Month: November 2016

update: This event has already taken place.  We are leaving this news item up for archival reference.  However, all personal contact information previously posted in this article has been redacted. If you wish to contact Dave, KD0TUN or Norm, N0GRL, about future classes and tests, you can do so via their pages on QRZ.com. Or you can use the Contact page on this Website to contact the Webmaster who can forward your message.

An all-day Amateur Radio Technician Class is coming up on Saturday, December 10, 2016, at the LDS Church at 1309 N. 20th Street in Ozark, Missouri. Take Highway 65 and exit at Jackson Street (Highway 14) and then proceed north on 20th Street parallel to Highway 65. This church is new and is visible from Highway 65.

The class starts at 7:00 a.m. and runs until 5:00 p.m. There will be a very brief lunch break in the middle, and folks are encouraged to bring their own lunch, snacks and drinks. There are fast food restaurants nearby, but, again, the lunch break will be very short.

Following the class will be a testing session which starts at 5:00 p.m.

The total cost for both the class and the testing session is $14.  Space is limited, so you are encouraged to R.S.V.P. and pay in advance to guarantee yourself a seat.

Please bring 2 forms of identification.

Prior to the exam, you are encouraged to visit www.hamexam.org and register a name and password (it’s free) so the program can keep track of your progress.  Then study all technician flash cards and questions.  This, along with the day-long class will help you to pass your test.

A webinar will be offered on Tuesday, November 29, 2016 at 7 p.m. Central in advance of the 18th SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) on December 3, 2016. Click Here to register.

Developed in 1999 by the National Weather Service and the American Radio Relay League, Skywarn Recognition Day celebrates the contributions that Skywarn volunteers make to the mission of the National Weather Service — the protection of life and property. During the Skywarn Special Event, operators visit NWS offices and contact other radio operators across the world. This pre-event webinar will cover Skywarn Recognition Day basics, explain how to participate, and alert participants to a few changes in store for 2016. The webinar will be recorded and posted to the ARRL YouTube channel afterward.

Friday, December 2, 2016 at 6 p.m. Central – Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 6 p.m. Central

(December 3, 2016, from 0000z to 2400z)

Skywarn Recognition Day was developed in 1999 by the National Weather Service and the American Radio Relay League. It celebrates the contributions that volunteer Skywarn radio operators make to the National Weather Service. During the day Skywarn operators visit NWS offices and contact other radio operators across the world.

SKYWARN Recognition Day Operating Instructions

1. Object For all amateur stations to exchange QSO information with as many National Weather Service Stations as possible on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, and 2 meter bands plus the 70 cm band. Contacts via repeaters are permitted. Skywarn Recognition Day serves to celebrate the contributions to public safety made by amateur radio operators during threatening weather.

2. Date NWS stations will operate December 2, 2016 from 6 p.m. Central – Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 6 p.m. Central (December 3, 2016, from 0000 – 2400 UTC).

3. Exchange: Call sign, signal report, QTH, and a one or two word description of the weather occurring at your site (“sunny”, “partly cloudy”, “windy”, etc.).

4. Modes: NWS stations will work various modes including SSB, FM, AM, RTTY, CW, and PSK31. While working digital modes, special event stations will append “NWS” to their call sign (e.g., N0A/NWS).

5.Station Control Operator: It is suggested that during SRD operations a non-NWS volunteer should serve as a control operator for your station.

6. Event and QSL Information: The National Weather Service will provide event information via the internet. Event certificates will once again be electronic and printable from the main website after the conclusion of SRD.

7. Log Submission: To submit your log summary for SRD use the online submission form.

For More Information

NWS SKYWARN Recognition Day Main Page

Improvement in tornado and severe thunderstorm lead times and false alarm reduction, early warning of lightning ground strike hazards, and improved routing of commercial, military, and private aircraft over oceanic regions where observations of thunderstorm intensity are scarce are just some of the many features that the first operational lightning mapper ever flown in space will provide when the GOES-R Satellite launches this month.

Based on years of research, the Geostationary Lightning Mapper, or GLM, is a revolutionary new instrument that will measure total lightning (in-cloud, cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground) activity continuously over the Americas and adjacent ocean regions with near-uniform spatial resolution.

Severe weather often exhibits a significant increase in lightning activity many minutes before radar can detect a potential storm. This data visualization shows actual lightning measurements captured by an array of ground-based lightning detectors capable of tracing how lightning propagates through the atmosphere. It simulates how the GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper will monitor atmospheric flashes in and around potentially severe weather. This technology could provide critical minutes of valuable warning time in advance of approaching severe storms.

For more information about the Geostationary Lightning Mapper, or GLM, click here

Although it may not feel like it, winter is coming.  With a developing La Nina in the Pacific Ocean, this may not be the harshest winter on record.  Still, it is wise to be prepared.  That’s why the National Weather Service (NWS) along with the Missouri Department of Public Safety (DPS), Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), the Missouri Highway Patrol (MHP), and the State Fire Marshal, has designated November 16, 2016 as Winter Weather Awareness Day for the state of Missouri. Winter storms and cold temperatures can be extremely dangerous. It is recommended that you use this day to review the hazards and safety rules of winter weather so that you are prepared for the upcoming winter season.

For details including fact sheets covering various winter weather safety topics, Click Here

Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend here in Southwest Missouri and throughout most of the United States.  This Sunday, November 6, 2016, at 2:00 a.m. local time, we revert back to Central Standard Time as we turn our clocks back one hour.  Safety officials also suggest that this is a great time to test and/or replace the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.

None of the nets on the Southwest Missouri Regional Skywarn linked repeaters move after these time changes.  All of our nets adhere to local time.  If you monitor our nets on our Broadcastify Feed or if you participate via our EchoLink Node N0NWS-R from parts of the United States and its territories that do not observe Daylight Savings Time including most of Arizona, all of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands or in other parts of the world that do not observe Daylight Savings Time, then our nets will appear to start an hour later to you.

Daylight Savings Time returns on Sunday, March 12, 2017 at 2:00 a.m. local time.