[PPRAANet] Weather Nets

[John Bloodgood]

Saturday, 20 July, we had some pretty intense weather for a few hours. We had great participation from the ham radio community and so important reports.  So as the head of Pikes Peak ARES and the acting regional head of Region 2 (South Central Colorado) ARES, I thank all who participated.

Since some folks are new to this, and some might be a bit rusty, I'd like to remind folks of some helpful hints.

When we are in an informal net, we still try to adhere to most of the formal net procedures, just not as strictly and we can chit chat a little.

When we go to a formal net, things are pretty serious so we get a lot more strict.  It isn't to be mean, there are very good reasons for this.

For your radio: If your radio has VOX, DO NOT USE IT! Forget that it is even an option. Set your radio Transmit Timer AKA Time Out for 2 minutes so that if you end up with a stuck mic, the radio will stop transmitting.  If you have a Yaesu radio, check and make sure you are not set to use WIRES.

Before you key up, know what you are going to say. Then LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN before you press that Push To Talk key!

If you think someone just finished talking, WAIT for the courtesy beep before keying. Far too often the other person is not done yet and people end up doubling with them.

Also, if someone else just made a call and has not gotten a response yet, WAIT until they finish unless you have emergency traffic (as in threat to life or limb). They were there first, let them finish.

Once you press the PTT key, pause for a second before you speak. Not long, just enough for all the electronics to engage. Too often people start speaking before the PTT has been fully engaged.

If you have reportable weather or need to pass along information, give your suffix or your full call sign and then WAIT until Net Control acknowledges you before giving your info. DO NOT just blurt out your report as neither Net Control nor NWS will be ready to copy and you also may be interrupting someone else.

Once Net Control acknowledges you, give your report and close the transmission out with your full legal call sign, just to stay legal. This also gives an indication that nothing else follows.

When giving a report, use plain English, standard ITU phonetic alphabet, and no Q signals. Be clear and concise. Make sure you include WHAT you saw, WHERE you saw it, WHEN you saw it and WHO you are. When saying a number like 60 or 15, it is best to say "six zero" or "one five" just to be clear you are not saying 16 or 50.  Also, clarify if you are saying a Quarter sized coin (1 inch) or one quarter inch (1/4 inch).

Example:

- Me: SFY

- NCS: SFY go

- Me: Measured one inch hail currently falling at Echo Lima One Two One Two near Austin Bluffs and Union, KD0SFY

- NCS: One inch hail measured, EL1212, at 15:36, K4ARM

NWS Pueblo will let us know what things they are looking for. If there is not a formal net, they may take all hail reports, but that can change.  In a formal net we usually only want things that meet severe criteria: Tornado, Funnel Cloud, lowering cloud with rotation, winds over 58 MPH, hail over 1 inch (or 3/4 inch depending on NWS's request), or flooding in areas where it does not normally occur. Also, rain at a rate of over 1 inch per hour, measured over at least 10 minutes -- if you have an electronic rain gauge, they will give rainfall per hour, but they measure it over a matter of a few seconds, so that is no good. It needs to be a sustained rate for at least 10 minutes.  If you don't meet those criteria, then it is best to not report unless the net is slow.

What we do not need:
- "Blue Sky" reports -- if you have no severe weather, don't say anything. Not to be confused with Net Control know that a significant event has ended.
- Blow by blow announcements -- we aren't calling a horse race -- only call in a significant change.
- Dark looking clouds, strange colored clouds, or ominous skies.
- Lightning, unless it has caused damage.

Also, please do not use the PPFMA repeater for coordinating weather chasing when we are active. If you want to storm chase, that is fine and we will take your reports, but weather chasing is not what ARES or SKYWARN are all about and if you chase, that is all on you. Please coordinate your chase somewhere else.

Why is all this important? To reduce congestion on the radio while passing accurate information which everyone, including NWS, offices of emergency management, and news stations, can easily understand.

Again, thanks for all the effort on Saturday. We passed some vital information to NWS and they definitely appreciated it.




John Bloodgood, KD0SFY
Emergency Coordinator & Public Information Officer
Region 2 District 2, Colorado ARES (Pikes Peak ARES)
Follow Pikes Peak ARES at:
https://www.facebook.com/PikesPeakARES
https://twitter.com/pikespeakARES