One issue I see is that not everyone knows where to go for SkyWarn nets.
In the past everyone knew to jump onto the Saltgrass Link System as the
NWS had someone manning the radio room at the NWS office, and it was a
really quick and easy way to send reports to the NWS. Since the
disappearance of the SLS, 444.500 was loosely designated as the SkyWarn
repeater for the Houston area, but that hasn't happened except for maybe
one or two events.
Last night we had a SkyWarn net on the Fort Bend 145.49 repeater
starting at 17:55 and ending at 19:00. Even though NWS was not manning
the radio room at the NWS office, we were still able to take reports and
pass them on to NWS via their 800 storm spotter number. I was NCS during
the net, and knowing that there might not be any net taking place in and
around Harris County, I read out the tornado warnings that were issued
for Harris & surrounding counties. The 145.49 repeater has good coverage
in Fort Bend County, but it is not really intended for very wide
coverage. Still, hopefully some people could benefit if they can hear
the 145.49 repeater.
73
John Denison
KD5YOU
On 5/17/2024 11:50 AM, K5BOU via BVARC wrote:
I hope everyone is well. The following email contains my personal observations,
which unfortunately lean towards a negative aspect.
Yesterday, we encountered the effects of inclement weather. I was curious about
the response of our dedicated emergency Ham radio Operators, who annually
invest their time and effort in training for such situations.
I understand during storms, it's crucial to disconnect antennas, either before
or after the event. I didn't notice any activity on the radio during this time
eighteen before or after. I tuned in to some net in Alabama and Florida, where
they were actively discussing and preparing for the weather; Dallas also seemed
to have a few emergency net in place yesterday.
A week ago, during a "stir crazy net," someone mentioned that during previous
hurricane events, there was little to no activity from the Ham radio emergency group/team.
Here are some questions to consider:
- Should our approach be reactive or proactive?
- When is it appropriate for the Ham radio emergency responders to be activated?
- Are all members of the Emergency Ham radio group in Fort Bend or Harris
County physically capable of assisting when needed?
- Should we consider collaborating with other Ham radio organizations, such as
those in Florida, to glean insights from their experiences?
And there could be additional questions to explore.
I don't intend for this to prompt rude or sarcastic responses. Given that we
are in Houston, and with the upcoming hurricane season predicted to be quite
active and unique, I've shared a lot of relevant data on my Weather Facebook
page.
Does BVARC have a dedicated emergency response team to assist communities in
need?
These are just observations, with safety in mind.
________________________________________________
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Publicly available archives are available here:
https://www.mail-archive.com/bvarc@bvarc.org/
________________________________________________
Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club
BVARC mailing list
BVARC@bvarc.org
http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org
Publicly available archives are available here: https://www.mail-archive.com/bvarc@bvarc.org/
