| SKYWARN Recognition Day for Amateur Radio
Operators is co-sponsored by the National Weather Service and the
American
Radio Relay League. The purpose of the event is to celebrate the contributions
that amateur radio operators ("hams") make to the National Weather Service
during times of critical weather. During the event, hams across the country
try to contact as many NWS offices as possible using their radio equipment.
The contacts are received and logged at the individual NWS offices by volunteer
amateur radio operators.
During the 4th annual event, an operations team participated
from the NWS Melbourne, FL facility from 7 pm Friday December 6 through
7 pm Saturday December 7. The team consisted of ham operators from two
active SKYWARN groups within East Central Florida; the Brevard Emergency
Amateur Radio Service (BEARS) and the Orange
County ARES/RACES. In addition, several NWS Melbourne forecasters
participated in the event this year. The NWS Melbourne East
Central Florida SKYWARN Group callsign
WX4MLB
was used.
The preliminary results are shown below:
Total Contacts: 388
States Contacted: 44
NWS Stations Contacted: 35
Countries Contacted: 29
Continents Contacted: 5
Bands: 2, 10, 15, 20, 40, 80 meters
Modes: SSB |
Several pictures taken during the event are shown
above (forecaster Scott Spratt, KT4PD, and WCM Dennis Decker; top left,
WCM Dennis Decker and forecasters Scott Spratt (KT4PD) and Pete Blottman
(N2RFW); top right, forecaster Pete Blottman (N2RFW); bottom left, MIC
Bart Hagemeyer and forecaster Scott Spratt; bottom right). Additional pictures
will be added soon.
Thank you to all the BEARS and Orange County ARES/RACES
members who made this a succcessful and fun event and to those stations
who participated in the SKYWARN Recognition Day event and who support SKYWARN
operations thoughout the year.
For questions, comments, feedback, please email Scott
Spratt. WX4MLB
QSL and certificate information. |
