HWO follows ————————–

000
FLUS44 KOHX 081108
HWOOHX

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
508 AM CST MON MAR 8 2010

TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-091115-
STEWART-MONTGOMERY-ROBERTSON-SUMNER-MACON-CLAY-PICKETT-BENTON-
HOUSTON-HUMPHREYS-DICKSON-CHEATHAM-DAVIDSON-WILSON-TROUSDALE-
SMITH-JACKSON-PUTNAM-OVERTON-FENTRESS-PERRY-HICKMAN-LEWIS-
WILLIAMSON-MAURY-MARSHALL-RUTHERFORD-CANNON-DEKALB-WHITE-
CUMBERLAND-BEDFORD-COFFEE-WARREN-GRUNDY-VAN BUREN-WAYNE-LAWRENCE-
GILES-
508 AM CST MON MAR 8 2010

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE.

.DAY ONE…TODAY AND TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

AN UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN WILL DEVELOP OVER THE REGION WITH ON
AND OFF CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY.
A FEW OF THE STORMS COULD BE STRONG TO SEVERE THROUGH THIS PERIOD.
THE GREATEST PROBABILITY FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL OCCUR WEDNESDAY
EVENING THROUGH EARLY THURSDAY MORNING WITH A STRONG LOW PRESSURE
AND COLD FRONT CROSSING THE REGION.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT…

EVEN THOUGH ANY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE BRIEF AND
ISOLATED, SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CLOSELY MONITOR WEATHER
CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO CALL IN ANYTHING REACHING REPORTING
CRITERIA.

$$

SPOTTER THUNDERSTORM REPORTING CRITERIA…
TORNADO
FUNNEL CLOUD
FLOODING
HAIL >= 1/2 INCH
WINDS > 50 MPH (MEASURED)
STRUCTURAL DAMAGE
TREES OR POWER LINES DOWN

13

In recent years scarcely a year has gone by where Middle Tennessee communities have not suffered damage from wind, heavy rains, lightning and tornadoes.  How to deal with severe weather is something that anyone in Middle Tennessee should know.

With this though in mind the Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts will be operating a special event station at the Customs House Museum on Saturday March 27 2010 from 10:30 to 3:30.  Amateur Radio operators will be on hand to demonstrate Amateur Radio communications and to discuss how Amateur Radio operators provide support during severe weather through initiatives such as SkyWarn and ARES. 

The Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts invite all members of the community to come join us for this event.

For those interested in obtaining an Amateur Radio License testing will be offered from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm.  The cost is $15.00 to take any test and if you pass one test you can take the next at no additional cost.  There are 3 classes of Amateur Radio licenses; Technician, General and Extra.  Each test is more involved and technical than the previous test and each license class includes privileges on more frequency than the last one.  Amateur Radio Exams MUST be passed in the following order; Technician, General, Extra.

The Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts look forward to seeing you on Saturday March 27.

Amateur Radio Stations will be operated in the Coca Cola Cafe and testing will be in the classroom downstairs.

Thank You
The Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts

We have a special agenda planned this month.  Howard Thompson (K2LAW) and Rob Devlin (N4PJX) will be presenting to the group about the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS). 

One of the most common misunderstandings about APRS is that it just transmits your location, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth.  APRS is a fully featured digital mode which allows two way text messaging and transmission of data quickly and reliably. 

Howard and Rob will elaborate on this at our meeting on Tuesday and all Amateurs are encouraged to attend.

Again, the meeting will be on Tuesday March 10 2010 at 6:30 pm at the Park Lane Church of the Nazarene in Clarksville.  Click below for a map and directions.

Park Lane Church of the Nazarene.

We’ll see you at the meeting!

In response to this request the Federal Communications Commission has opened a comment period asking concerned parties to submit their comments and opinions on this subject.  All Amateur Radio Operators are encouraged to review the public notice and submit your thoughts on this subject to the FCC.

The public notice is located at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-10-365A1.pdf

Last night a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Chile causing massive damage in Chile and Tsunami warnings to be issued throughout the pacific including Japan, Hawaii, Rapa Nui, Alaska, California and pretty much any area with coast line facing Chile in the pacific.  This quake has been described as “one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded.”

The IARU Region 2 and the Radio Club De Chile have requested that all amateurs keep the following frequencies clear for traffic related to this emergency.
3.738             3.750
7.050            7.100
14.200        14.350
21.200        21.350
28.300        28.500 MHz.

Additional suggested monitoring frequencies are 14.300, 18.160, 21.360, 3.720, 7.045 and 7.060.

For more information visit http://www.arrl.org/

Clarksville hams stepped up to the plate to assist the Red Cross in this drill just like they would in the event of an actual disaster.

Amateur Radio operators from the Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts and the Clarksville Amateur Transmitting Society showed up and provided all of the communications for the excercise.

Net control functions were provided by CATS Vice President John Freed, KX6F

CORE members James Kennedy, WU5E; David Abney, KG4EUU;  and Eric Gregory, KJ4GXU acted as drivers and communications specialists for the Disaster Assessment teams while CATS member Lee Daniel, KI4LEL acted as the communcations operator for the Disaster Assessment supervisor Karina Aponte, KJ4LCG.

Shelter communications were handled by CATS President Jim Shelton.

Together with the Red Cross these operators were able to coordinate shelter operations and communications with other local agencies all while a mock damage assessment was performed on several thousand homes in the space of a few hours.

This drill was a perfect example of how Amateur Radio operators can act in cooperation with local agencies and each other to provide services to the public in times of crisis.  Both major Amateur Radio clubs in the area, The Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts and the Clarksville Amateur Transmitting Society showed their willingness to give of their time, skills and equipment to support the Red Cross and our community.

It was through the contributions of these operators and all of the red cross volunteers which included nurses, shelter volunteers, administrative staff and more that this drill was able to successfully accomplish the tasks set forth.

The following information discusses the situation in Haiti and the activities of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief in Frank’s own words.

“We got to Haiti via Santo Domingo on 4 Feb and if all goes according to plan, we will fly out of Port au Prince Haiti this Saturday.

I came in a dual role, operations for our Southern Baptist Relief effort and as MARS/Ham for the same.  We have had very little need for HF communications as we do have generator/battery power and internet service here at our compound.  We have established 2meter and HF contact with other med ops here, the largest being Miami University Hospital set up at the airport.  We will likely set up a feeding unit there for their medical staff and patients.  They have had nothing but MREs since they arrived.

Damage is as bad as shown, on top of an already impoverished country.  We are setting up medical clinics around the city, some in churches, some in or around tent cities (one under a palm roof in a tent city.)  Translators (6) and Security (2-4 depending on area) go with each medical team.

We also have home inspector/chaplain teams that check homes and churches to see if they are sound enough for use.  Many people here have homes but are afraid to stay in them so they sleep in tents outside.  We are trying to help them get back inside before rain season starts.  All our doctors, inspectors and other workers here are volunteers.”

Please join me in wishing Frank well and praying for him, the rest of the aid workers in Haiti and for the people of Haiti.

Additionally members voted to commit to holding their meetings at the Park Lane Church of the Nazarene for at least the next 6 months.  We would like to thank David Abney (KG4EUU) for arranging this and the Pastor and congregation of the Park Lane Church of the Nazarene for their hospitality.

Third Thursday ARES net
The third thursday of the month brings the monthly Montgomery County ARES net on the 146.925 repeater at 7:00 pm.  All amateurs are welcome and encouraged to participate.

K2LAW to present an introduction to APRS at March C.O.R.E meeting
The Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts are proud to present Howard Thompson (K2LAW) who will be discussing the ins and outs of the Automatic Packet Reporting System or A.P.R.S.   Howard will be presenting this program at our regularly scheduled C.O.R.E. Group meeting on March 9 2010 at 6:30 pm at the Park Lane Church of the Nazarene.