Big Island ARRL News, 23 May 2017, 15:35 hrs, UTC, Post #202.
Source: https://www.therecord.com/news-story/7325850-weather-watchers-keep-eye-out-for-storms
Reporter: Jeff Hicks.
Accessed on 23 May 2017, 15:35 hrs, UTC.
Please click link to read the full story.
Comment:
In the United States, we have ARES, RACES, and SATERN to help with emergency communications. Radio Amateurs who volunteer for SKYWARN teams provide severe weather warnings for local forecasters and first responders. Fellow radio amateurs in Canada have a similar organization known as CanWarn which works with Environment and Climate Change Canada to report severe weather conditions.
In this article by reporter Jeff Hicks, we get an idea of what our Canadian friends do to help warn of potentially dangerous weather conditions. The article focuses on David Knight, an eight-year CanWarn contributor and a 25-year ham radio operator.
“Knight, a 66-year-old software developer and swim meet organizer, has no talking Pontiac Trans Am to hop into on his mission to document severe weather wherever he may be.”
“Instead, his mobile amateur radio kit is mounted inside his red 2011 Ford Escape with a special licence plate, with a ham radio call sign, that’s issued by Industry Canada.”
“Yes, he’s allowed to talk on the fly. Licensed ham radio operators in Ontario, for now, are exempt from distracted driving rules forbidding hand-held devices while driving.”
“We don’t get animated in many of the conversations,” said Knight, who worked as an amateur radio operator for the National Hurricane Center in Miami during hurricanes Charley and Frances in 2004. “Most of the time, you’re in listening mode. You’re not even talking. When I get into traffic, I put the ham radio down, anyways.”
It pays to be prepared, especially where bad weather is a concern. Now that Hawaii is entering the annual hurricane season, you may want to help keep us safe by becoming a volunteer in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service or in the SKYWARN program.
Don’t forget the 2017 ARRL Field Day event, set for 24-25 June 2017 at the Eden Roc park and community pavilion. Field Day runs from 8:00 a.m. Saturday, 24 June, through 8:00 a.m. Sunday, 25 June.
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Thanks for joining us today.
Aloha es 73 de
Russell Roberts (KH6JRM)
Public Information Coordinator
Hawaii County, ARRL Pacific Section