For years the ARES/ACS/RACES net on the W3YA repeater in Boalsburg/State College (21:00 Sunday Evenings, (146.85 mHz -) has opened with a preamble that instructs amateur radio operators what to do if the repeater fails. Amateur radio operators should expect the net to move to the W3GA, (146.76 mHz -) repeater on Rattlesnake Mountain. To test this procedure Centre County EC, Carmine, K3CWP, arranged to have the repeater shut off by Trustee Woody, K3YV, midway through the net on Sunday, March 31, 2024. To Carmine’s knowledge this has never tested before. Continue reading
Category Archives: ARES/RACES
Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, & Snow (CoCoRaHS) Network
If you are interested in greater participation gathering weather data for the National Weather Service you might want to look at the CoCoRaHS program for reporting precipitation totals to NWS. As the name implies CoCoRaHS seeks to record accurate daily precipitation data for the NWS. Click on this sentence to find out more information.
FREE ON-LINE AMATEUR RADIO OPERATING CLASS
A free, weekly, 3-hour Amateur Radio Operating Class on Zoom will begin on Thursday April 4 and run through June 20 at 6:30 PM Eastern time. The presenters will be various experienced folks in the various subjects.
A detailed syllabus will be published before the classes begin. Attend them all, or any that you like, but you must register for the classes. To receive registration information, contact Rol Anders, K3RA, at roland.anders@comcast.net. Continue reading
PEMA/ARC National Mass Care Exercise/Red Cross Announcement
From WPA Section Manager, JoeShupienis W3BC:
Attention all District Emergency Coordinators and County Emergency Coordinators! Our partner agency, Red Cross of Greater Pennsylvania is requesting the service of all ARES members in both Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Pennsylvania Sections to participate in an upcoming drill. Information follows, and reflects the work of many hams and Red Cross volunteers across the state in planning and coordinating these exercises. Participation is voluntary, however we encourage all ARES members to try to participate in at least one of the run-up exercises and the main event on May 22. we expect a good number of ARES members to offer their services. Continue reading
Weather/Skywarn information links
Bob Fenner, K3RDF, an NWS Employee provided a number of links to weather information that is of interest to Skywarn Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators in General. You can find them by clicking on “Links” in the menu above.
Thank you Bob!
Results of Skywarn Net Jan. 24, 2024 on W3GA, 146.76
As announced a Skywarn was conducted from the National Weather Service State College Office (NWS CTP) on January 24th at 19:00. NCS used the NWS CTP call sign WX3CTP. Carmine, K3CWP and Greg, K3HOT staffed the station.
Nineteen stations checked in from seven counties as listed below. The showed that the coverage for W3GA will be useful for Skywarn activations should other local repeaters fail. Thank you to the stations who checked in. They are listed below. Continue reading
Skywarn net announced for Jan. 24, 2024
On Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at 19:00 local time we will conduct a Skywarn net on the W3GA repeater. Frequency is 146.760 mHz, -600 kHz shift, 146.2 Tone. Net control will be operating from the National Weather Service Office in State College using the callsign WX3CTP.
Net control will call for stations to check in from Centre and surrounding counties. Stations checking in are asked to give their callsign, name, and a brief report of weather observations at their location.
This will give us a test of coverage into the areas west, south, and north of Centre County from the repeater’s location on Rattlesnake Mountain.
Any amateur radio operator is welcome to check in, not just Skywarn spotters.
Link added to the Skywarn Spotters Field Guide
A link has been added to the Link Library for the National Weather Service Skywarn Spotters Field Guide.
Nittany Amateur Radio Club Uses Foxhunt to Simulate Search for Crashed Airplane
On November 4th the Nittany Amateur Radio Club (NARC) sponsored a foxhunt that provided a drill simulating the search for a downed airplane. Woody, K3YV, put the idea together to use as part of the SET exercises on October 7th. Unfortunately weather canceled the event for that day. It was rescheduled for November 4th. Continue reading
Public Service Events For 2023
Opportunities for public service yet this year. If you want to volunteer for any of the events not coordinated by Nittany Amateur Radio Club contact Carmine at k3cwp@arrl.net.
- December 2, Skywarn Recognition Day
- Coordinated by Carmine Prestia, K3CWP, carmine.prestia@gmail.com
Watch this space for more information, especially how to sign up to help.