Hurricane Watch Net Update for Hurricane/Tropical Storm Ian

The following is from our friends at the Hurricane Watch Net:

The Hurricane Watch Net has been in operation since the morning of September 27 as Hurricane Ian swept across Cuba and headed toward Florida’s Gulf Coast.  We continue to operate on both 14.325 and 7.268 as propagation permits as the storm continues to sweep across Florida.  We will keep 40 open all night unless absolutely prohibited by propagation loss.  We will stand back for the Waterways Net, and resume following their net.  We will re-start our 20 meter net at 0800 tomorrow, Thursday September 29.  Both nets will continue until further discussion and conditions would warrant us closing down.

The focus of the net will change. With the storm likely reducing to tropical level as it moves over the Atlantic then back into the coastal states we will continue to take weather conditions as warranted, but we expect those reports to dwindle. Our focus will change to receiving damage reports for the National Hurricane Center, handling messages for EOCs and other agencies. We will also focus on assisting our Salvation Army SATERN Net partners to move health and welfare traffic out of the affected areas.  Having a strong presence on air, the HWN will hopefully attract this traffic.

We appreciate the cooperation of amateur operators and nets in allowing us clear frequencies to make these important contacts as Florida and the southern states work to recover.  

Stan Broadway, N8BHL
Hurricane Watch Net
Asst. Net Manager

www.hwn.org

Hurricane Watch Net to Activate as Fiona Moves North

 

The following is from our friends at the Hurricane Watch Net (www.hwn.org):

As of 10:00 AM EDT (1400 UTC) Thursday, Fiona remains a powerful Cat 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 130 mph. The Hurricane Watch Net will activate this afternoon at 5:00 PM EDT (2100 UTC) on our primary frequency of 14.325 MHz. We will activate our 40-meter net on 7.268 MHz at 7:00 PM EDT (2300 UTC). We will remain on 20 meters for as long as propagation will allow and remain active on 40 meters until no longer required or propagation goes away. Should Fiona make direct landfall, we will resume operations Friday at 9:00 AM EDT (1300 UTC) to assist with post-storm reports and any outgoing Health and Welfare Traffic, which would be at the direction of the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN).

Looking ahead, Fiona is forecast to move towards and into the Canadian Maritimes on Saturday. Therefore, the Hurricane Watch Net will activate at 9:00 AM EDT (1300 UTC) on both 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz. Once activated, we will remain in operation until no longer required.

As with any Net activation, we look for reporting stations that can provide us with any measured or estimated weather information that we can relay directly to the forecasters at National Hurricane Center in Miami. On Saturday, we will be supporting the Canadian Hurricane Centre with weather reports as well. Weather information we look for is maximum sustained winds, winds gusts, wind direction, barometric pressure, rainfall amount – how much over x-amount of time, storm surge, and damage.

As a reminder, we are available to provide backup communications to official agencies such as emergency operations centers, government and non-government agencies, and storm shelters in the affected area.

As always, we greatly appreciate the daily users and various nets who use 14.325.00 MHz and 7.268.00 MHz for allowing us a clear frequency. It certainly makes our job easier and I know those in the affected area appreciate it as well.

Thank you for keeping 14.325 and 7.268 MHz clear for HWN operations.

ARRL Reports Significant Decline in Investment Portfolio; Taps Fund to Cover Operations

ARRL Treasurer John Sager, W7JS, reported to the League board of directors in July that the value of the organization’s investment portfolio had dropped by 9.2% in the second quarter of 2022 and by 11.1% for the year to date. However, according to the ARRL Letter (which did not report on the July board meeting until early September), Sager told the directors that the portfolio’s value remains higher than it was in 2020 “(after considering withdrawals for operations).” Chief Financial Officer Diane Middleton, W2DLM, reassured the board that the League’s balance sheet remains “solid,” with “healthy cash balances.”

Two Dozen Clubs Share $270,000 in Grants

The ARRL Foundation Club Grant Program, funded by the Amateur Radio Digital Communications foundation (ARDC), has made its first round of grants, A second round of applications opened on September 7. The announcement in the ARRL Letter did not break down the individual grants, only that a total of $270,000 was split among 24 clubs. In the first round of applications, a total of 128 clubs requested funding totaling $1.74 million. The total available this year is $500,000. 

Grants were made to fund “transformative projects that encourage growth of active amateur radio operators and training opportunities, education programs for student groups and schools, and club revitalization.” For more information, visit <www.arrl.org/club-grant-program>.

Ham Station on the Moon?

If all goes according to plan (which is never certain when it comes to space flight), there will soon be a ham station on the surface of the moon, transmitting a beacon in the 70-centimeter band. According to the AMSAT News Service, the Japanese OMOTENASHI cubesat is scheduled to be deployed into lunar orbit by NASA’s Space Launch System on the Artemis launch, which at press time was scheduled for its third liftoff attempt in late September or early October. For details and updates, visit the OMOTENASHI website at <https://tinyurl.com/4rrtw39h>.

Two Genesis satellites built by AMSAT-EA in Spain are scheduled to launch on the commercial Firefly booster rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The launch, originally scheduled for early September, was scrubbed twice due to weather conditions, and is now awaiting rescheduling. If successfully orbited, the two satellites will provide FM voice and AFSK/FSK repeaters, including packet and APRS capabilities.