Courtesy of the The ARRL Letter Vol. 28, No. 19 May 15, 2009
The annual WX4NHC On-the-Air Station Test from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami will take place Saturday, May 30, from 1300-2100 UTC. "The purpose of this annual Station Test is to test all of our radio equipment, computers and antennas using as many modes and frequencies as possible. This is not a contest or simulated hurricane exercise. New equipment and software will be tested, and we will also conduct some operator training," said WX4NHC Assistant Amateur Radio Volunteer Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R.
Ripoll said that WX4NHC also will be testing new computers and software, as well as conducting operator training. "NHC Director Bill Read, KB5FYA, will be at WX4NHC, making contacts," he said. WX4NHC will be on the air on HF, VHF and UHF, plus 2 and 30 meter APRS. Suggested SSB frequencies are 3.950, 7.268, 14.325, 21.325 and 28.525 MHz, +/-QRM; WX4NHC reports that they will mostly be on 14.325 MHz and will make announcements when they change frequencies. WX4NHC also will be on the VoIP Hurricane Net 1700-1900 UTC (IRLP node 9219/EchoLink WX-TALK Conference) and on South Florida area VHF/UHF repeaters and simplex; APRS and e-mail will also be monitored.
Stations working WX4NHC exchange call sign, signal report, location and name plus a brief weather report, such as "sunny," "rain" or "cloudy." Non-hams may submit their actual weather using the On-Line Hurricane Report Form. QSL to WD4R and include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Do not send cards to the NHC. Due to security measures, no visitors will be allowed at NHC during the test.
