- Special - Weather Public Service Edition - Special -

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1 Serving St. Tammany and The Northshore Since Special - Weather Public Service Edition - Special - PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS/BATON ROUGE LA 715 AM CST FRI FEB NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 02/23/2016 TORNADO EVENT TORNADOES CONFIRMED IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI....OVERVIEW...ON TUESDAY FEBRUARY 23...NUMEROUS SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AFFECTED SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI. 13 TORNADOES HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED. THIS INFORMATION IS CONSIDERED PRELIMINARY AND MAY BE SUBJECT TO ADDITIONAL UPDATES AND CORRECTIONS. With weather warning alerts sounding, parish government closing schools and the threats approaching on February 23 rd ; W5SLA club members and leadership responded by manning the club s collocated station at the NWS as well as their own stations at their QTH locations on both the west and eastern sides of St. Tammany parish. Activities included relaying information to and from the NWS to the St. Tammany region as well as others via the club s repeater, packet digi s and other working infrastructure and also listening for health and welfare messages from the area. -SK- See full report at Louisiana Severe Weather Awareness Week Severe Weather Awareness Week Information Tornadoes, damaging thunderstorm winds, large hail, and flash floods can occur at any time of the year. Last week, the southeast portion of Louisiana experienced one its most significant severe weather events in many years with several tornado related fatalities, many injuries, and significant property damage in several parishes. The late winter and spring months typically brings the greatest chance of severe weather in Louisiana, now is a good time to review the severe weather safety plans. The week of February 29, 2016 has been designated as Severe Weather Awareness Week in Louisiana. The goal of the awareness week is to call attention to the threats posed by these weather hazards and to review severe weather safety rules in an attempt to reduce the loss of life and injury. Post-storm interviews with survivors of severe weather events prove that preventative safety measures greatly enhance the chance of survival. Now is the time to develop a severe weather safety plan. A successful plan should include: Knowledge of terminology such as watches and warnings Knowledge of safety rules to follow when severe weather strikes A reliable method of receiving emergency information Review and testing of the plan. Emergency managers, schools, government agencies, private businesses, and local citizens are encouraged to review their severe weather safety plans and conduct drills as appropriate. 1

2 F.I.P.S. (Federal Information Processing Standards) CODES FOR S.A.M.E. (Specific Area Message Encoding) RECEIVER PROGRAMMING NWR (NOAA Weather Radio) Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) FIPS codes for our area 2

3 2 Meters Repeaters MHz (+) CTCSS MHz (-) CTCSS Centimeters Repeater MHz (+) CTCSS Meters Packet MHz W5SLA-4 Digi-peater only (SIL) W5SLA-3 Mailbox W5SLA-5 NWS-TNC St. Tammany ARES Net Every Tuesday at 8:00 pm on the W5SLA 2 meter repeater 2 Meters Club Net Every Friday at 7:30 pm on the 2 meter repeater 10 Meters Club Net Every Friday at 8:00 pm on Or about MHz USB 75 Meter Club Net Every Friday 8:30 pm On or about MHz USB W5DGM Some of your OARC NET Control Operators In Action WB5CXJ KD5GFG Help others and give something back. I guarantee you will discover that while public service improves the lives and the world around you, its greatest reward is the enrichment and new meaning it will 3 bring your own life. -Arnold Schwarzenegger

4 What is SKYWARN? How/Why do HAM s fit for SKYWARN? 4

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6 Upcoming 2016 Hamfests/Conventions within 250 miles of Slidell, LA. 03/04/2016 Alabama Section Convention (BirmingHamFest) Location: Birmingham, AL Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Birmingham Amateur Radio Club Website: Learn More Rayne Civic Center Hamfest/Convention 03/11/2016 Louisiana State Convention (Acadiana Hamfest) Location: Rayne, LA Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Acadiana Amateur Radio Association Website: Learn More C H "Bull" Rigdon Fairgrounds Hamfest/Convention 03/18/2016 Fort Walton Beach Hamfest 2016 Location: Fort Walton Beach, FL Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Playground Amateur Radio Club Website: Learn More Abba Shrine Center Hamfest/Convention 04/09/ Mobile Hamfest Location: Mobile, AL Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Mobile Amateur Radio Club Website: Learn More Louisiana State Fair Agriculture Building Hamfest/Convention 08/13/2016 Shreveport-Bossier Hamfest 2016 Location: Shreveport, LA Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Shreveport Amateur Radio Association Website: Learn More Pensacola Fairgrounds Hamfest/Convention 09/24/2016 Pensacola Hamfest Location: Pensacola, FL Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Five Flags Amateur Radio Association Website: Learn More Alcazar Shrine Temple Hamfest/Convention 11/19/2016 Alabama State Convention (MARC Hamfest 2016) Location: Montgomery, AL Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Montgomery Amateur Radio Club Website: Learn More 6

7 A brief look into the current weather conditions for the record courtesy W5DGM A brief look into the current weather conditions for the record courtesy W5DGM 7

8 A brief look at a 24 hour look into local APRS traffic in the area for the record heard on MHz via packet radio around aprs.fi 8

9 It looks like John and Judy are pushing the transmit foot switch (pedal) to the metal in the score and rank category for the NPOTA Louisiana Chaser Leaderboard distancing themselves from the lower Louisiana ranks and scores! Ron is maintaining the 9 slot with some very close competitors. With 9 months remaining it is not too late for anyone to run with the best in LA! 9

10 In an effort to get the club station ready to use and train new hams in the arts, KD5GFG and KE5QKR have started working to implement basic modern digital methods of communications into the existing 4 station operating positions at the club. Whether control, keying or integrations with external sources of information are the goals, we will be working to integrate new methods that can be passed on to fellow interested hams. Below was the results of the first station position to be integrated. The first contact from this position was to station CT7ABQ, Paulo in Cacem, Lisboa, Portugal using the club station s G5RV antenna running 35 watts. The equipment and software used was a donated Dell Dimension club PC (with a dead clock battery Hi Hi!) running the Ham Radio Deluxe Suite,Digital Master 780 through a RIG Blaster pro, controlling the icom 756 pro iii via the BPSK-31 mode on the 20 meter MHz USB. There are many more combinations of software, hardware, modes and integrations to configure for sharing on this front and the club will be forging ahead on these and other fronts. -SK- 10

11 W5SLA Maidenhead Grid Square 11

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14 You have yourself a good one and thanks for the help Glad you enjoyed the Hamfest. 73 s That s how it goes, thanks for the work. 73 s I wonder if I can use this jpole copper pipe for pieces to a still? -SK- 14