VOIP Hurricane Net Purpose

SKYWARN’s purpose, and our primary objective, is to help save lives and property thru the identification and cautious field evaluation of threatening or dangerous weather and hazardous conditions and facilitating the timely gathering and dissemination of this information.

We have merged the EchoLink Conference Server with an IRLP Reflector to create this net which provides a single point of contact for people in the field submitting reports as well as for the National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service to be able to easily stay in contact with one another. Rather than duplicating efforts, we are getting much better utilization of our available resources by merging these two proven technologies and this should benefit all involved. In addition, additional VoIP technologies such as All-Star, DMR, DSTAR, Fusion, Hamshack Hotline and more can be brought into the net on an as needed basis. In the future, these modes could also be integrated into our system.

After EchoLink and IRLP hosted separate weather nets from 2002-2003, Kevin Anderson, KD5WX, WX-TALK Net Manager and Danny Musten, KD4RAA, IRLP Raleigh Reflector Net Manager began working together in 2004 to help make this combined net possible. This net requires a large amount of time and effort to be expended by a lot of dedicated people and its effectiveness is achieved by the combined efforts of all of the participants involved and they are all very much appreciated.

The main function of this website is for Net Controllers and the general public to be able to easily review the latest tropical bulletins and satellite images, learn about the VoIP Hurricane Net procedures, VoIP Hurricane Net activations for landfalling hurricanes and to be able to submit weather observations which meet or exceed reportable criteria to the National Hurricane Center and/or National Weather Service offices nationwide.

Our hurricane report web submission form may also be used by any other amateur radio Net Control Operators running other Nets and even by the general public. All posted weather reports may also be viewed online for any weather event.

Whenever tropical weather is imposing a threat to the U.S. mainland or across the coastal areas primarily of the Atlantic but also the Eastern and Central Pacific, the VoIP WX-NET will be fully operational.

Our VoIP SKYWARN and Hurricane Prep Net is held weekly each Saturday evening at 8pm Eastern or 7pm Central time in the months of June through November, monthly at 8 PM Eastern or 7 PM Central time in the months of January through May and in December the net is held one hour earlier at 7 PM eastern or 6 PM Central time immediately following the annual SKYWARN Recognition Day event. You may join us by connecting to the EchoLink WX-TALK conference server Node #:7203, and IRLP Reflector 9219 through any of the many linked repeaters in this network worldwide or via your PC using EchoLink. Other VoIP modes can be utilized during the net depending on what linked systems are connected to our net. Please check in with us or at least monitor if you are able. To stay abreast of any new weather developments, you may want to monitor this NET during hurricane net activations.

Regards,

Rob Macedo – KD1CY
kd1cy (at) voipwx.net
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
New Bedford, Massachusetts

Dennis Dura – K2DCD
k2dcd (at) voipwx.net
Assistant Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
Ewing, New Jersey

Kevin Anderson – KD5WX
kd5wx (at) voipwx.net
WX-Talk Conference Net Manager
Nacogdoches, TX

Danny Musten – KD4RAA
kd4raa (at) voipwx.net
IRLP Reflector 9219 Net Manager
Raleigh, NC