Hello to all….

With Felix making landfall and dissipating, the Tropics are not done yet as we continue into the heart of hurricane season. Another potential system may develop halfway between the US East Coast and Bermuda. A reconnasiance aircraft could be sent into that system today if it continues to hold its intensity or increase further during the day today per the Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook issued at 530 AM EDT Wednesday September 5th.

The VoIP Hurricane Net Management team will continue to closely monitor developments in the Tropics. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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Hello to all….

Hurricane Felix Audio clips of some key reports are now available on the VoIP Hurricane Net web site under the VoIP Hurricane Net in Action During Hurricanes section off of the Main Menu. In addition, Lu-KA4EPS has made available a complete recording of the Felix activation. It is about 15 Meg in size and can be found at the following link:

VoIP Hurricane Felix Net Activation Complete Recording

Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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Hello to all….

The following is a link to the September Edition of the VoIP Huricane Net Newsletter. Special thanks to new newsletter editor, Rich Long-KF6BKA for putting this newsletter together. A text version is sent to the Yahoogroups email list with a link to the graphical PDF version. The Link to the newsletter is below:

September VoIP Hurricane Net Newsletter

Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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Hello to all….

It is with great pleasure that I welcome, Richard (Rich) Long-KF6BKA, a VoIP Hurricane Net Control Operator, to the net management team as VoIP Hurricane Newsletter editor. Rich asked if he could do a newsletter monthly for our net to keep the interest level up in our net and to assist with hurricane preparedness/mitigation efforts. Rich did an excellent job with a first draft of the newsletter and after much review with the net management team, the first newsletter will be issued to the email list within the next hour.

We will send a text newsletter to the email list and a link to the graphical newsletter will be posted in the email and the graphical newsletter will reside on the VoIP Hurricane Net web site. We hope everyone who follows the activities of our net will enjoy the newsletter.

If you have suggestions on articles that you wish to see or are willing to assist with the newsletter, particularly to get a Spanish version of the Newsletter put together, please email Rich Long-KF6BKA at kf6bka@voipwx.net as he’d like the help and suggestions for articles for the newsletter and to get a Spanish version sent out for those who only speak Spanish. We appreciate your help in supporting the newsletter.

Once again, we welcome Richard Long-KF6BA to the net management team as the VoIP Hurricane Newsletter editor. Please give Rich your support and thanks to all for their continued support for the VoIP Hurricane Net.

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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Hello to all….

….Felix downgraded to a Tropical Storm in the 8 PM EDT Tuesday/0000 UTC Wednesday Advisory. VoIP Hurricane Net Activation Secured at this time….
….Web Site Graphic will reflect not_activated in the next couple of hours….

We have secured operations of the VoIP Hurricane Net at 8 PM EDT/0000 UTC today as Felix has weakened to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 60 MPH. Felix should continue to degenerate to a remant low by Wednesday. Major River and Stream Flooding is now the main threat for Nicaragua and portions of Honduras.

The VoIP Hurricane Net wishes to thank all of its net controls for their support for this catastrophic system. Special thanks also goes out to NP3OD-Fransisco and the IRESC, International Radio Emergency Support Coalition for translating the local TV feed from Nicaragua and Nicaragua web sites. Special thanks also to Carlos-XE2WCG from Tampico, Mexico for his support in translating reports from Spanish to English and relaying reports from the 40 Meter Nicaragua Emergency Net to our net.

The ARRL has been following the story of the VoIP Hurricane Net and our activation. See link below for the latest article:
VoIP Hurricane Net Active as Hurricane Felix Makes Landfall in Northeastern Nicaragua

That article maybe updated once more on Wednesday with more information. Those that wish to see reports that were handled via the VoIP Hurricane Net can go to the VoIP Hurricane Net web site and click on Report Viewer from the Main Menu. You can then click the individual reports as they were submitted to the net.

Below is an announcement from Julio Ripoll-WD4R on the securing of the Hurricane Felix activation:

WX4NHC ANNOUNCEMENT – HURRICANE FELIX OPERATIONS

Released September 4, 2007, 5 PM EDT

Felix is forecast to be downgraded to a Tropical Storm about 8 PM EDT this evening.

WX4NHC will conclude its operations at that time.

The NHC Hurricane Forecasters were very happy to receive reports via Ham Radio as there are no weather stations along the landfall area called “The Miskito Coast”.

This lowland area of Nicaragua is sparsely populated by indigenous Miskito people, which do not have much infrastructure.

Felix was the second CAT-5 Atlantic Hurricane to make landfall as a CAT-5 this year.

This has never happened before in recorded history.

The Ham Radio reports will be part of this historic hurricane’s official NHC archives.

WX4NHC extends its sincere thanks to all the Ham Radio Operators from many countries and Nets for being the link between NHC and those in the path of this extremely powerful and dangerous hurricane. We hope that our continued efforts to spread the hurricane warnings will helped save lives.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those people who were affected by Hurricane Felix, and hope that they can rebuild their lives quickly.

73,

Julio, WD4R

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Julio Ripoll Architect WD4R
WX4NHC Amateur Radio Asst. Coordinator
www.wx4nhc.org

National Hurricane Center
www.nhc.noaa.gov
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73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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Hello to all….

…VoIP Hurricane Net Activation to Commence at 4 AM EDT/0800 UTC Tuesday September 4th, 2007 for Potentially Catastrophic Hurricane Felix’s impact to Nicaragua, Honduras and Belize as we attempt to get contacts in the affected area of Felix in Honduras. Activation timeframe sped up due to the speed of motion of Felix…
….Additional Net Activations are Possibly but less likely than the previous notice. Activation may be continuous into Wednesday but the net maybe able to secure some time late Tuesday or Wednesday if the current track scenario verifies….

The VoIP Hurricane Net in coordination with WX4NHC will be activating at 4 AM EDT/0800 UTC Tuesday September 4th, 2007 to support WX4NHC with surface/meterological reports from stations in the affected area on *WX-TALK* node: 7203/IRLP reflector 9219. Impact to Nicaragua and Honduras is expected Tuesday with impact to Belize later Tuesday into Wednesday. It now appears that activation past Wednesday is less likely per the current track guidance but this is subject to change and the activation notice will be updated as needed pending Felix’s track.

As of 5PM EDT Monday Evening/ 21:00 UTC, A Hurricane Warning is in effect from Puerto Cabezas Nicaragua Northward to the Honduras/Nicaragua border and for Honduras from Limon eastward to the Honduras/Nicaragua border. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Honduras west of Limon, the Caribbean coast of Guatemala and the entire coast of Belize. Felix, fluctuating betweeen Category 4 and Category 5 intensity, is expected to pass near the Nicaragua/Honduras border and into Honduras on Tuesday. We are currently making contact with Amateurs and other folks in Honduras, Nicaragua and Belize or with any Amateurs who have contact with Amatuers or other people in these areas. Any stations with contacts in that area are urged to assist us by relaying reports from those contacts in the affected area wherever possible.

The reporting criteria and activation policy for our net during hurricane net activations can be found on our web site at http://www.voipwx.net

Listen Only IRLP/EchoLink capability include the following systems:

IRLP:
Reflector 9508 Sydney Australia Reflector channel 8.
Reflector 9129 New England Reflector channel 9.
Reflector 9058 Northeast Reflector channel 8.

EchoLink:
*KC4QLP-C* Node: 290251
*VKEMCOMM* Node: 270177
*N5API* Node: 77433
*NCPENN* Node: 137634

We have the following streaming audio capability up and running for the VoIP Hurricane Net:

KA4EPS Streaming Audio Feed

WX4NHC is planning to be active as early as 600 AM EDT now based on notes with Julio Ripoll-WD4R exchanged this morning. Excerpts of their activation announcement are listed below:

WX4NHC ANNOUNCEMENT – HURRICANE FELIX OPERATIONS
Released September 2, 2007, 7 PM EDT
PLEASE RELAY TO STATIONS IN THE AFFECTED AREAS.

We request all land based stations as well as ships at sea in the areas affected by Hurricane Felix to send us weather data (measured or estimated) and damage reports.

If you are in the affected area and normally monitor on a local Net on VHF, 40 or 80 meters, we would appreciate your checking into the HWN NET or EchoLink/IRLP Net once per Hour to receive the latest Hurricane Advisories and to report your LOCAL conditions.

Please do not venture outside during the hurricane to gather weather data.

Your safety is the first priority.

There are many constantly changing atmospheric variables that affect the storm’s track and strength.

Please refer to the National Hurricane Center Advisories for official information. www.nhc.noaa.gov

WX4NHC will be monitoring the Hurricane Watch Net www.hwn.org on 14.325 MHz.

Secondary HF frequencies will be 7.268 MHz and 3.950 MHz +/- QRM, should we loose propagation on 20 meters.

EchoLink WX-Talk Conference Room and IRLP node 9219 will also be monitored. www.voipwx.net

WX4NHC will also monitor CWOP, APRS and MADIS/MESONET Automated weather stations in the affected area.

Surface Reports using our On-line Hurricane Report form will be monitored.

Amateur Weather Enthusiasts and ON-NHC Volunteers may report directly to WX4NHC on-line.

http://www.wx4nhc.org/WX-form1.html

ON-NHC Volunteers are both Ham Radio Operators and Non-Ham weather observers that use their own weather instruments to submit “Surface Reports” directly to NHC over the Internet via the WX4NHC on-line report form. These “Surface Reports” are very important as they give Hurricane Specialists at NHC a better idea of what is actually happening on the ground level during the storm.

The WX4NHC Group continues to expand its efforts to increase the quantity and quality of surface reports to include many different modes of reception and groups of people; including HF, VHF/UHF IRLP & EchoLink, VHF & HF APRS, CWOP NOAA Program and ON-NHC Weather Observers Network.

(see our web site for more information on these programs): www.wx4nhc.org

WX4NHC is very proud to have maintained an active Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center for the past 27 years.

We appreciate all of the volunteers who help with our efforts.

OUR MISSION: TO HELP SAVE LIVES.

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Julio Ripoll Architect WD4R
WX4NHC Amateur Radio Asst. Coordinator
www.wx4nhc.org

National Hurricane Center
www.nhc.noaa.gov
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73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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Hello to all….

Hurricane Felix is a Category 2 Hurricane as of the 11 AM EDT adivsory with maximum sustained winds of 105 MPH. Further strengthening is likely and Felix is expected to become a major hurricane later today.

On the current track, Felix is expected to make a close pass to the Eastern part of Honduras on Tuesday possibly spreading hurricane force conditions to that area. This may prompt activation of the VoIP Hurricane Net for much of the day Tuesday into early Wednesday unless Felix’s track is adjusted further north away from Honduras.

By Wednesday, Felix is currently tracked to make landfall in Belize and may also affect the Southern part of Mexico bordering Belize. This may prompt another activation of the VoIP Hurricane Net from Wednesday Morning through Thursday Afternoon assuming no changes to the track guidance.

Felix may then emerge in the Bay of Campeche and could possibly affect mainland Mexico late Friday or Saturday. It may also maintain hurricane status throughout this timeframe. Please note track and intensity guidance several days out is prone to large errors.

The VoIP Hurricane Net Management team is attempting to make contact with Amateurs in the affected area. Those Amateurs with contacts in the affected area that are either Amateur Operators or personal friends are asked to assist by letting those people know about Felix and that we would like to gather weather and damage informastion from them if possible. The reporting we are looking for is listed off the Main Menu of the VoIP Hurricane Net web site at http://www.voipwx.net under Reporting Criteria.

The next update on Felix will be posted on Monday. It will either be an update similar to this one if activation plans get pushed back due to a change in the track of Felix or it will be an activation notice if our net activates on Tuesday. Activation decisions are based on the plans of WX4NHC and the eventual track of Felix along with contact with the affected area.

For latest advisory information, you can go to the VoIP Hurricane Net web site and click Atlantic Tropical Products from the Main Menu and click the links provided on information for Felix. You can also go to the National Hurricane Center web site at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov for the latest information as well.

Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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Hello to all….

Dennis Dura-K2DCD, Manager of Emergency Communications and Preparedness of the ARRL and Assistant Director for VoIP Hurricane Net Operations, presnted at the Global Amateur Radio Emergency Conference (GAREC) 2007 Conference on EchoLink and IRLP technologies and how the VoIP Hurricane Net uses those technologies. This was featured on the ARRL web site and on Amateur Radio Newsline. Links to that information appear below:

GAREC 2007 Article on the ARRL Web Site

GAREC 2007 Amateur Radio Newsline Article

These articles have also been added to the VoIP Hurricane Net in Amateur Radio News section off the Main Menu of the VoIP Hurricane Net web site. Thanks for your continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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Hello to all….

The VoIP Hurricane Net in Action During Hurricanes section has been updated with Hurricane Dean Audio clips from the various land areas affected. It features reports and information being disseminated via the net during the various activations for land areas that were affected by Hurricane Dean. To get to the audio clips go to http://www.voipwx.net and on the Main Menu click VoIP Hurricane Net in Action during hurricanes and you’ll receive a web page with links to the various audio clips.

In addition, Lu Vencl-KA4EPS has provided the entire audio clips in both high and low audio formats. The high audio format is 200 Meg and the low audio format is 70 Meg. They can be obtained via his web site at the following link:

http://www.ka4eps.com/audio

This completes all the follow-up work from Hurricane Dean. The Net Management Team’s attention will now turn to Hurricane Felix and potential impact to Honduras, Belize and Mexico. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net

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Hello to all….

The VoIP Hurricane Net efforts for Hurricane Dean were featured on Amateur Radio Newsline reports from both August 24th and August 31st, 2007. The clips featuring the VoIP Hurricane Net can be heard by clicking VoIP Hurricane Net in Amateur Radio News and scrolling to the bottom of the page for the Amateur Radio Newsline audio clips. It includes some audio of the net in action. They can also be heard directly through the links below:

Amateur Radio Newsline Audio Article featuring VoIP Hurricane Net Efforts During Hurricane Dean from the 8/24/07 Newsline Report

Amateur Radio Newsline Audio Article featuring VoIP Hurricane Net Efforts Dring Hurricane Dean from the 8/31/07 Newsline Report

Thanks to Amateur Radio Newsline for their coverage of the VoIP Hurricane Net. Also, thanks to everyone for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net.

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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