Hello to all….

Sub-Tropical Storm Laura has formed in the Open Atlantic. Laura is not expected to affect any land areas and is only a concern for shipping interests but Laura has formed over the open Atlantic about 1015 miles west of Fayal Island in the Western Azores. Laura is currently moving to the west-northwest but is expected to turn northwest and northward with an increase in forward speed over the next day or so.

Laura may briefly become fully tropical and if that occurs she may briefly reach hurricane status before going over colder waters and weakening and become an extratropical or non-tropical system. For the latest advisories on Sub-Tropical Storm Laura, you can view the NHC advisories by clicking Atlantic Tropical Products off of the Main Menu of the VoIPWXNet web site and you will see the Laura advisories. You can also go to the National Hurricane Center web site and the Canadian Hurricane Centre is also issuing advisories on Laura as well and the links are listed below:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
http://www.atl.ec.gc.ca/weather/hurricane/index_e.html

The VoIP Hurricane Net Management team will continue to monitor the progress of this system. 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 secured at 11 PM ET Sunday Evening as Hurricane Kyle weakened to an extratropical storm at that time. We received extremely detailed and excellent reporting from the Canadian Amateur Radio Operators of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Canada which included wind gust measurements well into hurricane force in Lockeport, Nova Scotia. These reports were of tremendous use to WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center, and hurricane specialists were extremely interested in the reports and specific details on the weather station type, location of the station and how it was setup.

Damage and power outage information was also passed along by Amateur Radio Operators in the affected area of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. This info was also of use to NHC forecasters. A complete list of reports can be seen in the VoIP Hurricane Net Report Viewer off of the VoIPWXNet web site and can be seen via the following link:

VoIP Hurricane Net Report Viewer

The reports are records 411 to 427 in the report viewer. Some are listed as NHC Comms Test and will be corrected at a later time to reflect reports from Hurricane Kyle.

We extend a huge thank you to the Amateurs of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Canada who answered the request for reporting and did an outstanding job. Many of these folks are invovled in their local Amateur Radio Clubs, the Radio Amateurs of Canada and various Canadian EMCOMM organizations as well as individual Amateurs who received the call for needing reports and gave that information to us. We encourage those folks to check into our routine prep nets on Saturday Evening at 8 PM EDT/0000 UTC. We’d also like to extend thanks to all the net controls who supported this short but extremely effective net activation. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
1
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Hello to all….

After coordination with WX4NHC Coordinators Julio Ripoll-WD4R, the VoIP Hurricane Net will be activating at 6 PM ET for impact of Hurricane Kyle on Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Canada as well as the state of Maine. WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami Florida, is expected to activate at 6 PM ET through early Monday Morning.

It appears that Kyle’s main impact to Downeast Maine will be heavy rainfall. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Canada will have heavy rainfall along with the potential of hurricane force winds. IRLP and Echolink node owners in this area have been contacted.

For the latest advisory information including watches and warnings, you can go to the VoIPWXNet web site and click Atlantic Tropical Products and click on the advisory information for Kyle under the Atlantic Tropical Products section. You can also gather the advisory information from the National Hurricane Center web site at the following link:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

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 (Note issue with web site as stated in the first paragraph. Please utilize the typical SKYWARN Reporting Criteria)

Listen Only IRLP/EchoLink capability include the following systems:

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

EchoLink:
*KC4QLP-C* Node: 290251
*VKEMCOMM* Node: 270177
*N5API* Node: 77433
*IRESC* Node: 278173
*N1TAI* Node: 269929

A streaming audio feed has been setup thanks to the assistance of David McAnally-WD5M. This is the first time he has setup a streaming audio server so please bear with any technical difficulties. The links are listed below:

WD5M Streaming Audio Feed Main page
WD5M Direct link to Streaming Audio using OGG Format
WD5M Direct Link to Streaming Audio using MP3 Format

Bob Carter-KC4QLP has also setup an online stream for up to 32 listeners at the following link:

KC4QLP Streaming Audio Feed

An EQSO listen-only feed is also available via KC4QLP-R.

Lu Vencl-KA4EPS has also set up streaming audio capability. See links below:

KA4EPS Streaming Audio Feed
KA4EPS Streaming Audio Feed

Links to the WD5M streaming audio feeds have also been provided in the Main Menu of the VoIPWXNet web site.

Below is the activation announcement from Assistant WX4NHC Coordinator, Julio Ripoll-WD4R:

WX4NHC ANNOUNCEMENT – HURRICANE KYLE OPERATIONS
Released September 27th, 2008

PLEASE RELAY TO STATIONS IN THE AFFECTED AREAS.

The 5 PM AST (2100z) Advisory from the National Hurricane Center forecasts Hurricane Kyle to affect the coast of Maine and Canada tomorrow, Sunday evening.

“A HURRICANE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE COAST OF MAINE FROM STONINGTON EASTWARD TO EASTPORT. A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA…GENERALLY
WITHIN 36 HOURS.”

WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, will be activating it’s HF and EchoLink/IRLP station on Sunday, September 28th , 2008 at 6 PM EDT (2200z).

We request all land based stations as well as ships at sea in the areas affected 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 28 years.

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

OUR MISSION: TO HELP SAVE LIVES.

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

National Hurricane Center
www.nhc.noaa.gov

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net 1 1
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Hello to all….

…Weekly Net will take place at 8 PM EDT this evening with emphasis on stations in New Brunswick/Nova Scotia Canada and Eastern New England for Kyle’s impact to the region…

Tropical Storm Kyle will affect portions of Eastern New England and Canadian Maritimes as a strong tropical storm/minimal hurricane on Sunday with heavy rainfall being the main threat in Eastern New England but strong to damaging winds also possible in that region and strong to damaging winds more likely for Southwest New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Canada.

As of the 2 PM Advisory, Tropical Storm Watches have also been issued for portions of the coastal waters of Southern New England. A Hurricane Watch is now in effect for coastal Maine from South of Stonington to Cape Elizabeth, Maine with a Tropical Storm Watch now in effect for south of Stonington to Cape Elizabeth including the Portland area. A Tropical Storm Watch is now in effect for the coastal waters from Provincetown to Chatham to Nantucket out to 20 nautical miles and from the coastal waters from Merrimack River out 25 nautical miles to Plymouth out to 40 Nautical Miles including the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Gale Watches have been posted for Cape Cod Bay, Buzzards Bay, Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds. A Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect for Bermuda. A Tropical Storm Watch is also now in effect for Nova Scotia and Southwestern New Brunswick Canada. High Surf Advisories remain in effect for portions of South Coastal New England through 6 PM due to Kyle’s approach to the region.

The VoIP Hurricane Prep Net will take place this evening on IRLP reflector 9219/Echolink *WX-TALK* Confernece Node: 7203 at 8 PM ET/0000 UTC with specific emphasis on stations in portions of Eastern New England and Southwest New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Canada as Kyle approaches the region. Kyle’s impact to the region will likely be as a strong tropical storm with the possibility of minimal hurricane strength as it approaches the region.

The latest advisories on Kyle can be seen off of the voipwx.net web site by clicking on Atlantic tropical Products and then clicking on any of the Kyle advisory statements. They can also be seen at the National Hurricane Center Web site via the following link:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

The VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team will closely monitor the progress of Kyle. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
1 1
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Hello to all…

On Thursday Evening, Tropical Storm Kyle formed north of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico after causing widespread flash flooding in that area as a tropical wave. Kyle is now a 60 MPH Tropical Storm and is expected to intensify into a hurricane. The current track keeps Kyle offshore of Southern New England, however, track guidance has been shifting westward and there is potential for impact across portions of the Northeastern United States as well as the Canadian Maritimes. A Tropical Storm Watch has also been posted for Bermuda.

If necessary, an activation similar to Tropical Storm Hanna could be done utilizing the New England Reflector and the IRLP 9219/*WX-TALK* conference systems and if that occurs, the weekly net will likely be cancelled. Given the uncertainties, it is premature to determine whether activation will occur and the weekly net will need to be cancelled. The VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team will continue to closely monitor the progress of Tropical Storm Kyle. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
1
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Hello to all…

The tropical wave in the area of Puerto Rico and the US and British Virgin Islands has continued to become better organized and has prompted the issuance of the Special Tropical Disturbance Statement. Reconnaisance aircraft is enroute to the area and a tropical depression could form in this area at any time. Below is the Special Tropical Disturbance Statement from the National Hurricane Center in Miami Florida:

000
WONT41 KNHC 211432
DSAAT
SPECIAL TROPICAL DISTURBANCE STATEMENT
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
1030 AM EDT SUN SEP 21 2008

SATELLITE IMAGERY…SURFACE OBSERVATIONS…AND NOAA DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR DATA FROM SAN JUAN PUERTO RICO INDICATE THE LOW PRESSURE AREA LOCATED ABOUT 70 MILES SOUTH OF PUERTO RICO HAS CONTINUED TO BECOME BETTER ORGANIZED THIS MORNING. THIS SYSTEM COULD BECOME A TROPICAL DEPRESSION AT ANY TIME AS IT MOVES SLOWLY NORTH-NORTHWESTWARD OR NORTHWARD AT ABOUT 5 MPH. AN AIR FORCE RESERVE RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT IS CURRENTLY ENROUTE TO INVESTIGATE THE SYSTEM.

INTERESTS IN PUERTO RICO…THE U.S. AND BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS…AND EASTERN HISPANIOLA SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THIS SYSTEM AND ANY PRODUCTS ISSUED BY THE RESPECTIVE WEATHER FORECAST OFFICES.

$$
FORECASTER STEWART

The VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team will continue to closely monitor the progress of this system. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
1
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Hello to all….

At 2 PM EDT/1 PM CDT, Ike has weakened to a Tropical Storm and WX4NHC has secured their activation so the VoIP Hurricane Net has secured its formal operation. KI4KXC-Paul will monitor the network informally until 4 PM EDT/3 PM CDT and then the net will be secured. The VoIP Hurricane Prep Net normally Saturday Evenings at 8 PM EDT/7 PM CDT will remain cancelled to allow any local/regional stations to use the *WX-TALK* Echolink conference node: 7203/IRLP 9219 system as needed.

Hurricane Ike dealt significant damage and storm surge to the Houston/Galveston, Texas area. A local/regional SKYWARN Net was active on IRLP reflector 9455 with WX5HGX, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Weather Service in Houston/Galveston, Texas running the net and liaison was established between that net and the VoIP Hurricane Net.

Several damage and measured wind reports were forwarded from that net including a measured wind gust of 92 MPH from KE5RON-Ron at the Brazoria County EOC in Freeport, Texas from a chemical plant located in that area and many reports of widespread power outages and tree and power line damage with roof shingle damage in the Houston and Sugar Land area. Local media reported 4 Million people without power in the Houston, Texas area with many windows blown out of skyscrapers in downtown Houston, Texas. Storm Surge was significant in the Galveston, Texas area from media reports and one delayed relayed report from a Ham who had contact with another Ham Operator on Galveston Island.

A measured wind gust of 84 MPH was reported by K5JEP-Joe in Jasper Texas to the VoIP Hurricane Net with significant tree damage. Other damage reports were received from stations in the affected area and relays into the affected area from Joe-K5JEP and John-KD5YOU among several other stations. The National Weather Service Southern Region Headquarters, which is co-located with the National Weather Service in Dallas/Fort Worth Texas, was active on the VoIP Hurricane Net under call-sign WX5FWD. Reports from the VoIP Net were relayed to Southern Region HQ and reports Southern Region received were relayed to our net.

For a complete list of reports handled by the VoIP Hurricane Net, you can go to the VoIPWXNet web site at http://www.voipwx.net and click the report viewer off the Main Menu of the web site. You can also follow the direct link listed below:

VoIP Hurricane Net Report Viewer

In the Altantic Tropics, there are two areas of disturbed weather, one associated with the remnants of Josephine and the other 1100 miles east of Leeward Islands that are being monitored for signs of development. At this time any development of these systems is expected to be slow to occur.

This will be the last situation report issued on the myriad of tropical systems that created impact across the Atlantic Region over the past 2-3 weeks. We appreciate every single reporting station from the affected area and those stations outside the affected area that relayed reports from the affected area to our net. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
1
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Hello to all….

**Updated to fix typo on WD5M streaming links. Also noted that the VoIPWXNet web site is slowly coming back online as the DNS routing changes take affect. Remainder below is unchanged.**

After coordination with WX4NHC Coordinators Julio Ripoll-WD4R and John McHugh-K4AG, the VoIP Hurricane Net will be activating at 12 PM ET/11 AM CDT Friday for impact of large Hurricane Ike along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. The weekly net for this Saturday Evening has been cancelled. WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami Florida, is expected to activate at 12 PM ET/11 AM CT. They are planning to be active through the overnight hours and well into Saturday and we expect this to be the same for our net.

Given the large size of Hurricane Ike, the concern is there for a widespread swath of significant damage as well as an unusually large area of storm surge flooding from Ike. Damage could also extend well inland. This could be a major strike to the Texas and Louisiana coast and particularly the Houston and Galveston Texas area. We ask any and all stations in or near the affected area and stations that have relays into the affected area to report into our net with weather and damage reports for use by WX4NHC and many other regional and national entities.

For the latest advisory information including watches and warnings, you can go to the VoIPWXNet web site and click Atlantic Tropical Products and click on the advisory information for Ike under the Atlantic Tropical Products section. You can also gather the advisory information from the National Hurricane Center web site at the following link:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

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 (Note issue with web site as stated in the first paragraph. Please utilize the typical SKYWARN Reporting Criteria)

Listen Only IRLP/EchoLink capability include the following systems:

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

EchoLink:
*KC4QLP-C* Node: 290251
*VKEMCOMM* Node: 270177
*N5API* Node: 77433
*IRESC* Node: 278173
*N1TAI* Node: 269929

A streaming audio feed has been setup thanks to the assistance of David McAnally-WD5M. This is the first time he has setup a streaming audio server so please bear with any technical difficulties. The links are listed below:

WD5M Streaming Audio Feed Main page
WD5M Direct link to Streaming Audio using OGG Format
WD5M Direct Link to Streaming Audio using MP3 Format

Bob Carter-KC4QLP has also setup an online stream for up to 32 listeners at the following link:

KC4QLP Streaming Audio Feed

An EQSO listen-only feed is also available via KC4QLP-R.

Lu Vencl-KA4EPS has also set up streaming audio capability. See links below:

KA4EPS Streaming Audio Feed
KA4EPS Streaming Audio Feed

Links to the WD5M streaming audio feeds have also been provided in the Main Menu of the VoIPWXNet web site.

Below is the typical information WX4NHC issues prior to activation of the WX4NHC Ham Station as provided by WX4NHC Coordinators, Julio Ripoll-WD4R and John McHugh-K4AG:

We request all land based stations as well as ships at sea in the areas affected 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 28 years.

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

OUR MISSION: TO HELP SAVE LIVES.

—

John Mc Hugh, K4AG
Coordinator for Amateur Radio
National Hurricane Center, WX4NHC
Home page:- http://www.wx4nhc.org

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….

The VoIP Hurricane Net is looking at activation plans starting Friday Morning. The tentative timeframe appears to be 10 AM ET/9 AM CT Friday Morning. We are awaiting word from WX4NHC Coordinators on their timeframe for activation and the availability of net controls to fine-tune this timeframe further. Another Situation Report will be posted later this evening with further details on our plans as well as information from our roll call net that will be held at 930 PM EDT/830 PM CDT Thursday Evening.

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

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
1
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Hello to all…

We have received a number of inquiries on when the VoIP Hurricane Net will be reactivating for Hurricane Ike, which is now undergoing a potentially rapid intensification phase, and has now become a large hurricane which could affect a large portion of the Texas Gulf Coast. As of the 8 PM EDT/7 PM CDT Hurricane Ike Intermediate Advisory, a Hurricane Watch has been posted from Cameron Louisiana Westward to Port Mansfield Texas and a Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Cameron Louisiana.

The VoIP Hurricane Net will do a roll-call from stations in the affected area of Hurricane Ike and stations that are not in the affected area of Hurricane Ike but have relays to other hams, hurricane chasers, friends, family or other contacts in the affected area of Hurricane Ike and can relay information back to our net. That roll call net will be Thursday Evening at 930 PM EDT/830 PM CDT. The VoIP Hurricane Net will likely begin formal activation some time Friday Morning and that activation could last through Saturday and into a portion of Sunday Morning. The start time of formal activation will be confirmed in an activation announcement posted some time on Thursday. The weekly VoIP Hurricane Prep Net for Saturday Evening will again be cancelled.

Advisories on Hurricane Ike can be obtained via the VoIPWXNet web site by clicking Atlantic Tropical Products off the Main Menu of the web site. They can also be found at the National Hurricane Center web site at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

The VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team is preparing for a long duration activation for Hurricane Ike in the Friday through Sunday Morning timeframe. Another update will be posted on Thursday. 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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