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Amateur Radio Now Working Two Dangerous Hurricanes |
| As of Thursday afternoon September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene has been upgraded to a Category 3 storm by the National Hurricane Center. It is expected to strengthen and bring catastrophic winds and storm surge to the northeastern Gulf coast. Late Thursday afternoon Helene was located 145 miles from Tampa, Florida with winds of 120 miles per hour (mph).
The storm is moving toward the north-northeast at 16 mph. This general motion is expected to continue with a significant increase in forward speed during the next 24 hours. On the forecast track, Helene will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico Thursday and cross the Florida Big Bend coast Thursday evening or early Friday morning, possibly as a category 3 or 4 storm. After landfall, Helene is expected to turn northwestward and slow down over the Tennessee Valley on Friday and Saturday. Weakening is expected after landfall, but Helene’s fast forward speed will allow strong, damaging winds, especially in gusts, to penetrate well inland across the southeastern United States, including over the higher terrain of the southern Appalachians.
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| Hurricane Helene NOAA GOES image 9-26-2024 |
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The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) was activated Thursday morning at 10:00 AM EDT on both 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz. Here are the current plans, from HWN:
Thursday Activation
• 20 meters: 14.325 MHz (USB) at 10:00 AM EDT (1400 UTC) until we lose propagation at night.
• 40 meters: 7.268 MHz (LSB) at 10:00 AM EDT (1400 UTC). We will remain active on this frequency throughout the day and overnight for as long as propagation allows. If propagation allows us to operate all night, we will suspend operations at 7:30 AM EDT Friday to allow the Waterway Net to conduct their daily net.
Friday Activation
• 20 meters: we will resume operations on 14.325 MHz at 7:00 AM EDT (1000 UTC).
• 40 meters: we will resume operations on 7.268 MHz at 8:30 AM EDT (1230 UTC).
Any change to the Hurricane Watch Net plans will be on their website, www.hwn.org, and social media page.
The VoIP Hurricane Net was also activated at 10 AM EDT Thursday and will remain active for as long as necessary for Hurricane Helene and impacts to Florida and Georgia, through Friday morning. The net, on *WX_TALK* EchoLink conference node: 7203/IRLP 9219 system and other VoIP radio systems via the KC5FM-R node, is supporting WX4NHC, the amateur radio station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. WX4NHC will also be active beginning at 3 PM EDT Thursday through late Thursday evening.
The ARRL West Central Florida Section will be activating both the State EOC at Tallahassee (KA4EOC) and an alternative communications point at the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center (W4UC.)
Current planned ICS 205 activation:
SARNET should be used as the primary communications point except for any sensitive traffic.
Note that if the microwave link is lost along the way, it may impact communications if the transmission can’t reach the central routing point.
If using Winlink, formal messaging traffic should be sent to either KA4EOC for ham or NNA4FL for SHARES. Winlink is monitored as well as configured to automatically forward to the State Watch Office:
- For HF, 7197 for daytime and 3940 for night primary (KA4EOC & W4UC will share responsibility for monitoring the frequencies)
- No time has been set to place SARNET in a restricted net or when the HF net will begin, but that information will be shared soon. Activation of the formal nets will not begin until storm impacts start being felt in the state.
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| Hurricane John NOAA GOES image 9-26-24 |
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Tropical storm John has been upgraded again to Hurricane John and is producing catastrophic life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides over portions of southern Mexico. Winds are at 75 miles per hour (mph) and the storm is moving northwest at 6 mph. Through Friday, Hurricane John is expected to produce additional rainfall amounts of 10 to 20 inches across portions of the Mexican States of Guerrero and Michoacán. Additional rainfall of 2 to 4 inches with locally up to 6 inches is expected across the Mexican States of Colima and western Oaxaca.
When Hurricane John initially made landfall it left 100,000 residents and businesses without power, uprooted trees and power poles while ripping off roofs. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 10 miles from the storm’s center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles.
ARRL will report current updates and amateur radio activations as the storms move inward.
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National Preparedness Month – Get Involved |
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All September, the ARRL® Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) has been promoting readiness and resilience for National Preparedness Month. As we come to the end of the month, a hurricane is churning in the Gulf of Mexico, with forecasts of up to 20 feet of storm surge expected to impact large portions of Florida.
This underscores the need to be prepared. Even experienced hams and those who have been through many disasters have to continually work on their resilience plans.
While we have discussed some very basic preparedness tips this month, ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, hopes you will put your skills, equipment, and other resources to use in a group that can make a difference in your community. “If you have the ability, get plugged into a local ARES group. Using your resources to assist local responder agencies, volunteer groups, public service events, and other areas of need are a prime use of amateur radio,” he said.
ARES members will soon great way to practice those skills in controlled situations such as Simulated Emergency Tests or local communications exercises.
On October 5 – 6, Sections will hold a SET, so get involved in your local drill and make a difference in your community through amateur radio.
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Amateur Radio and Robot Play Ball! |
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The Staten Island Technical High School Robotics Team, in Staten Island, New York, took its knowledge and skills to the baseball diamond.
The team created a robot that was capable of throwing a ceremonial first pitch and, in early September, the members were invited to showcase and execute their robot at a Staten Island FerryHawks minor league game. But Everton Henriques, KD2ZZT, engineering and technology teacher, said there was a major league snag.
“Approximately 30 minutes before ‘showtime,’ the team discovered a number of hardware issues that occurred during transport, followed by the complete destruction of the main servo wiring system during a subsequent test,” he said. “Cell phone calls and texts could not handle the communication chaos, and we had to resort to our established amateur radio simplex frequency to coordinate equipment and logistics in those final minutes. The team was spread out between the field, stands, and merchandise table in the upper deck area. Without radios, there likely would not have been enough time to coordinate efforts to get the job done…but in the end, the team was able to pull it off.”
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| A screenshot from the video of a robot throwing the first pitch, controlled by ham radio. |
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You can watch the robot’s first pitch on the school’s Facebook page.
All 26 members of the robotics team hold amateur radio licenses, with 2 Extra Class and 3 General licenses in the mix.
“Cool stuff,” responded ARRL Education and Learning Manager Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, to the robot’s ceremonial first pitch.
Staten Island Technical High School is the first New York City school to receive a grant from ARRL. Goodgame said ARRL has been working with the school to build and equip an amateur radio station, to test and license students, and to put science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) kits in the classroom, thanks to a grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC). Henriques attended the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology earlier this year. The ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology is a donor-funded professional development program designed to help teachers elevate their STEM programs through the use of wireless technology.
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Changes in the ARRL West Texas Section |
| Dale Durham, W5WI, has announced that he is retiring from the position of Section Manager of the ARRL West Texas Section. Dale has served in this role since July 1st, 2017. He has also served as the Section Emergency Coordinator, a Field Instructor, and as an Official Observer.
David Overton, W5JDO, has been appointed to fill the remainder of the current term which will end on June 30th, 2025. David is an ARRL Life Member and currently serves as the Section Emergency Coordinator. David has held this role since July 2017 as well as an Assistant Section Manager and Instructor. He was first licensed in 2013.
The appointment will be effective on October 1st.
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Volunteers – The Heart and Soul of ARRL Headquarters |
| ARRL is quite privileged to have the service of many member-volunteers. Your national association could not function without the tens of thousands of dedicated hams who give freely of their time and talents to serve the greater amateur radio community.
The ARRL Field Organization is comprised entirely of volunteers – Section Managers, Affiliated Club Coordinators, Emergency Coordinators, and all other positions are all filled by those who have stepped up for the task. In central Connecticut, where ARRL is based, we enjoy a dedicated group of volunteers who come to ARRL Headquarters to serve.
“The volunteers really keep this place functioning,” said ARRL Member Services Representative Chanel Holley. Holley coordinates the volunteers in her role as ARRL’s receptionist. “They’re always happy to be here and bring so much dedication to their service,” she said.
ARRL is sincerely grateful to the HQ volunteer team. If you come to visit ARRL Headquarters, and the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, W1AW, join us in thanking this great crew who serve in many different functions including W1AW, ARRL Library, QSL Bureau, and the ARRL Lab.
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Our HQ volunteers include: Tom Brooks, KE1R; Skip Colton, W1FTE; Marc Goldstein, K8LSB; Joe Poland, N1EAI; George Carbonell, N1RMF; George Papp, K1YBO; Gary McManus, NQ1G; Dave Lesso, AC1K; Dan Wall, W1ZFG; Richard Lawrence, KB1DMX; Ray Thornton, W1YFF, Peter Turbide, W1PT; Paul Cianciolo, W1VLF; Martin Ewing, AA6E; Gregory Matthaey, KA2MKM; Harold Kramer, WJ1B; Ed Hare, W1RFI; Walter Styslo, W1WMS; Liz Karpiej, KA1DTU; John Pelczar, KA1DLM, and Robert Woodtke, W1RWW.
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Amateur Radio in the News |
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On the Air
Sponsored by Icom
A Tour of 10 Meters
The 10-meter band offers something for hams of every license class, including Technicians, who can use voice, Morse code, and digital modes on this band. Scott Freeberg, WA9WFA, joins this episode of the podcast to take us on “A Tour of 10 Meters,” and to explain why right now is the best time to get on the band, thanks to the terrific radio wave propagation being generated by Solar Cycle 25.
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ARRL Audio News
Listen to ARRL Audio News, available every Friday. ARRL Audio News is a summary of the week’s top news stories in the world of amateur radio and ARRL, along with interviews and other features. The On the Air podcast and ARRL Audio News are available on blubrry, iTunes, and Apple Podcasts.
On the Air | ARRL Audio News
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| The 4th annual Masonic Lodges on the Air (MLotA), an amateur radio special event, will be on the air 1400Z to 2200Z Saturday, September 28, 2024, from locations across the county. The event is open to all amateur radio operators and operators do not need be a Mason to participate. The idea for the event grew out of the realization that many Freemasons also have a love for amateur radio. The Fulton County Amateur Radio Club (FCARC) and the Fulton Lodge #248 in Ohio first hosted the event in 2021. Because of its success, the event has now been scheduled for the next two years. The event will be operating K8BXQ from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM ET, using SSB only on 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters. All contacts must be in the phone portion of the bands. Stations may be contacted once on each band. Full contest rules and information can be found at cqmorelight.com/rules.
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The Macon County (Missouri) Amateur Radio Club, NØPR, will activate special event station WØD to honor Lester Dent, WØCBL (SK), prolific writer of pulp fiction. Dent was the creator of the first “superhero,” Doc Savage. WØD will be active from 1430 UTC on October 19 to 0500 UTC on October 21, 2024, on all bands and all modes including 28.400, 14.280, 7.250, and 3.950 MHz. For additional information and stories on Dent and for QSL information, visit the Macon County Amateur Radio Club website.
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| Indiana will hold its annual statewide communications exercise, 10-4 Day, on Friday, October 4, 2024. Amateur radio operators and Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) organizations are invited to participate. There will be multiple tasks for both public safety and auxiliary communications to accomplish in a 4 – hour timeframe. 911 will be involved with a State Extend Test to ensure that all 911 centers can connect to the State Police Regional Dispatch Centers. Each team or individual will be given a set of communication challenges and then they will self-report their successes accomplished on each task. Staff members will be on site at each of the ten locations to provide guidance and help answer any questions. Specifically for auxiliary communicators, several other states will be joining 10-4 Day, providing unique opportunities to make contacts. For additional information contact the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
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| In less than a week, over 275 ARRL members have already taken advantage of a new benefit to help offset their dues and subscriptions. Through a new partnership with Grouper, eligible members who are age 65+ with a participating Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplement plan can get a paid benefit for being an ARRL member and being active in group activities — such as attending ARRL Affiliated Club meetings, hamfests, and participating in other amateur radio gatherings and events. If you qualify, Grouper will send you an initial payment of $50. For every three months of recorded activity, you will receive an additional $20. To check your eligibility, the only information you need to provide Grouper is the name of your health plan and your age. To see if you’re eligible, go to www.hellogrouper.com/arrl. Grouper does not have access to ARRL member information (name, call sign, email), unless you provide it to them to take advantage of the paid benefit. And Grouper does not share your information except to service your benefit. ARRL members with additional questions about the benefit can visit the FAQ from Grouper or contact ARRL Member Services.
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| ARRL Headquarters volunteer Dan Wall, W1ZFG, at W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station. |
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| The 105th anniversary of WWV will be celebrated by the WWV Amateur Radio Club (WWØWWV) from September 28, 2024, 0000Z until October 1, 2024, 2359Z. Club members will operate on CW, sideband, and digital modes across the bands during the 96-hour window. WWV has a history that dates back to the beginning of radio broadcasting. The call letters WWV were assigned to National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST) in October 1919. Although the call letters WWV are now synonymous with the broadcasting of time signals, it is unknown why those particular call letters were chosen or assigned. Testing of the station began from Washington, D.C. in May 1920, with the broadcast of Friday evening music concerts that lasted from 8:30 to 11 p.m. Today, WWV operates in the high frequency (HF) portion of the radio spectrum, radiating 10,000 watts on exactly 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and 15 MHz; plus 2500 watts on 2.5 MHz and 20 MHz. Each frequency is broadcast from a separate transmitter. The WWV ARC was created in January 2019 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the station, located near Fort Collins, Colorado since 1966. After the successful 100th anniversary special event in October 2019, several of the organizers kept the club loosely together and, in the fall of 2020, discussions of re-writing the by-laws began. The club was registered with the State of Colorado as a non-profit in December 2020, and in April 2021 established new by-laws and elected a reorganized board. WWV ARC is a recognized ARRL affiliated club as of May 28, 2021. A list of times and frequencies for the 2024 event will be posted on the club’s website prior to the start of the September 28 celebration. More history of WWV can be found at History of Radio Station WWV.
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| Celebrating the Dawn of Mass Global Communication, a centenary event, will be re-enacted in October 2024, by amateur radio operators in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The first trans-global two-way radio communication was achieved on October 18, 1924, by amateur radio operators Frank Bell, 4AA, a sheep farmer in Shag Valley, South Island New Zealand, and Cecil Goyder, 2SZ, a student operating from Mill Hill School, North London. Two special callsigns will be in operation for this year’s event. At Mill Hill and Shag Valley stations on October 18, radio amateurs will recreate and re-enact the first contact, hopefully on a frequency close to that used in 1924. In addition, two other amateur radio stations with callsigns reflecting the centenary will be active. GB2NZ will be operated from September 29 – October 26 from a number of United Kingdom locations. ZM1ØØDX will be operated from early September 2024 – December 26 from a number of New Zealand locations on CW, SSB, and a number of other modes. Awards and QSL cards will be available for those who make contact with these special stations. For additional information visit http://www.gb2nz.com or https://www.zl4aa.org.nz.
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