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From: "ARRL" <memberlist@arrl.org>
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Subject: The ARRL Letter for July 25, 2024
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Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2024 16:06:42 EDT
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The ARRL Letter
[http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter]


John E. Ross, KD8IDJ, Editor | July 25, 2024

ARRL Home Page
http://www.arrl.org

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http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter

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http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/

iCom ATNO Secret Weapon
[https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/amateur/]


Ham Radio During Hurricane Season
by Sierra Harrop, W5DX

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio [ http://www.arrl.org ] ®
encourages amateur stations to prepare for what the National Hurricane Center
[ https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ] (NHC) has predicted will be a busy hurricane
season [ https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/outlooks/hurricane.shtml ] .
In addition to readying equipment to function during and after a storm's
impact, local Amateur Radio Emergency Service® [ http://www.arrl.org/ares ]
(ARES®) nets are encouraged to participate in hurricane reporting and relief
nets.


Stations do not need to be in a coastal zone to participate. Propagation
often shifts well inland, meaning ham radio operators throughout the
continent can serve in times of need. "Monitoring and relaying traffic is a
way to help with the nets and get real time information to the NHC, where it
can be shared with the National Weather Service, FEMA, and other emergency
response organizations to aid in a more rapid response and recovery," said
ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV.

 
Amateur radio plays a critical role in the warning and recovery process of
hurricanes. From providing surface observations which give forecasters at the
National Hurricane Center ground truth, to providing communications when
infrastructure is damaged, ham radio is as vital as ever.


The Nets
 
There is a robust ecosystem of communications networks that all work in
tandem to provide coverage anytime a named storm is within a few hundred
miles of land. These separate, but partner, volunteer organizations serve
much of the Western Hemisphere on many different bands and modes. 

 
Much of the focus is to get information to and from the National Hurricane
Center in Miami, Florida. Hurricane specialists rely on having an amateur
radio station at the center, WX4NHC [
https://w4ehw.fiu.edu/wx4nhc-contact.html ] . Julio Ripoll, WD4R, is the
Amateur Radio Assistant Coordinator for the station. "These surface reports
can be weather data or eyewitness reports (or heard on local VHF/UHF) and are
very valuable to the hurricane specialists at NHC, as they fill in gaps of
data that they may not have from other means, such as government weather
stations, satellites, Hurricane Hunter aircraft, etc.," explained Ripoll.

 
The NHC would like more hams to provide information if they are in an
affected area. There are many ways to do it. The simplest is over high
frequency (HF) amateur radio bands. There, you'll find a dedicated team
running the Hurricane Watch Net [ https://www.hwn.org/ ] . The net, which
uses 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz, depending on propagation, is usually active
any time a hurricane is within 300 statute miles of a populated landmass, or
at the request of NHC.

 
"We are strategically dispersed across North America, throughout the
Caribbean Islands, Central America, and the northern coast of South America,
so that we can provide a continuous path of communications from
storm-affected areas," said Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, Hurricane Watch Net
Manager. The net has members who speak many of the languages in the hurricane
zones, including English and Spanish.


Information to and From
 
The HWN is a two-way street of information, while the reports coming in are
critical to forecasters - information from the NHC is even more important to
people in the path of the storm. Weather information is relayed in real time
from the NHC throughout the network, as well.

 
In addition to the weather information and reporting, the HWN assists the
Salvation Army's SATERN Net with outgoing health and welfare traffic from the
affected areas - messages sent via ham radio from those being impacted by the
storm.

 
WX4NHC also receives reports via Winlink email over amateur radio via the
address wx4nhc@winlink.org [ http://mailto:wx4nhc@winlink.org ] . The email
subject line must start with //WL2K. There is a webform on the WX4NHC web
site to provide information as well.

 
Voice over Internet Protocol and Digital Voice Modes
 
For those without HF capabilities, or who may have their antennas unavailable
during the storms, the VoIP Hurricane Net [ https://voipwx.net/ ] provides a
parallel capability using modern digital technologies. VoIP Hurricane Net
manager Rob Macedo, KD1CY, says the scope of this net gives a big picture
look at what's happening. "Our net gathers reports from amateur radio nets
and amateur radio operators at the local, state and regional level that
connect directly or liaison to our net on *WX_TALK* Echolink conference node:
7203/IRLP 9219 reflector. The connections to our net can include other VoIP
modes such as Fusion, All-Star, Hamshack Hotline, certain types of DMR among
other VoIP modes via the KC5FM, AUXCOMM and Sunflower systems," he said. The
VoIP Hurricane Net also provides observations from social media monitoring.

 
More Participation Needed
 
With the robust systems in place to handle traffic, organizers encourage
radio amateurs in the path of these storms to participate in the nets. "We
encourage all who are in the path of a landfalling hurricane to join us and
share your local observed weather information. No matter how insignificant
you may feel your data may be, it is very important to the forecasters at the
National Hurricane Center," said Graves.


"Sometimes, ham radio reports are the only reports received from the islands
or sparely populated areas," said Ripoll. Michael Brennan, Director of the
National Hurricane Center, added, "The NHC ham radio network has played a
crucial role for more than 40 years in providing real-time information during
tropical storms and hurricanes. The information provided by ham radio is
incredibly helpful to NHC's hurricane specialists as it provides
on-the-ground data during an event and offers a valuable option to maintain
communications in situations where traditional communication methods can fail
or become unavailable."


Geochron Global Operational Awareness
[http://www.geochron.com/ham-radio-4k/]


ARRL Board Completes 2024 Second Meeting, Approves Report to Advance a 3-Year
Strategy


ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, gaveled in the 2024 Second Meeting of the
ARRL Board of Directors on Friday, July 19, in Windsor, Connecticut. The
Board meeting was preceded by standing committee meetings held on Thursday,
including Administration & Finance chaired by Rocky Mountain Division
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