NWS Melbourne Skywarn Recognition Day 2010

NWS Melbourne, Florida

2010 SKYWARN™ Recognition Day Results

Pictures From This Year's Event

Chuck, AD4ES, operating 40m HF	Wayne, KA1VRF and Mat, KC8NZJ operating Echolink
Levon, KT4LST, and Melinda, KJ4YTG, working 40 and 80m HF	Operators working 20m HF
CL-33 rotatable beam	R-7000 Vertical Antenna

During the first weekend of December, the National Weather Service Office in Melbourne, Florida supported SKYWARN™ Recognition Day for the 12 consecutive year. The event for Amateur Radio (ham) operators was held from 7 pm Friday December 3 until 7 pm Saturday December 4 and was co-sponsored by the NWS (www.weather.gov) and the American Radio Relay League (ARRL; www.arrl.org).

SKYWARN™ Recognition Day (SRD) provides a venue for National Weather Service (NWS) offices to recognize Amateur ("ham") Radio operators for their commitment in helping keep their communities weathersafe. During every tropical weather threat, and many other major weather events, Amateur Radio operators staff local NWS and American Red Cross shelters and stand ready to provide emergency communications should standard services fail or become overloaded. Many Amateur Radio operators are also trained as SKYWARN™ weather spotters by local NWS offices, to provide valuable information during hazardous weather situations. Often, these spotter reports allow NWS meteorologists to issue severe weather warnings with greater advance notice and confidence than would otherwise be possible.

During the 24-hour event, Amateur Radio operators throughout the country visit their local NWS office, set up portable radio stations to simulate emergency conditions, and work in teams to exchange weather reports with other hams across the nation and the globe.

During the 2010 special event, operations from NWS Melbourne included two High Frequency (HF) stations, a Very High Frequency (VHF) station and a PC-based EchoLink (VoIP) station. HF operations utilized the 10, 15, 20, 40, and 80-meter bands. Antennas used were a rotatable beam at 35 feet (10, 15, 20-meters), a vertical beam (10, 15, 20, 40-meters), a rotatable beam at 35 feet for VHF (2 meters), and a 40/80M dipole. Amateur Radio operators from the Treasure Coast Weather Net (TCWN) and Martin County ARES/RACES participated as well as operators from groups in Brevard County (Platinum Coast Amateur Radio Society and the Florida Contest Group). Licensed NWS Melbourne meteorologists also operated during the event. The NWS Melbourne East Central Florida SKYWARN™ Group special call-sign WX4MLB was used.

NWS Melbourne thanks the individuals who supported the event, including those assisting with antenna and station set-up, those who loaned equipment, and of course the dedicated operators. We also appreciate the work of the many individuals who provide valuable SKYWARN^TM communications services and severe weather reports throughout the year - and we thank the hundreds of radio operators who took the time and effort to 'work' us during the event.

The 2010 preliminary results:

Total Contacts:   292
States Contacted:  43
NWS Stations Contacted:  35
Countries Contacted:  6
Bands: 2, 10, 15, 20, 40, 80 meters                                                                                                      Modes: SSB, Echolink

Radio Operators & Assistance Provided by:

Chuck Green - AD4ES	Brevard County - PCARS
Lynn Deffenbaugh - KJ4ERJ	Brevard County - PCARS
John Weatherley - AB4ET	Brevard County - PCARS
Eric Smitt - K9ES	FCG
Wayne Burkett, SR - KA1VRF	TCWN
Mathew Nickoson - KC8NZJ	TCWN
Vince Weal - K4JC	TCWN
Ray Jaworski - KI4RHL	Martin Co. ARES/RACES
Judy Tagg - KE4MZT	Martin Co. ARES/RACES
Ron Tagg - KD4PQQ	Martin Co. ARES/RACES
Levon Tomon - KT4LST	Lake County ARES
Melinda Haskell - KJ4YTG	Lake County ARES
Scott Spratt - KT4PD	NWS
Pete Blottman - N2RFW	NWS
Derrick Weitlich - W1DKW	NWS
Jonathan Guseman	NWS
Don Burkhardt	NWS
Taylor Cox	NWS
Roddey Stevenson	NWS
Larry Pace	NWS
North Brevard SKYWARN Association
Titusville Amateur Radio Club
Indian River Amateur Radio Club
Platinum Coast Amateur Radio Society
Treasure Coast Weather Net
Volusia County SKYWARN
Seminole County SKYWARN
Orange Co. Emerg Auxiliary Radio Team
Disney Emerg Amateur Radio Service
Lake County ARES
Okeechobee County ARES
St. Lucie County ARES
Osceola County ARES
Martin County SKYWARN Association

For questions, comments, feedback, please email Scott Spratt or Derrick Weitlich. To receive a QSL card from WX4MLB after the event, please send your card along with an SASE to: NWS Melbourne, 421 Croton Road, Melbourne, FL 32935. Electronic QSLs can be exchanged via EQSL (www.eqsl.cc).

Annual Statistics from WFO Melbourne (local records)

YEAR	Total Contacts	NWS Contacts	States	DX Countries	Contacts nation-wide
1999	279	20	38	7
2000	489	38	43	12
2001	276	33	48	3
2002	388	35	44	29
2003	538	42	43	20
2004	1524	68	49	57	1st Place
2005	778	71	49	20	3rd Place
2006	921	70	50	24	2nd Place
2007	930	64	47	17	1st Place
2008	1192	74	50	40	2nd Place
2009	1373	77	50	43	1st Place
2010	292	35	43	6	15th Place

2010 SKYWARN^TM Recognition Day Official Website

DKW

National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office