[SFDXA] HAM radio still part of hurricane center arsenal

Sun Jun 16 15:44:17 EDT 2013

HI Bill
Thanks for those Sun-Sentinel links. About the 1992 Hurricane Andrew ham 
operations: I've upload a few photos from the Middle School emergency station 
that the Motorola ARC set up and manned from the day after the storm to about a 
week later. KE4PT was not the only ham station there, but that's the only one I 
have info on. The photos are not "studio quality", we were focused on providing 
communications between Homestead ham-manned location, and both Dade and Broward 
EOC.

The photos are on the K4FK Yahoo page <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SFDXA/ >  
under "Photos".  since the reflector does not allow attachments.

Key note: we were not posted there by EOC, but rather we just kept driving south 
until we hit devastation and destruction. Then we set up out station at the 
Middle school and handled tons of message traffic. Lots of what we did was 
ad-hoc, and much of what we learned helped shape current EOC ham operations for 
these situations.

73
Kai

On 6/16/2013 12:04 PM, Bill wrote:
> Today's Sun Sentinel Ft Lauderdale:
>
>
>  HAM radio still part of hurricane center arsenal
>
> http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-hurricane-ham-radio-operators-20130615,0,2956074.story 
>
>
>
>  Full Story:
>
>
>  HAM radio still part of hurricane center arsenal
>
> Amid the high-tech computers, satellite dishes and sophisticated equipment at 
> the National Hurricane Center is the WX4NHC Amateur Radio Station.
> By Ken Kaye <http://bio.tribune.com/KenKaye>, Staff writer
>
> 4:02 p.m. EDT, June 15, 2013
>
> Amid the high-tech computers, satellite dishes and sophisticated equipment at 
> the National Hurricane Center 
> <http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/intl/bahamas-PLGEO00000188.topic> is a HAM 
> radio operator station, somewhat hidden in a back office.
>
> It might seem like it's akin to placing a teletype on a space shuttle. But 
> when hurricanes form, the amateur radio station cranks up and receives weather 
> information from HAM operators in the affected areas. Their observations help 
> the forecasters in Miami-Dade County 
> <http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/us/florida/miami-dade-county-PLGEO100100408000000.topic> 
> better judge a storm's strength or position and issue more precise warnings.
>
> "The goal of our station basically is to help save lives," said Julio Ripoll, 
> assistant coordinator of the hurricane center's Amateur Radio Station. "We 
> give hurricane forecasters eyewitness reports and data they probably wouldn't 
> otherwise have."
>
>  * Related
>  * Hurricane HAM radio station
> <http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/sfl-hurricane-ham-radio-station-20130612,0,227693.embeddedvideo>
>    Hurricane HAM radio station
> <http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/sfl-hurricane-ham-radio-station-20130612,0,227693.embeddedvideo>
>
>  * Amateur Radio Station
> <http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-hurricane-ham-radio-operators-1-jpg-20130615,0,3997587.photo>
>    Amateur Radio Station
> <http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-hurricane-ham-radio-operators-1-jpg-20130615,0,3997587.photo>
>
>
> For instance, in November 2001, as Hurricane Michelle was approaching the 
> Bahamas, the hurricane center thought the system was weakening. But a HAM 
> operator on a sailboat in the Bahamas reported the storm was still generating 
> winds up to 110 mph.
>
> "It was just in time," Ripoll said. "The Bahamas were about to lower their 
> hurricane warnings, and it was still technically a hurricane."
>
> The station, known in the HAM operator world as WX4NHC, is staffed by 30 
> volunteers who swing into action whenever a storm is about 300 miles from 
> hitting the U.S. coast or land in the Caribbean. They have worked more than a 
> 100 hurricanes in the past three decades.
>
> They'll work in three-hour shifts around the clock, receiving real-time 
> weather observations from other HAM operators, who might be thousands of miles 
> away or down the block.
>
> James Franklin, the hurricane center's top hurricane specialist, said HAM 
> operator observations help sharpen short-term predictions.
>
> "We sample so little of the storm's circulation, so any additional observation 
> helps our analysis of what's going on now," he said.
>
> In September 1998, when Hurricane Georges was aiming toward eastern Cuba 
> <http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/intl/cuba-PLGEO00000190.topic>, hurricane 
> center forecasters were unsure of the exact location of the eye -- because the 
> Cuban government wouldn't allow U.S. hurricane hunter aircraft to fly into its 
> airspace.
>
> Hurricane specialist Lixion Avila asked the center's HAM station to reach out 
> to Cuban radio operators. Ripoll found a HAM operator on the eastern most 
> point of the island.
>
> "The HAM operator was yelling over the microphone, and you could hear his 
> excitement and the wind in the background," Ripoll said. "He explained that he 
> was standing on this chair with about 2 feet of water in his house."
>
> Ultimately, the operator gave Ripoll the direction of the wind, which helped 
> Avila determine the location of the eye, a critical piece of information 
> needed to develop an accurate track forecast.
>
> Ripoll, a Miami architect, set up the HAM radio station at the hurricane 
> center 33 years ago, when it was located in Coral Gables 
> <http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/us/florida/miami-dade-county/coral-gables-PLGEO100100408040000.topic>. 
> He was asked to do so by former center director Neil Frank, who wanted a 
> backup way to alert the Caribbean.
>
> Ripoll, then head of the University of Miami amateur radio club, carted over 
> his own personal radio in a cardboard box, full of wires. Today, the station 
> has six permanent radios worth about $20,000, all donated by corporations.
>
> John McHugh, coordinator of the hurricane center's station, said amateur radio 
> can provide communications even when electricity is out because operators are 
> trained to use generators and batteries to keep their radios on.
>
> He said the hurricane center station operates with HF, or high frequency 
> waves, for long-distance communications, and with VHF and UHF to communicate 
> with local emergency managers and other government officials.
>
> HAM operators have provided critical communications in the aftermath of 
> storms, directing recovery agencies, such as the Salvation Army 
> <http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/religion-belief/christianity/protestantism/the-salvation-army-12009013.topic>, 
> where to distribute food and emergency supplies. Hurricane center HAMs also 
> helped victims of the 2010 earthquake 
> <http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/disasters-accidents/earthquakes/haiti-earthquake-%282010%29-EVHST0000230.topic> 
> in Haiti receive supplies.
>
> Larry Lazar, president of the Wellington 
> <http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/wellington?track=tax-wellington> 
> Radio Club, said hundreds of HAM operators in South Florida are ready to help 
> out if a storm hits this region. They helped get hot meals to people left 
> homeless after Hurricane Andrew 
> <http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/disasters-accidents/meteorological-disasters/hurricanes/hurricane-andrew-%281992%29-EVHST000062.topic> 
> in 1992. They also helped residents without power in the aftermath of 
> Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, which hit the Treasure Coast in 2004.
>
> "It's exactly what we do," he said. "We practice for it."
>
> /kkaye at tribune.com <mailto:kkaye at tribune.com> or 954-572-2085./
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> South Florida DX Assoc.
> SFDXA WebSite: http://qsl.net/k4fk
> SFDXA Repeater 147.33+ 103.5 Tone
> To Post: mailto:SFDXA at mailman.qth.net
> Subscribe or UNSubScribe:
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/sfdxa
> DX Net Wed 7:33 PM Repeater
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>