as additional damage assessment details

deployed in Louisville and in Fisherville in Spencer County.

The Franklin County Chapter of the American Red Cross also contacted

Woodford County EC Jerry Mueller, KC4WZO, Sunday morning seeking Amateur

Radio volunteers to support communication in the flooded Millville area.

"The Red Cross had three disaster relief teams in the Millville area, and

cell phone communication was not reliable," Dodson said.

Paul Harrington, KB4ENQ, Rob Hutchinson, KI4ODT, and Mueller responded,

joined by Compton from the Capitol Amateur Radio Society. Hutchinson and

Compton went to Millville for several hours to provide communication for the

Red Cross and to help deliver meals, drinks, ice and supplies. Harrington

and Mueller remained at the Red Cross Chapter to handle net duties in case

communication assistance was needed in another area.

Dodson said Stephens told him afterward that Kentucky Adjutant General Lt

Gen Donald Storm and Kentucky Division of Emergency Management Director Maj

Gen Maxwell Bailey "were pleased with the way Amateur Radio functioned in

providing communication when all else failed. They extend their thanks to

those amateurs who gave of themselves in this effort."

That's all for this edition of the SKYWARN Newsletter!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)

ARES SKYWARN Coordinator

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator

Pager #: (508) 354-3142

Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)

Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)

Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)

Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com

http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo

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