WX4NHC On-Air Test Saturday 5/30/20 from 9 AM-5 PM EDT – WX4NHC Will Be on Echolink *WX_TALK*/IRLP 9219 – 5/30/20 4-5 PM EDT

Hello to all…

WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center, will be active with its on air-test Saturday 5/30/20 from 9 AM-5 PM EDT. They will be on the *WX_TALK* Echolink conference node: 7203/IRLP 9219 reflector system from 4-5 PM EDT (2000-2100 UTC) Saturday 5/30/20. A link to the WX4NHC On-Air Test Announcement from Assistant WX4NHC Coordinator, WD4R-Julio Ripoll, is listed below:

Below is our WX4NHC Annual Station Test announcement and a brief statement about the upcoming hurricane season.

The 2020 Hurricane Season outlook is about 140% more active than the average season.

That is about 14-18 named storms, which includes 7-9 hurricanes, possibly 4 major hurricanes (Cat-3 to Cat-5).

The 2019 season had 18 named storms, 6 became hurricanes, of which 3 were major hurricanes.

The above average prediction is largely due to the hot Atlantic and Caribbean waters and lack of a substantial El Niño in the Pacific.

The combination of a busy hurricane season and the ongoing Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic could be a nightmare scenario for areas affected by hurricanes.

FEMA and local Emergency Management Agencies are issuing COVID-19 guidelines for Hurricane Shelters, which include face masks and social spacing.

Please stay informed and prepare your Hurricane Supplies early.

Good Luck and Stay Safe!

73 de WX4NHC

Announcement from WX4NHC
Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center, Miami Florida

WX4NHC will be On-The-Air for the Annual Station Test
Saturday, May 30th , 2020 from 9AM- 5 PM EDT ( 1300z- 2100z)
This will be our 40th year of public service at NHC.

The purpose of this event is to test WX4NHC Amateur Radio Station Operations and equipment, antennas and computers prior to this year’s Hurricane Season, which starts June 1st and runs through November 30th.

This event is good practice for Ham Radio Operators world-wide to practice Amateur Radio communications available during times of severe weather.

We will be making brief contacts on many frequencies and modes, exchanging signal reports and basic weather data exchange (Sunny, Rain, Temperature, etc.) with any station in any location.

WX4NHC will be On-The-Air on HF, VHF, UHF , 2 & 30 meter APRS and WinLink wx4nhc@winlink.org subject must contain //WL2K.

We will try to stay on the Hurricane Watch Net frequency 14.325 MHz most of the time. Also 7.268 MHz depending on propagation.

However, we will be operating different frequencies depending on QRM.

You may be able to find us on HF by using one of the DX Spotting Networks,

Such as the DX Summit Web Site: http://www.dxsummit.fi/Search.aspx

We will also be on VoIP Hurricane Net 4pm-5pm EDT (2000-2100z)
(IRLP node 9219 / EchoLink WX-TALK Conference node 7203). http://www.voipwx.net/

Florida Statewide SARNET and local VHF & UHF Repeaters will be contacted.

QSL Cards are available via WD4R. Please send your card with a S.A.S.E.

Please do NOT send QSLs directly to the Hurricane Center address, as it will get delayed.

Due to security measures and COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic: NO VISITORS will be allowed entry to NHC.

For more information about WX4NHC, please visit our website
www.wx4nhc.org

Thank you for your participation in the WX4NHC Annual Station Test event.

73, Julio – WD4R
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Julio Ripoll Architect WD4R
WX4NHC Amateur Radio Asst. Coordinator
www.wx4nhc.org
Celebrating 40 years at the
National Hurricane Center
www.nhc.noaa.gov

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