Realizing that traditional lines of communication could be cut off in a disaster, Silver Valley Unified School District officials bought amateur radios for each of its schools and the district office. About 28 teachers, principals and community volunteers spent Thursday and Friday learning to operate them. Each person will take a test needed to earn a radio operating license next Saturday.
Read the entire story here
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LWRA, Amateur Radio and more!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Amateur radio spotters swing into action during weather emergencies
When others are seeking shelter from severe weather, weather spotters in the Skywarn program monitor conditions, waiting patiently to see high winds knock out powerlines or a funnel cloud strike.
The spotters comprise the Lake County Amateur Radio Emergency Service, who volunteered most recently during last month's storm when "straight-line winds" gusting from 60 to 70 mph damaged 30 homes in Groveland.
The radio service activated and operated a National Weather Service Skywarn radio network for five hours to facilitate reports of dangerous weather conditions for the National Weather Service. Skywarn is a volunteer program established by the weather service that trains volunteers to provide timely and accurate reports of local storms in order to keep their communities safe.
"The National Weather Service in Melbourne is using Doppler radar to look at large areas in the sky. They can't see what is going on down my street," said Ted Luebbers, public-information officer for Lake County Amateur Radio Emergency Services. "From my location, I might be able to spot something they missed or indicate where a front is moving that would allow them to warn a community."
Next week, National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Spratt will be teaching Skywarn spotter classes with the help of the weather service, Lake County Amateur Radio Emergency Service and Lake County Amateur Radio Association. Classes are March 5 at the Leesburg Public Library, 100 E. Main St. A basic class will be taught at 10 a.m. and an advanced class at 1 p.m.
Amateur radio emergency coordinator Strait Hollis received advance notice of the Groveland storm from the weather service, which requested the group's help in keeping an eye on possible weather developments.
Due to a lack of severe weather, local Skywarn volunteers haven't been called upon in the past few years.
"We were pleased to find that even though it's been a while since we had a large scale Skywarn network, there was still a large response, that the lack of severe weather hadn't hindered their operations at all," Spratt said. "They were still active when the time came."
Emergency amateur radio enthusiasts hone their skills by relaying communications for events such as walkathons or bike races.
Together with Doppler radar technology and satellite, the ground reporting by spotters has allowed the weather service to obtain critical weather information and issue more timely and accurate warning for tornados, severe thunderstorms and flashfloods.
"The general public doesn't take immediate action when we issue warnings — they seem to wait for a confirmed report," Spratt said. "The spotters provide credibility and confirm our warning when they report a funnel cloud or other severe weather. They help us reinforce the reality of the situation."
To learn more about spotter classes or Lake County's amateur radio activity, visit k4fc.org or n4fla.org.
The spotters comprise the Lake County Amateur Radio Emergency Service, who volunteered most recently during last month's storm when "straight-line winds" gusting from 60 to 70 mph damaged 30 homes in Groveland.
The radio service activated and operated a National Weather Service Skywarn radio network for five hours to facilitate reports of dangerous weather conditions for the National Weather Service. Skywarn is a volunteer program established by the weather service that trains volunteers to provide timely and accurate reports of local storms in order to keep their communities safe.
"The National Weather Service in Melbourne is using Doppler radar to look at large areas in the sky. They can't see what is going on down my street," said Ted Luebbers, public-information officer for Lake County Amateur Radio Emergency Services. "From my location, I might be able to spot something they missed or indicate where a front is moving that would allow them to warn a community."
Next week, National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Spratt will be teaching Skywarn spotter classes with the help of the weather service, Lake County Amateur Radio Emergency Service and Lake County Amateur Radio Association. Classes are March 5 at the Leesburg Public Library, 100 E. Main St. A basic class will be taught at 10 a.m. and an advanced class at 1 p.m.
Amateur radio emergency coordinator Strait Hollis received advance notice of the Groveland storm from the weather service, which requested the group's help in keeping an eye on possible weather developments.
Due to a lack of severe weather, local Skywarn volunteers haven't been called upon in the past few years.
"We were pleased to find that even though it's been a while since we had a large scale Skywarn network, there was still a large response, that the lack of severe weather hadn't hindered their operations at all," Spratt said. "They were still active when the time came."
Emergency amateur radio enthusiasts hone their skills by relaying communications for events such as walkathons or bike races.
Together with Doppler radar technology and satellite, the ground reporting by spotters has allowed the weather service to obtain critical weather information and issue more timely and accurate warning for tornados, severe thunderstorms and flashfloods.
"The general public doesn't take immediate action when we issue warnings — they seem to wait for a confirmed report," Spratt said. "The spotters provide credibility and confirm our warning when they report a funnel cloud or other severe weather. They help us reinforce the reality of the situation."
To learn more about spotter classes or Lake County's amateur radio activity, visit k4fc.org or n4fla.org.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Important
Hello All,
As we are all aware, Thomas K4KH and I have been diligently working with the city on getting us back on the water tower. It just so happens, a few weeks ago, I stopped by the Lake Wales Medical center and dropped off my info and what I was interested in.
Well, after that length of time I thought they were not interested.
I was wrong. Very wrong.
I received a call from a wonderful lady at the hospital this past week and we were able to meet for a little while this morning (2/11/11) and discuss a few things.
Long story short:
She is very excited and willing to work with us on locating a repeater on the hospital. Even shocked that the hospital was not already involved with amateur radio (she recently relocated from Pennsylvania, and most hospitals there are very involved) I mentioned our current situation, having just bought a new VHF repeater, and that we are a small group with limited funds.
Not a problem. It seems that the medical center has funds for emergency supplies, etc. and radio gear would fall under that.
I spent some time with the facility engineer, looked at the roof top and the rohn tower that is located there (Approx 75 ft). Everything looks very promising.
The hospital will gain a relationship with our group and A.R.E.S. for emergency communications and the area will benefit from another repeater. We can also assist with getting some of their folks licensed.
So, I will begin assisting the Lake Wales Medical Center with the technical aspects of a UHF repeater, including the purchase and setup.
I will update the group as we make progress.
Judson Bracewell
KJ4IDH
http://www.lwra.us/ Vice President
http://www.polkemcomm.org/
As we are all aware, Thomas K4KH and I have been diligently working with the city on getting us back on the water tower. It just so happens, a few weeks ago, I stopped by the Lake Wales Medical center and dropped off my info and what I was interested in.
Well, after that length of time I thought they were not interested.
I was wrong. Very wrong.
I received a call from a wonderful lady at the hospital this past week and we were able to meet for a little while this morning (2/11/11) and discuss a few things.
Long story short:
She is very excited and willing to work with us on locating a repeater on the hospital. Even shocked that the hospital was not already involved with amateur radio (she recently relocated from Pennsylvania, and most hospitals there are very involved) I mentioned our current situation, having just bought a new VHF repeater, and that we are a small group with limited funds.
Not a problem. It seems that the medical center has funds for emergency supplies, etc. and radio gear would fall under that.
I spent some time with the facility engineer, looked at the roof top and the rohn tower that is located there (Approx 75 ft). Everything looks very promising.
The hospital will gain a relationship with our group and A.R.E.S. for emergency communications and the area will benefit from another repeater. We can also assist with getting some of their folks licensed.
So, I will begin assisting the Lake Wales Medical Center with the technical aspects of a UHF repeater, including the purchase and setup.
I will update the group as we make progress.
Judson Bracewell
KJ4IDH
http://www.lwra.us/ Vice President
http://www.polkemcomm.org/
Thursday, January 20, 2011
NASA Seeks Amateur Radio Operators' Aid
NanoSail-D Ejects: NASA Seeks Amateur Radio Operators' Aid to Listen for Beacon Signal01.19.11
NanoSail-D satellite during deployment testing. (NASA/MSFC)
On Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 11:30 a.m. EST, engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., confirmed that the NanoSail-D nanosatellite ejected from Fast Affordable Scientific and Technology Satellite, FASTSAT. The ejection event occurred spontaneously and was identified this morning when engineers at the center analyzed onboard FASTSAT telemetry. The ejection of NanoSail-D also has been confirmed by ground-based satellite tracking assets.
Amateur ham operators are asked to listen for the signal to verify NanoSail-D is operating. This information should be sent to the NanoSail-D dashboard at: http://nanosaild.engr.scu.edu/dashboard.htm. The NanoSail-D beacon signal can be found at 437.270 MHz.
The NanoSail-D science team is hopeful the nanosatellite is healthy and can complete its solar sail mission. After ejection, a timer within NanoSail-D begins a three-day countdown as the satellite orbits the Earth. Once the timer reaches zero, four booms will quickly deploy and the NanoSail-D sail will start to unfold to a 100-square-foot polymer sail. Within five seconds the sail fully unfurls.
"This is great news for our team. We’re anxious to hear the beacon which tells us that NanoSail-D is healthy and operating as planned," said Dean Alhorn, NanoSail-D principal investigator and aerospace engineer at the Marshall Center. "The science team is hopeful to see that NanoSail-D is operational and will be able to unfurl its solar sail."
On Dec. 6,, 2010, NASA triggered the planned ejection of NanoSail-D from FASTSAT. At that time, the team confirmed that the door successfully opened and data indicated a successful ejection. Upon further analysis, no evidence of NanoSail-D was identified in low-Earth orbit, leading the team to believe NanoSail-D remained inside FASTSAT.
The FASTSAT mission has continued to operate as planned with the five other scientific experiments operating nominally.
"We knew that the door opened and it was possible that NanoSail-D could eject on its own," said Mark Boudreaux, FASTSAT project manager at the Marshall Center. "What a pleasant surprise this morning when our flight operations team confirmed that NanoSail-D is now a free flyer."
If the deployment is successful, NanoSail-D will stay in low-Earth orbit between 70 and 120 days, depending on atmospheric conditions. NanoSail-D is designed to demonstrate deployment of a compact solar sail boom system that could lead to further development of this alternative solar sail propulsion technology and FASTSAT’s ability to eject a nano-satellite from a micro-satellite -- while avoiding re-contact with the FASTSAT satellite bus.
NanoSail-D satellite during deployment testing. (NASA/MSFC)
On Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 11:30 a.m. EST, engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., confirmed that the NanoSail-D nanosatellite ejected from Fast Affordable Scientific and Technology Satellite, FASTSAT. The ejection event occurred spontaneously and was identified this morning when engineers at the center analyzed onboard FASTSAT telemetry. The ejection of NanoSail-D also has been confirmed by ground-based satellite tracking assets.
Amateur ham operators are asked to listen for the signal to verify NanoSail-D is operating. This information should be sent to the NanoSail-D dashboard at: http://nanosaild.engr.scu.edu/dashboard.htm. The NanoSail-D beacon signal can be found at 437.270 MHz.
The NanoSail-D science team is hopeful the nanosatellite is healthy and can complete its solar sail mission. After ejection, a timer within NanoSail-D begins a three-day countdown as the satellite orbits the Earth. Once the timer reaches zero, four booms will quickly deploy and the NanoSail-D sail will start to unfold to a 100-square-foot polymer sail. Within five seconds the sail fully unfurls.
"This is great news for our team. We’re anxious to hear the beacon which tells us that NanoSail-D is healthy and operating as planned," said Dean Alhorn, NanoSail-D principal investigator and aerospace engineer at the Marshall Center. "The science team is hopeful to see that NanoSail-D is operational and will be able to unfurl its solar sail."
On Dec. 6,, 2010, NASA triggered the planned ejection of NanoSail-D from FASTSAT. At that time, the team confirmed that the door successfully opened and data indicated a successful ejection. Upon further analysis, no evidence of NanoSail-D was identified in low-Earth orbit, leading the team to believe NanoSail-D remained inside FASTSAT.
The FASTSAT mission has continued to operate as planned with the five other scientific experiments operating nominally.
"We knew that the door opened and it was possible that NanoSail-D could eject on its own," said Mark Boudreaux, FASTSAT project manager at the Marshall Center. "What a pleasant surprise this morning when our flight operations team confirmed that NanoSail-D is now a free flyer."
If the deployment is successful, NanoSail-D will stay in low-Earth orbit between 70 and 120 days, depending on atmospheric conditions. NanoSail-D is designed to demonstrate deployment of a compact solar sail boom system that could lead to further development of this alternative solar sail propulsion technology and FASTSAT’s ability to eject a nano-satellite from a micro-satellite -- while avoiding re-contact with the FASTSAT satellite bus.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Rep. Walden Combines Twitter With Morse Code
When Republicans take power in the House of Representatives next month, Oregon Representative Greg Walden will wield a gavel as the new chairman of the House subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
Walden made the announcement using a mix of technologies both old and new.
Walden W7EQI, an amateur HAM radio operator tapped out this message in Morse Code and broadcast it as a series of dots dashes on his Twitter account.
It reads “WILL CHAIR COMM AND TECH SUB” followed by the amateur radio short hand for best regards as well as his radio call sign. The tweet came in just shy of Twitter’s 140 character limit.
Using a communications method that’s been around more than 150 years alongside one that’s been around for just four, is somewhat appropriate for the new chairman.
The subcommittee has jurisdiction over technologies both old and new including Internet, broadcast, radio, wire and satellite.
The subcommittee is likely to make important decisions on hot-button issues such as net neutrality and data privacy.
Walden and his wife owned and operated a group of local radio stations in Hood River and the Dalles for more than two decades before selling them off some years back.
Walden made the announcement using a mix of technologies both old and new.
Walden W7EQI, an amateur HAM radio operator tapped out this message in Morse Code and broadcast it as a series of dots dashes on his Twitter account.
It reads “WILL CHAIR COMM AND TECH SUB” followed by the amateur radio short hand for best regards as well as his radio call sign. The tweet came in just shy of Twitter’s 140 character limit.
Using a communications method that’s been around more than 150 years alongside one that’s been around for just four, is somewhat appropriate for the new chairman.
The subcommittee has jurisdiction over technologies both old and new including Internet, broadcast, radio, wire and satellite.
The subcommittee is likely to make important decisions on hot-button issues such as net neutrality and data privacy.
Walden and his wife owned and operated a group of local radio stations in Hood River and the Dalles for more than two decades before selling them off some years back.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
National Traffic System Primer
Handling communications for a third party has always been a technology and art form capturing the imagination of people throughout the history of civilization. Such communications have played an important role in the development of the world as we know it. It is no surprise that this fascination persisted and flourished with the introduction of the telegraph and radio.
From smoke signals to semaphore, telegraph to email, the art form has adapted to the prevailing technology of the time. Over the years the mechanism of getting the information from point A to point B may have changed, but the basic steps of creating the transmission-ready final form of the communication, the handling of it through the system, and the reception and delivery have remained essentially the same.
In Amateur Radio today we find many adaptations to the technology of the time and, in fact, are involved in developing new technologies as we go along. The basic underlying purpose and act of communicating for a third party, or for ourselves, is still fascinating and useful regardless whether we are using CW, Voice, RTTY, PSK-31, packet, or WinLink gateways. The use of today's modes has expanded our abilities far beyond the time when Hiram P. Maxim wanted to send his message on CW to order a new tube and seized upon the idea of having a system of scheduled and reliable nets to handle such message traffic.
We began this Amateur Radio journey in an organized way in 1914 when the American Radio Relay League was founded, and the NTS net system has developed and adapted over the years. Today the ARRL manages and operates the National Traffic System (NTS/NTSD) to assure a continuing and reliable structure to handle formal message traffic in the US. Many other countries participate in the system as permitted by treaty or convention. CW, Voice, and a variety of digital modes and structures are operating to assure the use of all Amateur Radio resources in the public service effort.
There is a large body of experience and literature available to guide amateur operators in using radio to establish contact. This experience is in many ways unique to Amateur Radio due to its flexibility and resourcefulness driven by personal interest and motivation. This manual will not deal with this art except where the specifics of radio operation are conducive to effective message transmission and reception.
The public and our served agencies appreciate our ability to send formal written message traffic efficiently and accurately. When we combine our traffic handling, radio and net operating skills to provide professional service we earn their trust.
The process is simple, yet there are details to learn about how to make it all happen efficiently and with precision. We must interface with those we serve and gather the information required to prepare the message in the proper format. We must be skilled at exchanging the message with another station to pass it along, and be able to participate in and run organized nets to efficiently handle large amounts of message traffic. We must know how to deliver the message to the addressee, and create a reply or a service message back to the originator when required.
reprinted from: http://www.arrl.org/appendix-b-nts-methods-and-practices-guidelines
From smoke signals to semaphore, telegraph to email, the art form has adapted to the prevailing technology of the time. Over the years the mechanism of getting the information from point A to point B may have changed, but the basic steps of creating the transmission-ready final form of the communication, the handling of it through the system, and the reception and delivery have remained essentially the same.
In Amateur Radio today we find many adaptations to the technology of the time and, in fact, are involved in developing new technologies as we go along. The basic underlying purpose and act of communicating for a third party, or for ourselves, is still fascinating and useful regardless whether we are using CW, Voice, RTTY, PSK-31, packet, or WinLink gateways. The use of today's modes has expanded our abilities far beyond the time when Hiram P. Maxim wanted to send his message on CW to order a new tube and seized upon the idea of having a system of scheduled and reliable nets to handle such message traffic.
We began this Amateur Radio journey in an organized way in 1914 when the American Radio Relay League was founded, and the NTS net system has developed and adapted over the years. Today the ARRL manages and operates the National Traffic System (NTS/NTSD) to assure a continuing and reliable structure to handle formal message traffic in the US. Many other countries participate in the system as permitted by treaty or convention. CW, Voice, and a variety of digital modes and structures are operating to assure the use of all Amateur Radio resources in the public service effort.
There is a large body of experience and literature available to guide amateur operators in using radio to establish contact. This experience is in many ways unique to Amateur Radio due to its flexibility and resourcefulness driven by personal interest and motivation. This manual will not deal with this art except where the specifics of radio operation are conducive to effective message transmission and reception.
The public and our served agencies appreciate our ability to send formal written message traffic efficiently and accurately. When we combine our traffic handling, radio and net operating skills to provide professional service we earn their trust.
The process is simple, yet there are details to learn about how to make it all happen efficiently and with precision. We must interface with those we serve and gather the information required to prepare the message in the proper format. We must be skilled at exchanging the message with another station to pass it along, and be able to participate in and run organized nets to efficiently handle large amounts of message traffic. We must know how to deliver the message to the addressee, and create a reply or a service message back to the originator when required.
reprinted from: http://www.arrl.org/appendix-b-nts-methods-and-practices-guidelines
73
Thomas
K4KH
Amateur Extra Class
Club President: Lake Wales Rptr. Assn.
Member: ARRL
Club web site: www.LWRA.US
Thomas
K4KH
Amateur Extra Class
Club President: Lake Wales Rptr. Assn.
Member: ARRL
Club web site: www.LWRA.US
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
LWRA -New NET Record:
The LWRA has AGAIN set a NEW RECORD for the Traders net Checkins. We topped our old record of *37* with a Bountiful *38* checkins tonight and thats AWSOME...
We continue to blow out the competition like birthday candles with our GREAT participation and Great Hams that continue to get there and do the deed by checking in.
Thanks, Rich (KJ4INW)
We continue to blow out the competition like birthday candles with our GREAT participation and Great Hams that continue to get there and do the deed by checking in.
Thanks, Rich (KJ4INW)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
***NEW EXTRAS***
It's finally official,,,,,,,WN4USA and KJ4INW are in the ULS DataBase as EXTRA CLASS.........
Rich, (KJ4INW)
Rich, (KJ4INW)
KD4LRC: 8 Year old Boy Saves Family
HOBOKEN, Ga. -- All Andrew Kirkland wants for his 9th birthday this Friday is clothes to wear and a few toys. He has nothing after a fire destroyed his family's home this weekend. Andrew is the reason they all survived.
"I woke up because of the smell of smoke," Andrew told Action News.
The 8-year-old was asleep in his bedroom when the fire broke out. Andrew woke up to his dresser on fire. His two cousins were also in the room, sleeping.
"It just got bigger and bigger and bigger," said Andrew.
He tried to fan out the flames using the lid of a clothes hamper but the flames continued to get bigger. Andrew says he ran through the house yelling "help" and woke up his mom and cousins. Everyone made it out safely. While Andrew's family lost all their clothes, furniture and books in the fire, a few things survived the flames, including a Bible.
"It survived because it was Jesus'," said Andrew.
The fire didn't touch a few pictures of his sister and some of her baby clothes. She died at the age of 3 so the pictures and clothes mean a lot to the Kirkland family.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. The Kirkland family is staying with relatives near the burned-down home.
Andrew's family calls him a hero. He says he just wanted to make sure his family got out of the fire safely. Now Andrew is focused on his 9th birthday this Friday.
This is the Grandson of Randy Kirkland (KD4LRC), one of our Former Lake Wales Ham Operators who now lives in Georgia and I felt the need to post this and wish Blessings on and for his Family.
Rich, (KJ4INW)
Saturday, November 13, 2010
LWRA Repeater: 11-13-10
As most of our Club members and others know, we have had some little gremlins in our Repeater and it's been getting medical treatment. Well, with great sadness I have to report that we finally lost her. With heavy heart, this Reporter is saying goodbye to our beloved machine and we will miss her. HOWEVER, we are currently looking at REPLACING her with a NEW model and getting back on the air with a whole new machine and moving ever Forward with the looks and sounds of New times and progress.
We will all miss our beloved old girl but it's time to move on with the times of progress and keep ourselves from looking back. We are a growing club with new ideas and new projects so let's get this party started with some New Equipment too. In the words of "Larry the Cable Guy"...LET'S GETTER DONE.........
Rich (KJ4INW)
We will all miss our beloved old girl but it's time to move on with the times of progress and keep ourselves from looking back. We are a growing club with new ideas and new projects so let's get this party started with some New Equipment too. In the words of "Larry the Cable Guy"...LET'S GETTER DONE.........
Rich (KJ4INW)
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