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>From Powell, good news for SE NCarolians...
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Jesse "J" Ferrell - j{at}weatherwatchers.org - ICQ 136832
Central Atlantic Storm Investigators - www.weatherwatchers.org
"A tornado? Why wasn't it dissipated by the weather
modification net?" --Jean-Luc Picard
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From: powell{at}scsn.net (Powell Way)
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To: j{at}weatherwatchers.org
Date: Sun, 14 Sep 1997 19:11:42 +0500
Subject: (Fwd) (Fwd) NC Hams Build New NWS Transmitter for Lumberton
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From: powell{at}scsn.net (Powell Way)
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To: j{at}weatherwatchers.orrg
Date: Sun, 14 Sep 1997 19:09:39 +0500
Subject: (Fwd) NC Hams Build New NWS Transmitter for Lumberton
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Date: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 23:56:43
To: NC-ARRL-Announce Mailing List
<nc-arrl-announce-post{at}wp.cc.nc.us> From: Gary Pearce
<kn4aq.gary{at}mms.net> Subject: NC Hams Build New NWS Transmitter
for Lumberton
Here's the text of a press release I'm sending to media in Wilmington,
Florence (SC), Charlotte and Raleigh:
AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE
NORTH CAROLINA SECTION
AMATEUR RADIO
NEWS RELEASE
8/25/97
HAM RADIO OPERATORS BUILD
NEW LUMBERTON WEATHER TRANSMITTER
Lumberton, NC, 8/25/97. Robeson County residents and schools
will have a much easier time hearing National Weather Service
(NOAA) emergency weather radio broadcasts beginning this
Wednesday, thanks to a new transmitter provided by Lumberton
area Amateur Radio operators. The new transmitter will be
dedicated at a dinner Wednesday evening at the O.P. Owens
Auditorium, in the Agricultural Extension building in Lumberton.
Until now, Robeson County had been in a "black hole" for radio
reception of broadcasts on the NOAA radio network, according
to ham radio operator Jim MacLeod. NOAA transmitters in
Wilmington and Fayetteville in North Carolina, and Florence,
South Carolina, were all just out of range if the VHF receivers
designed to monitor the broadcasts which carry emergency alerts
in the event of severe weather. Without the ability to receive
the NOAA stations, residents and county officials were
particularly concerned about the delay in relaying the alerts
to schools. Weather warnings had to be relayed by telephone
from the Sheriff's Dept., sometimes with considerable delay.
However, budget cutbacks at the National Weather Service made
placing a transmitter in Robeson County impossible. That's when the
area Ham Radio operators stepped in to lend a hand. MacLeod, the
Amateur Radio District Emergency Coordinator for southeastern North
Carolina, discussed the situation with Tom Mathason, a ham operator
who was also a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in
Wilmington. Mathason worked through his office to secure funding for
a telephone line that would carry the Wilmington NWS broadcast to
Lumberton.
MacLeod also called on assistance from Danny Hampton, an Amateur Radio
operator in Raleigh who works for a two-way radio service company.
Hampton had provided assistance to the Robeson hams in the past,
helping them acquire equipment and tower space for an emergency
communications system. For the new NOAA transmitter, Hampton was able
to negotiate a free lease for an antenna slot on the WFAY-TV Fox 62
tower in Lumber Bridge. Then he modified a transmitter and donated it
to the effort, and finally installed it at the tower. The Robeson
County Amateur Radio Club donated the antenna and ancillary equipment.
Before the transmitter was in place, the hams received a setback --
NOAA funding for the telephone line from Wilmington had been cut.
Robeson County Emergency Manager David Carter called on 7th District
Congressman Mike McIntyre for assistance. McIntyre had become very
interested in the project because it would bring weather warnings to
area schools, and he was able to get the funding restored.
The new transmitter operates on a frequency of 162.525 MHz, and
should cover Robeson and surrounding counties in North and South
Carolina. Its broadcast can be heard on special weather alert
receivers available from Radiio Shack and other outlets, on typical
police-band scanners, on some Marine and CB radios, and on most VHF
Amateur Radios. The signal can not be received on most AM/FM
broadcast radios and TVs, but in the next few years the whole NOAA
system is being upgraded to send digital alert information to a new
generation of consumer electronics.
The dedication dinner this Wednesday is being hosted by the
Robeson County Commissioners. Congressman McIntyre will
address the guests, along with officials from the National
Weather Service and the Amateur Radio operators who made
the new transmitter possible.
SUMMARY AND CONTACTS
EVENT: Dedication of the new NOAA Weather Radio Transmitter
DATE: Wednesday, August 27, 1997
LOCATION: O.P Owens Auditorium, in the Agricultural
Extension Building in Lumberton.
Directions: from I-95, take exit 17. and go
Northwest on highway 72 . The road will fork --
stay to the right on hwy. 72 (Red Springs Road).
You will come to a building complex on the left,
just a few hundred yards past the fork. The
agricultural extension building will be the last
building in the group.
For more information contact:
Jim MacLeod W4NHV
902 N Chestnut St
Lumberton, NC 28358-4854
910-739-4040
w4nhv{at}juno.com
David Carter, Robeson County Emergency Manager
910-671-3150
News Release written by:
Gary Pearce KN4AQ
Public Information Officer
116 Waterfall Ct.
Cary, NC 27513
(919) 833-8888 (w), 380-9944 (h)
Internet: kn4aq.gary{at}mms.net
More information is available at these web sites:
Amateur Radio: http://www.arrl.org
http://www.ncarrl.org
NOAA Weather Radio "Fast Facts" - filler for news stories --
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/pa/secnews/factflash/nwrfact.htm
NOAA Weather Radio Home Page -- http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/
NOAA Weather Radio Info and Station List --
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/nwrbro.htm
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http://www.scsn.net/users/powell
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