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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Hello to all….

At 5 AM EDT, Tropical Depression 6 became Tropical Storm Felix and Felix intensified slightly further in the 8 AM advisory. Felix is bringing tropical storm force conditions to parts of the Southern Windward Islands. Julien-9Z4FZ reports flooding of a street in Tobago with heavy rain and some strong winds over the area as well as Grenada.

Felix is expected to intensify into a hurricane over the next couple days and could potentially affect Belize and parts of Mexico in the Yucatan Peninsula area in 3-4 days. Some of these areas are the same parts to be affected by Hurricane Dean a few weeks ago.

The VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team will continue to closely monitor the progress of Felix over the next few days. There is the potential for additional tropical systems to develop as we approach the peak of hurricane season in mid-September.

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….

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Labor Day Weekend. Unfortunately, the tropics are picking the holiday weekend to get active.

Tropical Depression-6 (TD-6) has formed in the Atlantic about 180 miles east-southeast of the Windward Islands. TD-6 is expected to strengthen and if it does as forecast it would be named Felix. This system is expected to potentially bring tropical storm force conditions to Tobago, Grenada and its dependecies and potentially other parts of the Southern Windward islands and the Northern Coast of Venezuela.

TD-6 has the potential to reach hurricane strength in 4-5 days with it reaching the Belize coast near that timeframe but it is noted that hurricane intensity and track forecasts 4-5 days out are particularly problematic and can be prone to large errors. The VoIP Hurricane Net management team will continue to closely monitor the progress of TD-6.

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 has had several noteworthy news segments over the past two weeks as the net activated for Hurricane Flossie over Hawaii and several times for Hurricane Dean over the Caribbean islands, Jamaica, the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and Belize and mainland Mexico. Below are links to those articles:

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2007/08/23/100/?nc=1
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2007/08/17/100/?nc=1
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2007/08/15/100/?nc=1

We’d like to again thank all the stations who relayed reports to our net and all stations who provided relayed reports. We’d also like to thank our Net Controls who did much work over the span of these two activations and our Net Controls from Puerto Rico who provided translation services as Dean churned through Mexico.

These links have been added to the VoIP Hurricane Net in Amateur Radio News section. Additional items from Hurricane Dean will be posted later this week.

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….

At 5 PM EDT/2100 UTC Wednesday August 22nd, 2007, the VoIP Hurricane Net has secured as Dean has been downgraded to a tropical storm. Dean will rapidly weaken inland over Mexico. Heavy Rain and flooding will be the main threats.

It has been a very long week as we’ve dealt with this extremely dangerous hurricane and impact to multiple land areas. I wish to take this opportunity to thank all of the Net Controls, Spanish translators, stations in the affected area and stations who relayed reports from the affected area to our net and found other means to acquire information from the affected area. Some of the reports when Dean was over Jamaica were utilized in the advisory update that was given at 8 PM Sunday Evening. Those reports wouldn’t have been received if it wasn’t for everyone’s efforts. The Coordinators of the National Hurricane Center are very pleased with the efforts of our net.

I also would like to thank the many EchoLink PC users, links and repeaters and IRLP nodes and repeaters that connected to our system. On Sunday, I saw over 150 connections between EchoLink *WX-TALK*/IRLP 9219 and the listen only IRLP reflectors and conferences. I also wish to thank those conference and reflector owners who provided listen-only capability for the net.

In the next few days, I will try and send out some material and Frequently Asked Questions about our net as we’ve had an influx of over 40 new people to the VoIP-WXNet email list. Many of you may have questions and haven’t asked them so hopefully the Frequently Asked Questions document will answer some of those items. We are also working PR for the net’s efforts for Dean and hopefully that will be seen in the next few days.

Its now time to get some rest before the next potential hurricane strikes as we approach the peak of Hurricane Season in mid-September. 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….

One last activation for Hurricane Dean as he makes final landfall over Southeast mainland Mexico will occur Wednesday starting at 8 AM EDT lasting through early to mid afternoon depending on how Dean evolves and the level of reporting that can be obtained from main land Southeast Mexico. Any relays into the affected area and any Spanish translators would be helpful for this last Dean activation for final Dean landfall in main land Southeast Mexico.

The VoIP Hurricane Net has obtained links into the affected area who will be relaying reports from their area and from other sources. XE2WCG-Carlos and XE2ZQ-Guillermo will be assisting in these efforts among others. The VoIP Net Management team is making contact with additional node owners in the affected area of Dean in the hopes of raising more reports. Special thanks to Hector-N1TKK and Fransisco-NP3OD for there translating efforts and monitoring of other conferences and systems to provide reports to WX4NHC to help save lives.

Please note that the track, speed and intensity of Dean could cause changes in activation plans. Updates will be posted whenever time allows.

We now have 2 streaming audio links working as a means to listen to the net thanks to Tony Langdon-VK3JED, VoIP Hurricane Net Technical Coordinator and log time net supporter Lu Vencl-KA4EPS. The information is listed below along with listen only EchoLink and IRLP systems.

The reporting criteria and activation policy for our net during hurricane net activations as well as National Hurricane Center Advisory information 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
*WASH_DC* Node: 6154
*NC-PENN* Node: 137634

Streaming Audio feeds are now available and links have been added to the web
site:
KA4EPS Streaming Audio
VK3JED Streaming Audio

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….

At 11 PM EDT/0300 UTC, the Hurricane Dean VoIP Hurricane Dean activation was secured for Jamaica. A new activation will be started informally on Monday at 6 AM EDT/1000 UTC and formally start at 8 AM EDT/1200 UTC and could potentially last into early afternoon as Dean makes his closest approach to the Cayman Islands. Stations in the affected area or stations with relays into the affected area can give their reports on EchoLink *WX-TALK* Conference Node: 7203 and IRLP reflector 9219.

The next activation after Monday is expected early Tuesday Morning lasting through Tuesday Evening as Dean is expected to make landfall somewhere on the Yucatan Peninsula and sustain hurricane conditions on both the east and west sides of the Yucatan. The final activation for Dean should take place Wednesday as its expected that Dean will make landfall in the Southeast part of mainland Mexico. WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami Florida, will be active across much of these timeframes per coordination with Julio Ripoll-WD4R, Assistant WX4NHC Coordinator.

The VoIP Hurricane Net has obtained links into the affected area who will be relaying reports from their area and from other sources. XE2WCG-Carlos and XE2ZQ-Guillermo will be assisting in these efforts.

Please note that the track, speed and intensity of Dean could cause changes in activation plans. Updates will be posted whenever time allows.

We now have 2 streaming audio links working as a means to listen to the net thanks to Tony Langdon-VK3JED, VoIP Hurricane Net Technical Coordinator and log time net supporter Lu Vencl-KA4EPS. The information is listed below along with listen only EchoLink and IRLP systems.

The reporting criteria and activation policy for our net during hurricane net activations as well as National Hurricane Center Advisory information 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.

EchoLink:
*KC4QLP-C* Node: 290251
*VKEMCOMM* Node: 270177
*N5API* Node: 77433
*WASH_DC* Node: 6154

Streaming Audio feeds are now available and links have been added to the web site:
VK3JED Audio Streaming Link

KA4EPS Audio Streaming Link

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….

…VoIP Hurricane Net Activation to Commence at 8 AM EDT/1200 UTC Sunday August 19th, 2007 for Hurricane Dean’s impact on Jamaica as there are EchoLink and IRLP nodes in the affected area….

The VoIP Hurricane Net in coordination with WX4NHC will be activating at 8 AM EDT/1200 UTC to support WX4NHC with surface/meterological reports from stations in the affected area on *WX-TALK* node: 7203/IRLP reflector 9219. Impact to Jamaica is expected Sunday with impact to the Cayman Islands on Monday.

As of 11am EDT / 15:00 UTC…Hurricane warnings have been issued for Jamaica. Hurricane warnings remain in effect for the south coast of the Dominican Republic and for the Southwestern peninsula of Haiti. Tropical Storm warnings are also in effect for other areas of the Caribbean. The center of Hurricane Dean was located near 15.7 North and 68.6 West or about 565 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. Dean is moving toward the west near 17mph and a west or west-northwest motion is expected to continue for the next 24 hours. This puts the core of the hurricane south of Hispaniola today and early Sunday. Maximum sustained winds remain near 150mph making Dean a major and extremely dangerous Category 4 Hurricane. Fluctuations in strength are possible and Dean could reach Category 5 strength prior to hitting Jamaica, however little overall change in strength is expected. Estimated minimum central pressure is 929mb or 27.43 inches. Complete information on Dean can be found at the National Hurricane Center Webpage www.nhc.noaa.gov.

We are currently making contact with Amateurs in Grand Cayman and Jamaica. Any stations with contacts in that area are urged to assist us by relaying reports from those contacts in the affected area wherever possible. It is possible we may have a few of these stations on our weekly net this evening if they are not too busy preparing for this dangerous hurricane.

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.

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

Below is the WX4NHC Activation Announcement as provided by Julio Ripoll-WD4R, Assistant WX4NHC Coordinator:

WX4NHC ANNOUNCEMENT – HURRICANE DEAN OPERATIONS
Released August 18, 2007, 1 PM EDT

PLEASE RELAY TO STATIONS IN THE AFFECTED AREAS.

DEAN IS NOW A VERY STRONG CATEGORY-4 HURRICANE WITH SUSTAINED WINDS OF 150 MPH AND FORECAST TO TRACK OVER JAMAICA AND THE CAYMANS ISLANDS ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY.

WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami will reactivate operations sunday, AUGUST 19th at 8 AM EDT (1200z) and continue operations through Tuesday August 22nd as Dean is forecast to track over the Yucatan Peninsula.

We would appreciate weather data AND DAMAGE reports from land based stations and ships IN the affected area.

If you are in the affected area and normally stay 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.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
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….

We have secured the VoIP Hurricane Net activation for Hurricane Dean as it crossed through the islands of Martinique, Dominica, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Barbados and surrounding islands. Damage reports were fairly significant with reports of structural damage to a children’s hospital on St. Lucia, several roofs blown off homes in Dominica with wind gusts exceeding hurricane force and significant damage in St. Vincent. Phone systems were affected in some areas of Dominica with phone service lost entirely on the island of Martinique.

You can view the reports that were received via the VoIPWXNet web site at http://www.voipwx.net and by clicking Report Viewer off the Main Menu. It lists specific reports from the Hurricane Dean activation as well as Hurricane Flossie.

A huge thank you to Clem James-J73CI, Joseph Russell-J73RJ from Dominica and Julien Dedier-9Z4FZ from Trinidad for all their reporting into the VoIP Hurricane Net. This is serving in WX4NHC, the National Hurricane Center Ham station’s mission of helping to save lives.

Dean’s path will be taking it close to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. The potential currently exists for activation of WX4NHC and the VoIP Hurricane Net on Sunday for these areas. Further details will follow in future email updates on Hurricane Dean.

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

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net 1
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