| N5KOA West Texas Connection Newsletter JULY-AUGUST 1997 The WTC Newsletter is available on a bi-monthly basis for a subscription/donation of $12 per year. Subscribers also receive new maps of the system twice a year. Send $12 to: WTC, P.O. Box 7033, Odessa, TX 79760 After postage, all money goes toward maintenance of the West Texas Connection. Editor - Les Blalock, N5KOA email: LCB911@apex2000.net HAPPY JULY 4th! WTC Sunday Morning Net The WTC Sunday Morning Net meets at 0900 (Central) every Sunday morning. The net is informal and open to all. Check in for local ham news and events. WTC News The Connection now has its own web page. The URL is: www.apex2000.net/nonprof/wtc The site includes a map, a list of frequencies, descriptions of all WTC sites and all back issues of the WTC Newsletter. There are also links to send comments, articles, etc. via email to any of the WTC directors. We plan to add pictures so you can see the actual sites, too! Thanks to Apex 2000 for providing the site space. Please consider them if you're in the market for a good, fast Internet Provider. Mark, N5SOR reports that the Marathon site is now up and running on solar power. Although there is a minor problem with battery charging at the site, coverage is outstanding and should extend the Connection into the Big Bend National Park area. Fred, KC5BNS reports that the equipment has been acquired for the new Lamesa site and installation should take place in July or August. Plans call for the antennas to be oriented to the north with the hope of extending coverage throughout Dawson County and close to Lubbock. Rod, N5XXO finally got tired of driving out to the Odessa hub site in the middle of the night when lightening storms crackled about. No, he hasn't threatened to quit going out. He installed a battery back-up to keep it on the air when commercial power is lost. A record number of check-ins was counted on May 18th. 42 check-ins made it into the record book. We appreciate everyone's support. Skywarn The Skywarn net was activated on the Connection about noon on Sunday, June 8th. The entire area of West Texas appeared to be under heavy clouds but severe storms were isolated pretty much to rural areas. A tornado warning was issued for the area south of Bakersfield and a couple other cells received scrutiny. Fred, KC5BNS, and Tom, KC5ETW responded to the callout to act as net control operators. (Robert, N5RKN, had conveniently placed himself out of town.) Fred and Tom were later relieved from their post by Rick, WB5MPX. Also, during the same weather event, spotters from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area were making use of the Connection. Sam, K5KJ, from Garland, Texas was chasing the Bakersfield storm (among others). Sam has been storm chasing for more than 20 years and offers spotter training material for sale. Sam has many neat photos and even some videos on his web page at http://www.pulse.net/storm As a matter of fact, Skwarn nets were very common in May and June so the Connection has been well used this past couple of months. After all, it is that time of the year. Thanks to all the spotters and control operators for making themselves available. It's Bird! It's a Plane! It's a Spy Plane! As reported on the June 13th edition of Newsline, a C-130 plane being used to search for drug traffic along the Texas- Mexico border has caused some interference for ham radio operators. Radio emissions from the government plane have caused problems for the TexNET packet network because 9600 baud packet links have been particularly susceptible to the RF. Comments from Connection users during the same time period also indicate interference may have affected some voice repeaters. Midland NW Service Office Staff In West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico, we're very lucky to have some special hams. Currently four meteorologists at the Midland NWS office have amateur licenses and, in this edition of the WTC Newsletter, you get to meet some of them - up close and personal. T.J. Turnage, KC5NHZ earned his license in March 1996 at Midland. A Forecaster at the Midland NWS office, he first became interested in ham radio as it is used in the Skywarn program. While T.J. was chasing a storm in the area of Hobbs last spring he got his first chance to use his ham radio to talk directly with his fellow meteorologists at Midland. He says it was great to have that ability even though it became short- lived in that particular event; the Hobbs repeater went down during the chase. Fortunately, the loss of one repeater does not mean the loss of all communications for hams and T.J. had other repeaters available for communications. T.J. was raised in Ames, Iowa and graduated from Iowa State there. He is a member of the American Meteorological Society, the National Geographic Society and the Soaring Society of America. (The soaring and flying lessons that T.J. is taking offer the possibility of a whole story in itself. From my own clandestine sources, I hear T.J. has had some interesting, if not terrifying, experiences along those lines.) T.J. is single, 29 years old and has plenty of interests and energy to keep him busy when he's not trying to prognosticate or prestidigitate the weather. He enjoys photography, running, weight lifting and tennis. T.J. also plays in the group Street Machine. This band plays classic rock with an attitude that makes you smile. (They're very good. I caught them at Music City Mall in Odessa.) Robert "Bob" Boyd, KC5ZJO was licensed in March this year and says he, too, got an amateur license primarily to assist with Skywarn. He's already found that being a ham allows him to better confirm information from spotters and to have direct communications with his fellow weather service personnel when he's out chasing storms himself. Just a couple of weeks after getting a handi-talkie, while out mobile and under and electrically active storm, Bob was shocked - no, not surprised, SHOCKED! Many of us have had similar experiences in not only electrical storms but also sandstorms. Bob disconnected his handi from the external antenna and used the "rubber duck" until the storm calmed down. Since becoming licensed, Bob has used the West Texas Connection quite a bit and has found it useful in covering the large area of NWS responsibility in West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico. Verification of a severe thunderstorm in Mitchell County or local reports near the office are equally available now via ham radio. Bob Boyd considers Hampton, Virginia his hometown and has met a few people on the radio while visiting there. Many of you have probably met Bob, either on the air or at one of the area hamfests. He began making hamfests even before getting his license. He's also present at many area spotter training sessions. Bob is a member of the American Meteorological Society and received a Bachelor Degree of Physical Science in 1983. He says he's always had an interest in radio, and even worked at the his college radio station and another broadcast station while living in southeast Virginia in the early 80's. John Pendergrast, KC5SVA, got his amateur license in February 1996. He's 33 years old, single and brings another amateur radio license to the Midland NWS office. John says, "I have listened to DX on the shortwave bands since I was in high school and I've wanted to get an amateur license since then; however, my real motivation came after locating to West Texas and seeing the importance of Skywarn to the severe weather operations at NWSO MAF." He would like to get into packet and also buy a home weather station in the near future. He's an apartment dweller now and says, "I'm kinda limited. My lease says NO YAGIS ALLOWED." Another goal is to upgrade to General before he turns 40 years old. (Smart move, John - the mind goes quickly after that.) John grew up in Orlando, Florida and enjoys in-line skating (that's another thing you better enjoy before you turn 40, John), golf, hiking and camping, History Aviation and, of course storm chasing. He also likes transmitting rf into the ground - metal detecting. When asked how a ham license has helped off or on the job, John says it has helped when he gets to go out spotting off duty because he no longer has to find a pay phone or use a cellular phone. And, he says, it's also helpful to be able to converse with spotters in the field directly from the office. "I want to thank all the folks who volunteer their time, and in some cases, personal funds in keeping the WTC maintained and who also help to run the Skywarn Net" - John, KC5SVA. West Texas Connection P.O. Box 7033 Odessa, TX 79761 Ray Fagen, KC5JHC, is the Meteorologist-In-Charge of the NWS office at Midland. Ray was licensed in August, 1994 and uses his operating privileges mostly for weather spotting activity. In the next issue of the WTC Newsletter we'll learn more about Ray. His staff speaks highly of him and he was cited as one of the primary factors in motivating T.J., John, and Robert to get licensed. Until next time.... 73 de | |
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