[SFDXA] ARLB017 Annual Pre-Hurricane Season Station Test at WX4NHC Set for May 28

[William Marx]

> SB QST @ ARL $ARLB017
> ARLB017 Annual Pre-Hurricane Season Station Test at WX4NHC Set for
> May 28
> 
> ZCZC AG17
> QST de W1AW  
> ARRL Bulletin 17  ARLB017
> From ARRL Headquarters  
> Newington CT  May 24, 2016
> To all radio amateurs 
> 
> SB QST ARL ARLB017
> ARLB017 Annual Pre-Hurricane Season Station Test at WX4NHC Set for
> May 28
> 
> Now in its 36th year, WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center (NHC)
> in Miami, will conduct its annual NHC Station Test on Saturday, May
> 28. The event, which gets under way at 1300 UTC and wraps up at 2100
> UTC, is conducted each year in advance of hurricane season.
> 
> "The purpose of this event is to test Amateur Radio Station
> equipment, antennas and computers prior to this year's Hurricane
> Season, which starts June 1 and runs through November 30," said
> WX4NHC Amateur Radio Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R. "This
> event is good practice for ham radio operators worldwide as well as
> National Weather Service (NWS) staff to become familiar with Amateur
> Radio communication available during times of severe weather."
> 
> The annual Station Test is not a contest or simulated hurricane
> exercise. WX4NHC will be on the air on various bands and modes. The
> station also often takes advantage of the test to perform operator
> training. WX4NHC will make brief contacts with participating
> stations to exchange signal reports and basic weather data. For
> example, stations may report "sunny" or "rain" or "cloudy" in
> describing the conditions at their locations.
> 
> Ripoll said WX4NHC will operate on HF, VHF, UHF, 2 meter and 30
> meter APRS, and available via Winlink (subject line must contain
> "//WL2K") at, wx4nhc at winlink.org .
> 
> "We will try to stay on the Hurricane Watch Net frequency of 14.325
> MHz most of the time," Ripoll said. He explained that due to space
> and equipment limitations, WX4NHC will deploy up to three operators
> per shift, so the station cannot be everywhere and on every mode
> simultaneously. "You may be able to find us on HF by using one of
> the DX spotting networks, such as DX Summit (http://dxsummit.fi/#/),"
> he suggested.
> 
> WX4NHC also plans to be on the VoIP Hurricane Net from 2000 until
> 2100 UTC (IRLP node 9219; EchoLink WX-TALK Conference node 7203). In
> addition, the station will be active on South Florida VHF and UHF
> repeaters.
> 
> QSL cards are available to participating stations via WD4R; include
> a self-addressed stamped envelope. Do not send cards to the National
> Hurricane Center.
> 
> Visit the WX4NHC website at http://www.wx4nhc.org for more
> information about the station.
> NNNN
> /EX