Month: December 2021

Rob Macedo, KD1CY, writes on WX1BOX.org:

SKYWARN Recognition Day 2021 (SRD’21) will occur this year but modified due to COVID19 and the fact NWS offices are not allowed to have volunteer Amateur Radio Operators at any NWS office due to COVID. Similar to last year, a social media component will be added to engage non-Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotters more with 2021’SRD. An additional update on SRD’2021 will be posted Friday Morning 12/3/21.

Due to COVID19, typical WX1BOX Amateur Radio Operations will not occur at NWS Boston/Norton. There is a possibility similar to last year through the efforts of employees at NWS Norton who have Amateur Radio licenses, the WX1BOX station will be on the air for a few hours during SRD. Otherwise, the WX1BOX Amateur Radio team will be operating remotely via their home stations. The NWS Gray Maine office cannot be active at the office due to the same restrictions on volunteers at NWS offices nationwide but will have remote SRD operation for 2021.

For WX1BOX Amateur Radio operations, we will cover the typical SKYWARN repeaters on VHF/UHF as well as simplex and be on HF via the various remote home stations along with our WX1BOX social media pages. In addition, contacts with other Amateur Radio SKYWARN stations will count towards NWS certificates. Similar to 2020, there will be a social media component to engage non-Amateur Radio and Amateur Radio SKYWARN spotters alike. The current set of information is available and additional information will be made available on the SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) web site via the following link:
https://www.weather.gov/crh/skywarnrecognition.

Also, all participants are welcome to register on the SRD web site. They can obtain a SRD number. The SRD Number for this year is part of the QSO exchange but is not a requirement. It is something new since 2020’SRD so as always there will likely be some glitches and delays in getting the SRD number but if you register and obtain your SRD number, please feel free to add that to your exchange.

[Full story]

Good evening,

My apologies for writing at this hour. I’ve tried several times today to sit down and write this out and kept getting interrupted by one thing or another.

I thank those that responded to our email of 12-2-21.

I’ll respond to everyone in this single email.

Although we had some responses, it is less than a handful of folks that responded and could commit to joining us Saturday. At this point in time, I think it best that we forego the December Net and focus on 2022 and look forward to getting back full swing. DMR radio will never replace analog radio for last mile communications when the chips (end everything else) is down. But DMR does have great benefits as long as the repeaters have networking capability. We have our own Talkgroup on NEDECN repeaters from Boston to the Islands and I would like to see us utilize this great resource. The COVID-19 situation took a heavy toll on us when we were all suddenly prevented from accessing our hospital’s locations and our radio equipment. Every time we thought we could see light at the end of the tunnel it got dark again. With the uncertainty of the new SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, hopefully that will not add additional time.

We are fortunate that we are back in SSH. Even though we may not have adequate external participation to hold a net, we are ready and capable of supporting the organization should they need remote communications.

Chuck: I hope you get your Star Link system soon. I hope you can resolve the issue of the MV NEDECN connectivity. What repeaters can you reach from MV? We try and keep at least one Cape Cod repeater in the mix or at least a repeater with good coverage that most Cape users should be able to hit.

Rob: good luck tomorrow, have fun with SkyWarn.

Tom: thanks for offering to check-in. It would be nice to have Braintree Emergency Management check in to our monthly nets.

Nicholas: you folks at Mansfield EMA have been terrific not only checking into the nets on a regular basis but also taking the reins and acting as Net Control on a few occasions. Much appreciated. As for home stations, we have said for years that members of groups who can not attend at their regular shacks should check-in from home. You may not be able to reach all the repeaters that are being used that month but even checking in through just one confirms that your home station could be used as an alternative site or as a relay station. Members of the SSHARG check in from home when unable to attend the nets at SSH. Funny you should mention a Zoom meeting. That was suggested to me a few days ago by Joan Cooper-Zack SSH’s Emergency Preparedness Manager as an early 2022 EMHN event.

For everyone, food for thought: Over the years SSH has been Net Control for the EMHN the majority of the time. We defaulted to the position because we couldn’t get others to give it a try. We would love to see Net Control duty rotated among several groups. Not only is it good practice but what would happen if SSH was not able to in an actual incident to be Net Control? Who would take the reins and get a net up and running? Nobody gets is right 100% the first few times. The more you do it the easier it gets and the more comfortable you get doing it. Its like riding a bike (or think back to when you were a new ham and first picked up the mike and pressed the PTT, your first QSO). Net Control gets to pick which repeaters from our list they would like to use for their Net. At SSH we try and rotate among the strongest machines with the greatest footprint to reach the largest possible group. Sometimes this is not always successful and we are out of reach of some folks.

Charlie: sorry things are looking bleak at Falmouth Hospital. Things were starting to look good for a while until the Delta Variant surfaced. I thought for sure you guys were going to be welcomed back with open arms shortly.

Well, that’s all the news that is the news from SSH. The entire team here wishes everyone a safe, healthy, and happy holiday season.

We look forward to talking with you all in 2022.

73,

John O’ -K1JRO
For the entire SSH Team…