[PPRAANet] Weather Net

[John Bloodgood]

Shooting this out to both the club email reflector and the ARES email reflector as we have had many weather reports from operators who are not ARES members.
 
First, NWS gave kudos for all the reports the last couple days.  Your reports make a difference and I constantly see your reports show up on social media and/or result in warnings and watches being put up by NWS.  
 
Now, not to be a nag, but we need to tighten up on our procedures because today was pretty bad.  Remember, this is NOT a contact/QSO/DX contest, so do not approach it like a pile-up.  
 
1.  Make sure your gear is working and adjusted properly.  That means making sure your squelch is set correctly and not too high, not using VOX, having the correct deviation setting (not 1/2 deviation - those with Chinese radios, beware!), not having WIRES or similar modes turned on, etc.  

2.  Before you transmit, LISTEN! If someone else is talking or if Net Control is calling someone, then unless it is a life or death emergency, WAIT! People were constantly talking on top of each other.  That just makes K4ARM's job harder and slows everything down.  
 
3.  Wait for the courtesy beep after the end of the previous transmission before keying up.  Again, people were not waiting for the beep and keyed up when they THOUGHT the other person was done, but ended up doubling with the end of their transmission.  Even better, LEAVE A SPACE between you and the last station so that others can break in if necessary.  
 
4. When you do key up, press the button, WAIT a second, or if the repeater has been idle for several minutes, wait four seconds, and THEN speak. We had clipped calls all over the place.  
 
5.  After keying up, use either your full call or your call sign suffix and unkey.  Then WAIT for Net Control to acknowledge you.  After that, key back up, give your report, and then give your full legal call and unkey.  This clears you without needing a separate key-up to give your call.  DO NOT just key up and give a report without Net Control acknowledging you.  For one thing, he may not be ready for your report.  For another, you can end up doubling and wiping someone else out.  

6.  When you do give your report, be clear and concise.  When weather is popping all around us it is not the time to be giving a full blown narrative.  Make it a goal to use the fewest words necessary. "Three quarter inch hail measured, EL9876, W1AW" is much better than "I got some hail here and just went out to measure it and the largest I found measured three quarters of an inch. I am at EL9876.  This is W1AW."
 
7.  Again, LISTEN!  Instructions may be given about what information NWS wants.  If NWS only wants 3/4" hail and larger, when everyone starts reporting pea sized hail they aren't helping.  In fact they are just congesting the net and making K4ARM's job harder.  If in doubt, ask what is reportable.  
 
8.  Avoid using Q-codes on voice nets.  This is for a couple reasons.  First, a lot of people listen in to our reports, so we want to use plain language as much as possible.  Second, not everyone uses Q-codes correctly.  A big example, "QTH" does not mean "Home" or your normal operating location.  QTH means "What is your location/position?" when posed as a question or "My location/position is...." when given as a statement. Q-codes are not meant to replace individual words, they are meant to replace phrases.   
 
Again, I really hate to be a nag about such things, but we did sound pretty awful today.  Please do not let this email discourage you.  You all have some vital information to give, information the NWS really wants to hear and in some cases can save lives or property, but if everyone is talking over everyone else, your message is lost or delayed.  We WANT to hear your message.

As always, thanks for being there and making a difference. That is what ARES is all about.  
 
 
 
 
John Bloodgood, KD0SFY
Emergency Coordinator & Public Information Officer 
Region 2 District 2, Colorado ARES (Pikes Peak ARES)
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