SKYWARN Newsletter #21
Hello to all...
SKYWARN Training Update...
Summary of the 1/24-1/25 Storm...
Sending the SKYWARN Document to Those Who Couldn't Attend the Meeting...
Packet Station Now Back In Operation...
APRS Documentation Series...
Need for Information on the 1/9-1/10 "Gravity Wave" event...
Possible New SKYWARN Net in the Greater Boston Metro Area...
Upcoming Week's Weather...
SKYWARN Training Update...
I am hoping to get the schedule completed by late February as it appears
that my End of Quarter rush at work will be as bad as it was last quarter.
Here is an update on training for areas that we are attempting to get
sites, for the list of confirmed dates please reference my web page.
Glenn Field will not be in for the next 5 to 10 days, but I'd like
to see if we can at least run by some possible dates when he returns.
Middlesex County:
Having Carl, N1FYZ, check in with the VA Hospital in Bedford for a
possible site.
Still inquiring on a site at the MEMA Area I Heaquarters in Tewksbury,
with Area I director, Kevin Tully.
Western Rhode Island:
Awaiting information from Rick-K1KYI, and Martin-N1JMA on a possible
site at the Community College of Rhode Island.
Cape Cod and the Islands:
Attempting to get the Falmouth Town Hall as a site for Saturday
May 24th, between Noon and 3 PM.
Southern New Hampshire:
Awaiting Don-KA1GOZ for a date for the Nashua Town Hall site.
Northeast Connecticut:
Awaiting word for a site through Connecticut Emergency Management.
Awaiting for confirmation for a site in Canton, Connecticut.
Walpole area:
Awaiting confirmation on Thursday May 1st at Walpole Town Hall from
7-9:30 PM.
Brockton area:
Awaiting a date utilizing a site at the VA Hospital in Brockton.
Summary of the 1/24-1/25 Storm...
A storm that tracked through the Great Lakes threatened Southeast
Coastal areas with possible minor coastal flooding on Strong
Southerly Gale force winds. Luckily, the strongest winds occurred
1 to 2 hours prior to high tide, sparing the region anything series.
Here are a few peak wind gusts from the event.
Tiverton, RI: 63 MPH
New Bedford: 46 MPH
West Island: 42 MPH
Rainfall totals in Southeast New England were .50-1" with 1-2" of rain
in Western New England.
Sending the SKYWARN Document to Those Who Couldn't Attend the Meeting...
I have made twenty copies of the SKYWARN Document to be sent out
to those who did not make the meeting of January 16th. I will make
twenty more copies by the next SKYWARN Newsletter and have them
distributed to all appropriate personnel involved with
ARES/RACES/SKYWARN by mid February.
Packet Station Now Back In Operation...
The NWS Taunton packet station is now back in operation as it is
in a semi-permanent location. The station will most likely be moved
one more time before the AWIPS system is completely installed, this
will account for any downtime that may be experienced during the
course of the next few months. Thanks to Walt Drag for helping in
getting the station back online.
APRS Documentation Series...
This is part one in a series of information regarding APRS with
information on applying APRS to SKYWARN for use with the Ultimeter
or Davis weather stations. Part one focuses on the basic functionality
of APRS. This information was obtained via packet messages from AA1FS
almost two months ago.
APRS: POSITION THROUGH PACKET
The Automatic Packet Reporting System, or APRS, is a position
reporting and plotting system that uses dedicated computer software
to extend the capabilities of any packet station. APRS differs
from Ax.25 and TCP/IP in that it uses a connectionless protocol.
Instead of connecting to another station as you would do in normal
packet operations, the APRS software uses your packet station's
BEACON function to transmit your location in longitude and latitude
coordinates. When you receive APRS transmissions from other
stations, their locations are plotted on a map created by the
program on your monitor screen, which is why it is also referred
to as a Graphics User Interface (GUI) program. Adjacent to each
plot is the station's coordinates in latitude and longitude, and
an optional brief comment on the station's output power, antenna
height, type, and so on, and what type of station it is (base,
portable, mobile, weather, etc.). This plotting capability makes
APRS a very versatile packet system, allowing the user to
participate in many packet activities.
JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM
Whenever you send an information packet using the normal AX.25
protocol, the station you're connected to sends back an ACK frame
to acknowledge the fact that it just got a packet from you.
Whenever that station sends you an information packet, your TNC
does the same. That way, the two stations ensure that they are
both talking about the same thing at the same time, and the
connection is still good. APRS differs from this protocol in that
it uses your TNC's BEACON function to generate your position
information in UI (unnumbered information) frames in the UNPROTO
protocol. This means that the receiving station(s) will not
acknowledge your transmission. Thus, if you want to ensure that
your APRS transmission is received by a specific station, you must
make other arrangements with that station.
An exception to this is when you may wish to use APRS for
keyboard-to-keyboard communication with another station. The APRS
software offers this option, and it functions in the same way as
normal keyboard-to-keyboard connections: ACK frames are generated
for each received information packet. As you might imagine, this
would only be necessary when either a new APRS station starts
operation, or a APRS station has made changes to the station, and
wants to confirm that the changes have not degraded it's
performance, or the operators want to exchange some specific
information without leaving APRS.
If a station wishes to digipeat the APRS information it
receives, the operator can use the ALIAS function of his TNC to
select one of three possible APRS digipeater modes: RELAY, WIDE,
and GATE. The "default" setting is RELAY, and is used to digipeat
APRS data from low power and portable stations. A station with a
WIDE setting digipeats to other WIDE stations packets addressed
either to its callsign or its "generic" WIDE alias. A GATE station
transmits to other GATE stations for crossband digipeating: VHF to
HF, HF to VHF, or HF to HF. So, by selecting the alias, you can
direct the APRS traffic to "targeted" stations. The advantages of
crossband digipeating to and from HF are obvious. Since HF
involves skip transmission, APRS information can be sent over large
areas. Regional networks in the US have been established that
cover many hundreds, if not thousands, of square miles, and have
a variety of uses.
-End of Part 1-
Need for Information on the 1/9-1/10 "Gravity Wave" event.
Walt Drag is doing a report on the "Gravity Wave" phenomenon that
caused a rapid drop in pressure, high winds, and moderate coastal
flooding in many areas of Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The following have already contributed to this project:
N1RHS-Paul-Fall River
N1OHG-Ron-Tiverton, RI
WA1KDD-Tom-Acushnet
KA1WBH-ML-West Island
The information that Walt Drag is looking for are barographs or
plots of barometric pressure over time and wind over time. This
information will be compiled in this report. In exchange for this,
Walt will make available his report for all parties who have contributed.
Thanks to those who have helped so far, and for those who are interested
in helping, here is the needed information:
"Turtle" Mail Address:
National Weather Service Forecast Office
445 Miles Standish Boulevard
Taunton, MA 02780
ATTN: WALT DRAG
Email Address:
walter.drag@noaa.gov
FAX Number:
(508) 824-7206
Mark on the FAX, ATTN: WALT DRAG
Possible New SKYWARN Net in the Greater Boston Metro Area...
Phillip Night, N1HWA, is trying to gain participation and interest
for a SKYWARN Net in the Greater Boston and North Shore areas.
Phil is currently seeking the support of the repeater trustee of
the 145.47 Danvers repeater. Bill Ricker, N1VUX, is planning on
assisting and I'm hoping others in the Boston area will help
jump start SKYWARN by assisting Phil and Bill. More to come
in the newsletter as things develop.
Upcoming Week's Weather...
The first storm, slated for Monday Night and Tuesday, looks to be a
snow and ice event for Western New England and a snow to ice to
rain event for Eastern New England.
The second storm, could be the first major nor'easter of the season,
with heavy snow possible across most of Southern New England, including,
the coastal areas. Here is an excerpt from the National Center for
Environmental Prediction Forecast Discussion:
ALONG THE EAST COAST...A LOT OF UNCERTAINTIES WITH THE POTENTIAL
STORM DEVELOPMENT THU INTO FRI. THE FIRST DILEMMA IS WHETHER ANY
STORM WL BE THE RESULT OF THE AFOREMENTIONED SLOWLY MOVG SRN
STREAM CLOSED LOW...OR SOME COMBINATION OF IT AND ADDITIONAL
UPSTREAM SHRTWV MOVG SEWD INTO THE SHARPENING TROF OVR THE ERN
HALF OF THE NATION. THERE IS A LOT OF TIMING DIFFS ALSO WITH
THIS UPSTREAM TROFFING INITIATING CYCLOGENESIS ALONG THE SERN
COAST. ATTM...THE MANUAL PROGS LEANED TOWARD THE DOMINANT
CLUSTER FROM THE MRF ENSEMBLES WHICH SUGGESTED THE LOW WL MOVE
FROM OFF OF SC/GA TO A PSN OFF THE DELMARVA BY EARLY FRI. PCPN
SHOULD SPREAD UP THE SERN COAST AND INTO THE MID ATL ON THU (DAY
4)...AND THEN TOWARD THE NRN MID ATL AND SRN NEW ENGLAND BY FRI
A.M. ATTM...THIS STORM TRACK WOULD PRODUCE ACCUMULATING SNOWS
FOR THE MAJOR METRO AREAS ALONG THE EAST COAST AS A COLD ARCTIC
HIGH WL BE SITUATED IN A FAVORABLE PSN OVR SERN CAN.
That concludes this week's edition of the SKYWARN Newsletter,
Comments, Questions, or Suggestions are always welcome. The next
SKYWARN Newsletter will be issued in the February 1st-3rd timeframe.
Respectfully Submitted,
Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Greater New Bedford ARES Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503
Work Phone #: (508) 435-1000 Ext.: 3411
Email Address: rmacedo@ma.ultranet.com
Packet Address: KD1CY @ AA1FS
http://www.ultranet.com/~rmacedo
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