PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT…NOAA WEATHER RADIO AWARENESS WEEK
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
515 PM EST TUE DEC 02 2003
…MASSACHUSETTS MARINERS URGED TO LISTEN TO THE GLOUCESTER
MARINE-ONLY NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR MARINE INFORMATION…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES IN NEW ENGLAND HAVE DECLARED
THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 1ST THROUGH 5TH AS NOAA WEATHER RADIO AWARENESS
WEEK. THIS IS THE SECOND IN A SERIES OF FIVE PUBLIC INFORMATION
STATEMENTS HIGHLIGHTING THE BENEFITS OF OWNING A NOAA WEATHER RADIO.
A NOAA WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTER DEDICATED TO AN ALL MARINE
BROADCAST IS AVAILABLE FOR THE MARINE COMMUNITY. THE NEW
TRANSMITTER…WHICH BEGAN OPERATION IN FEBRUARY 2003…BROADCASTS
FROM THE COAST GUARD TOWER AT EASTERN POINT LIGHT IN GLOUCESTER
MASSACHUSETTS. IT BROADCASTS ON A FREQUENCY OF 162.425 MHZ (VHF
MARINE RADIO CHANNEL 4) WHICH CAN BE HEARD ON A SEVEN-CHANNEL NOAA
WEATHER RADIO. OLDER THREE-CHANNEL MODELS WILL NOT RECEIVE THIS
FREQUENCY.
THE GLOUCESTER NOAA WEATHER RADIO CAN BE HEARD ALONG MOST OF COASTAL
NEW HAMPSHIRE AND EAST COASTAL MASSACHUSETTS…FROM PORTSMOUTH TO
PLYMOUTH TO PROVINCETOWN. BROADCAST CYCLE INFORMATION INCLUDES AN
HOURLY WEATHER ROUNDUP…BUOY REPORTS…COASTAL AND OFFSHORE MARINE
FORECASTS…TIDAL INFORMATION…SHORT AND LONG TERM WATCH…WARNING
AND WEATHER STATEMENT INFORMATION PERTINENT TO THE MARINE
COMMUNITY.
IN AN EFFORT TO SHORTEN THE BROADCAST CYCLE ON THE BLUE HILL NOAA
WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTER…AT A FREQUENCY OF 162.475 MHZ (VHF
MARINE RADIO CHANNEL 3)…MARINE FORECASTS WILL BE REDUCED TO TWICE
PER HOUR. THIS REDUCTION WILL BEGIN BY MID DECEMBER. MARINE
WEATHER INFORMATION WILL NOT CHANGE ON THE CAMP EDWARDS/HYANNIS
TRANSMITTER WHICH SERVES CAPE COD AND THE ISLANDS ON A FREQUENCY OF
162.55 MHZ (VHF MARINE RADIO CHANNEL 1).
$$
GF/NS/FNNational Weather Service Taunton MA
530 AM EST Thu Dec 4 2003
NOAA Weather radio specific area message encoding (same)
The National Weather Service offices in New England have declared the week of December 1St through 5th as NOAA weather radio awareness week. This is the fourth in a series of five public information statements highlighting the benefits of owning a NOAA weather radio.
NOAA Weather radio is your direct link to weather warnings issued by the National Weather Service. When a warning is issued, a burst of digitally encoded information (known as same encoding) is sent just prior to the warning to activate same-Alerted weather radios so that the warning will be heard. This digital information identifies the issuing office, the type of watch or warning, and specific county or counties for which the warning is valid.
A same-Alert weather radio can be programmed to listen to one of the seven NOAA weather radio broadcast frequencies and activate only when the same encoding identifies that the message is for the specific county or counties of interest. For example, the regular tone alerted weather radios will alert for all severe thunderstorm warnings in about a 40-Mile radius of the transmitter site, but your same-Alerted radio can be programmed to only alert you for storms in counties upstream of where you live. In addition to location, some same radios can be programmed to activate for pre-Selected specific types of weather warnings, for severe thunderstorms but not winter storm warnings, as an example.
The specific area message encoding technology developed at NOAA is now also used in the nation’S emergency alert system (eas). although the emergency alert system is regulated by the federal communications commission and state emergency communications committees, most of the warning messages carried by the eas system are weather-Related and originate from a NOAA weather radio broadcast. Special decoding equipment at radio and television stations monitor the NOAA weather radio broadcasts for certain warnings and relay the information when a warning is received. however, depending on each state’S plan, only certain types of warnings, such as those with an imminent threat to life and property, are carried as emergency alert system messages.
In the case of certain warnings, seconds can make the difference between life and Death. Because there is a delay in receiving the warnings through the emergency alert system, the best way to receive weather warnings is through NOAA weather radio. Not only do you receive life-Threatening warnings faster, but you can hear all warnings, not just those carried by radio and television stations.
This year, give a holiday gift that will provide those you love with an additional level of safety for many years to come — give a NOAA weather radio. And during this holiday season, also consider purchasing a weather radio for places where people congregate such as work places, schools, recreational complexes, malls, movie theaters, and places of worship.
…CORRECTION TO INCLUDE MARINE CHANNELS
National Weather Service Taunton MA
515 PM EST Tue Dec 02 2003
Massachusetts Mariners urged to listen to the Gloucester marine-Only NOAA weather radio for marine information
The National Weather Service offices in New England have declared the week of December 1St through 5th as NOAA weather radio awareness week. This is the second in a series of five public information statements highlighting the benefits of owning a NOAA weather radio.
A NOAA weather radio transmitter dedicated to an all marine broadcast is available for the marine community. The new transmitter, which began operation in February 2003, broadcasts from the coast guard tower at eastern point light in Gloucester Massachusetts. It broadcasts on a frequency of 162.425 mhz (vhf marine radio channel 4) which can be heard on a seven-Channel NOAA weather radio. Older three-Channel models will not receive this frequency.
The Gloucester NOAA weather radio can be heard along most of coastal New Hampshire and east coastal Massachusetts, from Portsmouth to Plymouth to Provincetown. Broadcast cycle information includes an hourly weather roundup, buoy reports, coastal and offshore marine forecasts, tidal information, short and long term watch, warning and weather statement information pertinent to the marine community.
In an effort to shorten the broadcast cycle on the Blue Hill NOAA weather radio transmitter, at a frequency of 162.475 mhz (vhf marine radio channel 3), marine forecasts will be reduced to twice per hour. This reduction will begin by mid December. Marine weather information will not change on the camp edwards/Hyannis transmitter which serves Cape Cod and the islands on a frequency of 162.55 mhz (vhf marine radio channel 1).
National Weather Service Taunton MA
313 PM EST Mon Dec 1 2003
An introduction to NOAA weather radio
The National Weather Service offices in New England have declared the week of December 1St through 5th as NOAA weather radio awareness week. This is the first in a series of five public information statements highlighting the benefits of owning a NOAA weather radio.
Weather has always been an integral part of life in New England. weather conditions change rapidly and can quickly become dangerous. to keep the public informed of these changing conditions, NOAA’S New England area National Weather Service offices broadcast forecasts and warnings on a network of government operated radio stations, known collectively as NOAA weather radio. Currently, there are 34 NOAA weather radio transmitters in New England. During the past couple of years, four new transmitters have been commissioned in Southern New England, in Gloucester MA, Peterborough NH, Egremont MA, and cornwall CT. Nationwide, there are more than 860 transmitters which provide coverage to all 50 states and the adjacent marine areas. These transmitters provide the public with a constant source of up-To-Date weather forecasts and warnings.
NOAA Weather radio’S regular broadcasts are specifically tailored to the weather-Information needs of the people within the service area of the transmitter. In general, the broadcasts include the latest forecasts and observations, a summary of the weather conditions that will affect the area, and climatic information. for stations along the coast, the broadcast also includes marine forecasts and observations. In addition, special weather forecasts and statements, watches, warnings, and advisories are broadcast, as needed.
While the signal can be heard on some scanners, the best way to receive these broadcasts is with a NOAA weather radio. NOAA Weather radios can be purchased from many electronic and outdoor recreation stores or from web merchants. The newest models have 7 channels which allows you to be assured of receiving the maximum number of stations when traveling. Also, it is important to get one with a warning alarm tone that is triggered when severe localized storms are imminent. The most advanced models even allow you to program them to alert for specific counties or specific types of weather.
This year, give a holiday gift that will provide those you love with an additional level of safety for many years to come — give a NOAA weather radio. And during this holiday season, also consider purchasing a weather radio for places where people congregate such as work places, schools, malls, movie theaters, recreational complexes, and places of worship.
For more information on NOAA weather radio, visit the NOAA weather radio web site at (in lower case): http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr
As many of you are aware, from Friday at 7 PM through Saturday at 7 PM is SKYWARN Recognition Day. It is unclear whether the storm will have a significant impact on SKYWARN Recognition Day activities at this time. This will be monitored as the storm track becomes more certain. We ask that all Amateurs who plan to contact us during SKYWARN Recognition Day give us current sky condition, snowfall total and temperature (if possible) during SKYWARN Recognition Day as we rove the various repeaters on the schedule we listed on our SKYWARN Newsletter. If we need to go into Activation mode, we will shift into that mode and attempt to notify the various SKYWARN Repeaters with a brief announcement that we are shifting into Activation mode or request Net Controls to come up on frequency and state that we have shifted from SKYWARN Recognition Day mode to SKYWARN Activation mode. Since we will already be active at NWS Taunton with Ops, Ops will be utilized if needed for this storm.
All SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotters and Coordinators should continue to closely monitor the progress of this storm. The next coordination message will be posted by 11:30 PM this evening. Below is the NWS Taunton Hazardous WX Outlook and Special WX Statement and the NWS Taunton Area Forecast Discussion:
Bill, N1QPR wrote on mmra-list:
K1ARC American Red Cross Emergency Training Net
The Southeastern MA ARA activated ARES on Monday, December 1, 2003 in response to a widespread power outage that extended from the Plymouth area to Provincetown, Cape Cod and the Islands, extending roughly from Dartmouth/Westport eastward across much of South Coastal Massachusetts. [
Hello to all…
Several clubs in Eastern Massachusetts have been acknowledged for their contributions via the League’s Sectrum Defense “Honor Roll” in the recent November, 2003 QST. The defense includes “special campaigns for WRC-03 and against Broadband over Power Lines (BPL).” 
Falmouth’s Emergency Operations Center will soon have a wire antenna for 40- and 80-meter operation installed by Falmouth Amateur Radio Association, according to FARA president Bob Courtemanche, N1WAT. The wire antenna will complement an existing dual band antenna, according to Courtemanche. “Also, the Mashpee Fire Chief would like a list of people who would be available to help with emergency communiations in Mashpee,” noted N1WAT.
Several Boston-area 2 meter and 440 MHz repeaters are scheduled to be down for maintenance this weekend, prompting concern from at least one active SKYWARN member.
Pi, K1RV wrote:
Do you know of an exceptional young Amateur Radio operator in your club or community? Please consider nominating him or her for the prestigious ARRL Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award! Nominations of Eastern Massachusetts candidates are due to 
Miles, WF1F (Chelmsford, MA) writes on BARS List:
Members of the Boston Amateur Radio Club will operate W1BOS/MQE on December 6th, from 9am to 4 pm on 20 and 2 meters from the Blue Hills Observatory in observance of SKYWARN Recognition Day. 