Hello to all…

Please see the announcement below from Assistant WX4NHC Coordinator, Julio Ripoll-WD4R on the WX4NHC On-The-Air Station Test for Saturday May 29th, 2010 from 9 AM-5 PM ET (1300-2100UTC).  The VoIP Hurricane Net and the *WX_TALK* Echolink Conference Node: 7203/IRLP 9219 will be on the air from 1700-1900 UTC (1-3 PM ET) for this test. See announcement below:

Announcement from WX4NHC
Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center

WX4NHC Hurricane Season 2010 On-The-Air Station Test
Saturday, May 29th, 2010 from 9AM-5PM EST (1300z-2100z)

NHC Director Bill Read, KB5FYA is planning to attend and make some on-the-air contacts. The purpose of this annual Station Test is to test all of our radio equipment, computers and antennas using as many modes and frequencies as possible.

This is not a Contest or simulated Hurricane Exercise.

New equipment and software will be tested and we may be trying multiple frequencies and modes at any give time. Some operator training will also be conducted.

WX4NHC will be On-The-Air on HF, VHF, UHF and 2 & 30 meter APRS.

We plan on testing on the following voice frequencies +/- QRM
3.950 MHz, 7.268MHz, 14.325MHz, 21.325MHz, 28.425MHz.
We will try to stay on 14.325 MHz most of the time and announce when we QSY.

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 1pm-3pm EDT (1700z-1900z) (IRLP node 9219 / EchoLink WX-TALK Conference node 7203).
http://www.voipwx.net/

South Florida area VHF & UHF Repeaters will be contacted.

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Hello to all…

A reminder that the VoIP Hurricane Prep Net for April is Saturday Evening 4/3/10. With the time change, the net is now at 8 PM EDT/7 PM CDT/6 PM MDT/5 PM PDT. There will be no training for the April net due to the Passover and Easter holidays and my return travel from Florida from the National Hurricane Conference. I will provide some comments on the National Hurricane Conference for this month’s net. For next month’s net, we’ll have 1 to 2 training topics to make up for no training on this week’s net including a thorough review on the National Hurricane Conference.

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…

ARRL Southeast Division Director Greg Sarratt-W4OZK was gracious enough to put together this PR for the 2010 National Hurricane Conference in Orlando. Please see the press release below:

Please distribute this to the local clubs, ARES and other emcom groups.

2010 National Hurricane Conference Activities

The National Hurricane Conference will be held March 29-April 2, at the Hilton Orlando in Orlando Florida.  There will be several amateur radio activities going on during the week.

On Tuesday March 30th, from 1:30 to 5:00pm all hams are invited at no cost to attend the Amateur Radio, “Disaster Communications Before, During and After Hurricanes” session in room Orange C.

On Wednesday March 31st, from 8:30 to 10:00am there will be an amateur radio session designed for Emergency Management attendees called “Amateur Radio: The Emergency Manager’s Hidden Resource”.

On Wednesday evening at 7:00pm, The Orange County EMA will host a special meeting for ARES and all amateur radio emergency communications folks.  You are invited to come tour the EOC, meet the conference presenters and learn what is happening at the 2010 National Hurricane Conference!  The Orange County EOC is located at 6590 Amory Court, Winter Park, FL 32792.  It is just 2 south of a Sonny’s BBQ which is at the SW corner of University Blvd and Forsyth Road.

On Thursday evening at 7:30pm, The Lake Monroe Amateur Radio Society, holds their general meeting at the Winter Springs Civic Center, 400 North Edgemon Avenue, Winter Springs, FL 32708.   http://www.lmars.org/

The Hurricane Conference presenters are,

Julio Ripoll WD4R
WX4NHC Amateur Radio Asst. Coordinator
www.wx4nhc.org
National Hurricane Center

John McHugh, K4AG
National Hurricane Center

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Hello to all..

The following VoIP Hurricane Prep Net presentations and recordings are now available. Below is a brief description and links to the presentations and recordings and this is also available under the VoIP WX Net Presentations Archive under the Main Menu of the voipwx.net web site:

The March 2010 VoIP Hurricane Prep Net featured a presentation from Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net, Rob Macedo-KD1CY, on the 2010 National Hurricane Conference and the VoIP Hurricane Net’s participation in the conference and the February 25th-26th 2010 Major Nor’easter ARES and SKYWARN Activation. The conference overview was provided to give net participants an idea of the net’s role in the National Hurricane Conference and to tell folks about a trip/visit to the National Hurricane Center Amateur Radio Station, WX4NHC, to visit with the coordinators and team members. The major nor’easter presentation described how this nor’easter that affected New England on February 25th-26th packed the equivalent punch of a minimal category-1 hurricane. The presentation and recording links are listed below with the recording starting approximately 19 minutes 34 seconds (19:34) into the presentation.  The presentation and recording links are listed below:

VoIP Hurricane Net Recording (Approximately 8 Meg in Size): http://www.voipwx.net/files/March_2010_National_Hurricane_Conference_and_noreaster_presentation.mp3

VoIP Hurricane Net Overview of National Hurricane Conference Presentations: http://www.voipwx.net/files/Overview_of_National_Hurricane_Conference_Presentations_2010.ppt

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Hello to all..

Here are the March 2010 VoIP Hurricane Prep Net Power Point presentations. The recording will be uploaded to the web site upon net completion.

http://www.voipwx.net/files/Overview_of_National_Hurricane_Conference_Presentations_2010.ppt

http://www.voipwx.net/files/February_25th_26th_Major_Nor’easter_ARES_SKYWARN_activation.ppt

For best results, please download the presentations on to your computer 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…

We’ll be having our monthly VoIP Hurricane Prep Net this Saturday Evening March 6th at 7 PM ET/6 PM CT/5 PM MT/4 PM PT/0000 UTC on the *WX_TALK* Echolink conference node: 7203/IRLP 9219. For the March net, we’ll have two training topics:

1.) VoIP Hurricane Prep Net Participation in the 2010 National Hurricane Conference

2.) February 25th-26th Major Nor’easter Impact to Northeast Massachusetts, Central and Southern New Hampshire and South-Central Maine

We hope folks can make the Saturday Evening US time VoIP Hurricane Prep Net. 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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The following is a situation report on the Amateur Radio response to the Haiti Earthquake. Please note that the situation report was not updated on Friday Evening as there was little new information. Today, new information was received warranting a new situation report update.

ARES/RACES/MARS groups across the country and globally have received requests for Health and Welfare traffic. All stations that have HF capability should monitor HF frequencies listed in the sitrep below or scan 20/40/80 Meter bands for any Haitian stations and if any are heard and they have a capability to assist with Emergency/Priority traffic and health and welfare traffic, relay that information to SATERN (Salvation Army Team Emergency Response Network) and IRESC (International Radio Emergency Support Coalition). There has been more steady contact with 2 Amateur Radio Operators via the HF Nets over the past 2 days however it is noted that HH2JR, Jean Richard is currently running with an Icom IC-706 HF Radio with a faulty display and is running out of fuel for his neighbor’s generator which he has been using to maintain power for his radio per family members who were in contact with several Amateurs who made first contact with HH2JR on January 13th. An Amateur Radio strike team from the Dominican Republic has arrived in Haiti on Friday January 15th. There has been word that HI8RCD/HH has attempted to contact the SATERN Net on 14.265 but has been unsucessful. This is per traffic monitored on the 7265 40 meter SATERN Net at approximately 430 PM ET/2130 UTC.

The following information was relayed by Public Relations Manager at ARRL HQ, Allen Pitts-W1AGP concerning operations and the public information aspect of the Amateur Radio response. Please also note the comments on deployment to the affected area:

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Hello to all..

The following is a situation report on the Amateur Radio response to the Haiti Earthquake. The following is a situation report on the Amateur Radio response to the Haiti Earthquake. Many ARES/RACES/MARS groups across the country and globally have received requests for Health and Welfare traffic. All stations that have HF capability should monitor HF frequencies listed in the sitrep below or scan 20/40/80 Meter bands for any Haitian stations and if any are heard and they have a capability to assist with Emergency/Priority traffic and health and welfare traffic, relay that information to SATERN (Salvation Army Team Emergency Response Network) and IRESC (International Radio Emergency Support Coalition). There has been more steady contact with 2 Amateur Radio Operators via the HF Nets today and an Amateur Radio strike team from the Dominican Republic will be in Haiti Friday January 15th. An updated ARRL Web Story is listed below:

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/01/14/11290/?nc=1

A recording of phone patches was provided by K1VR-Brian Crow of Boynton Beach Florida between HH2JR-Jean Robert Gaillard and W3UZ is widely available over the Internet and is 26 minutes long. You can hear his nervousness and tenseness as the phone patches are made and the audio is at the link below:

http://d.yimg.com/kq/groups/12397727/1885578730/name/Haiti%2Emp3

The edit clips from Amateur Radio Newsline and the text transcript can be heard at the following link:

http://www.arnewsline.org

Some interesting information has been made available via the stormcarib.com storm blog concerning relief operations. This can be seen via the following link:

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Hello to all..

The following is a situation report on the Amateur Radio response to the Haiti Earthquake. Many ARES/RACES/MARS groups across the country and globally have received requests for Health and Welfare traffic. All stations that have HF capability should monitor HF frequencies listed in the sitrep below or scan 20/40/80 Meter bands for any Haitian stations and if any are heard and they have a capability to assist with Emergency/Priority traffic and health and welfare traffic, relay that information to SATERN (Salvation Army Team Emergency Response Network) and IRESC (International Radio Emergency Support Coalition). As of late Wednesday Evening, contact with the affected area has been very difficult. There was brief contact made on one of the HF Nets earlier today. This information is listed below as provided by ARRL and other groups along with a link to an ARRLWeb Story:

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/01/13/11288/?nc=1

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The International Radio Emergency Support Coalition (IRESC) and the Salvation Army Team Emergency Response Network (SATERN) are both active supporting Haiti Earthquake Operations. Indirect contact has been established via email and second hand reporting and info as relayed by SATERN to IRESC and by IRESC operators. Direct contact to the affected area is being attempted by both groups.

The *WX_TALK* Echolink conference node: 7203/IRLP 9219 reflector system has been connected directly to the *IRESC* echolink conference node: 278173 for listen only purposes. It will remain connected for as long as IRESC is active. Anyone with emergency/priority traffic or health and welfare traffic should connect directly to *IRESC* echolink conference node: 278173. Information on IRESC can be seen via the following link:

http://www.iresc.org/

SATERN is active on HF and has performed liasion with IRESC. Per the SATERN web site, SATERN activities are active on 14.235 MHz Primary for daytime operations and 7265 and 3977.7 Khz for evening and night time operations. Information on SATERN can be seen via the following link:

http://www.satern.org/

Where this is not a hurricane related incident, the VoIP Hurricane Net will not be directly involved in operations, however, net controls and individuals that help with the VoIP Hurricane Net that either have direct contact with Haiti or have relays into Haiti are strongly encouraged to support SATERN and IRESC with their operations. This would benefit those with Health and Welfare traffic into Haiti. Stations that have Health and Welfare traffic to Haiti can provide the info to these groups but it may be several days before the messages will be delivered and relayed back so those that can help with direct contact with Haiti or contact through relays could help speed up the Health and welfare traffic flow.

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